Author Topic: Arnold owning the competition at the 1980 Olympia - check it out!  (Read 40698 times)

Gunnar R

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Re: Arnold owning the competition at the 1980 Olympia - check it out!
« Reply #75 on: January 06, 2006, 09:52:34 AM »
monster quads

Yeah. With that conditioning, he did not deserve to win the O. Sure, he was superior to Mentzer when it comes to size, but Arnie was so out of shape that the decision to hand him another S. was just plain ridiculous!!! I admired Arnold, but the 1980 O was a shame for him and for pro BB.

sculpture

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Re: Arnold owning the competition at the 1980 Olympia - check it out!
« Reply #76 on: January 06, 2006, 10:12:28 AM »
Yeah. With that conditioning, he did not deserve to win the O. Sure, he was superior to Mentzer when it comes to size, but Arnie was so out of shape that the decision to hand him another S. was just plain ridiculous!!! I admired Arnold, but the 1980 O was a shame for him and for pro BB.

You've got it all wrong. Arnold wasnt really superior in leg size or development to mike but his condition was spot on. Infact the best its ever been despite having a cortisone injection shortly before the flight to sydney that caused him to retain water which he had to sweat out. In terms of development he was behind most competitors despite outsizing them and his balance was thrwon even more out of whack by his now chronically undeveloped legs. These factors alone should of made him uneligeble to the title, none of this "he used his charisma" or "he was the champ"crap that gets promulgated. He "lost" that contest despite being awarded as the winner if that makes any sense, and bodybuilding was dealt another blow at its attempts of becoming a legitimate sport thanks largely to the weiders

Gunnar R

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Re: Arnold owning the competition at the 1980 Olympia - check it out!
« Reply #77 on: January 06, 2006, 11:22:35 AM »
You've got it all wrong. Arnold wasnt really superior in leg size or development to mike but his condition was spot on. Infact the best its ever been despite having a cortisone injection shortly before the flight to sydney that caused him to retain water which he had to sweat out. In terms of development he was behind most competitors despite outsizing them and his balance was thrwon even more out of whack by his now chronically undeveloped legs. These factors alone should of made him uneligeble to the title, none of this "he used his charisma" or "he was the champ"crap that gets promulgated. He "lost" that contest despite being awarded as the winner if that makes any sense, and bodybuilding was dealt another blow at its attempts of becoming a legitimate sport thanks largely to the weiders

Hmm. I think you misinterpreted me there, bro. Our conclusion is exactly the same, but built on somewhat different criteria.
I do not agree that Arnold`s conditioning was the best it had ever been on that day...(say compared to 1975), and it certainly was far behind Mentzer`s.

I agree with your final conclusion on the effect for BB! I simply do not buy the story that Weider bros. had "planned" to do this to hand Mentzer the title in 1981, or that they did not want him as O champ because of amphetamine in 1980. They should have given him a better placing in 80, and BB might have developed in another way in the following years. I am not saying Mentzer was God, but he was an interesting character, intelligent, good-looking, great physique-he could have promoted the sport. Personally, I admit I have had a great difficulty taking Mr Olympia seriously after 1980...

sculpture

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Re: Arnold owning the competition at the 1980 Olympia - check it out!
« Reply #78 on: January 06, 2006, 12:00:30 PM »
It was the best condition he'd ever achieved down to advances in contest prep in the 5 year ssince 1975. Check ou these gym shots, his bas would never that ripped and look at how sunken his cheeks are on stage


dantelis

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Re: Arnold owning the competition at the 1980 Olympia - check it out!
« Reply #79 on: January 06, 2006, 12:01:10 PM »
Admit it...the IFBB was created so Joe Weider had a method to create "champions" to push his bodybuilding products.  It's a great business plan:  Produce bodybuilding shows, write up stories about the shows and the competitor's bodybuilding methods in your magazines and fill the magazines with ads (hawked by the same IFBB champions) to sell your bodybuilding products.  You get money from the competitions, money from the magazine subscriptions and ad sales and money from selling the bodybuilding products.

Joe knew Arnold was the best spokesman he had for bodybuilding and would continue to bring in money to Weider Inc, hence the unwarranted win at the 1980 Olympia.  It's the same reason AMI brought Arnold back as "Executive Editor" of all the Weider magazines and started printing articles that are all Arnold, all the time...Arnold sells magazines.  If Arnold decided to compete in the Mr. Olympia at the age of 60, he would still win over Ronnie, Cutler, et al, no matter how poorly conditioned.

sculpture

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Re: Arnold owning the competition at the 1980 Olympia - check it out!
« Reply #80 on: January 06, 2006, 12:01:10 PM »

Vince B

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Re: Arnold owning the competition at the 1980 Olympia - check it out!
« Reply #81 on: January 06, 2006, 03:39:32 PM »
There are many false statements made in this thread. The majority of fans from my gym who attended the show felt Dickerson won. Mike and Frank were not the best. Arnold was the best bodybuilder there. The photo evidence supports that conclusion. People who know me know that I don't exaggerate or kiss butt. One could make a case for any of the top six being the best. Callendar won a big show in Sydney in 1979 and was very popular there. Padilla was never compared and was probably the best, size for size.

The one fact that made the difference is that Arnold was personal friends with many of the judges. Peter McCarthy was supposed to be the Australian judge and he missed the judges meeting so they put Brendan Ryan in instead. That alone was a travesty of the first order. In my analysis of the judges results (I have the original scoresheets somewhere) Chris would have won had they used Peter's score. Peter was a former Mr Australia on several occasions. Brendan was lucky to win a Junior title! What can I say? Brendan stayed at Arnold's place when he visited him in LA.

I will get around to writing another story about the contest. I gave my unpublished version to Mike in 1991. I imagine it got burned the next day! Who knows, it might be among the Mentzer archives. Mike would have easily won the 81 but several of the top guys boycotted that show. Ah, what might have been. All of this over a bodybuilding contest.

Yes, there was booing when Arnold won. However, there was more applause.

bmacsys

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Re: Arnold owning the competition at the 1980 Olympia - check it out!
« Reply #82 on: January 08, 2006, 09:30:35 AM »
There are many false statements made in this thread. The majority of fans from my gym who attended the show felt Dickerson won. Mike and Frank were not the best. Arnold was the best bodybuilder there. The photo evidence supports that conclusion. People who know me know that I don't exaggerate or kiss butt. One could make a case for any of the top six being the best. Callendar won a big show in Sydney in 1979 and was very popular there. Padilla was never compared and was probably the best, size for size.

The one fact that made the difference is that Arnold was personal friends with many of the judges. Peter McCarthy was supposed to be the Australian judge and he missed the judges meeting so they put Brendan Ryan in instead. That alone was a travesty of the first order. In my analysis of the judges results (I have the original scoresheets somewhere) Chris would have won had they used Peter's score. Peter was a former Mr Australia on several occasions. Brendan was lucky to win a Junior title! What can I say? Brendan stayed at Arnold's place when he visited him in LA.

I will get around to writing another story about the contest. I gave my unpublished version to Mike in 1991. I imagine it got burned the next day! Who knows, it might be among the Mentzer archives. Mike would have easily won the 81 but several of the top guys boycotted that show. Ah, what might have been. All of this over a bodybuilding contest.

Yes, there was booing when Arnold won. However, there was more applause.

Vince, you said above that Arnold " was the best bodybuilder there". But the judging made the difference. So you think it was close but Arnold being buddies with the judges and Paul Grant put him over the top?
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Old-Skool

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Re: Arnold owning the competition at the 1980 Olympia - check it out!
« Reply #83 on: January 08, 2006, 01:08:37 PM »
The Years 1980 and 1981 were black years in Olympia history, and should have asterisks beside their placements. Many fantastic bodybuilders were absolutely mentally devastated and totally disillusioned with the sport by the horrific outcomes, many never really recovering or competing again. So much hard work and sacrifice absolutely for nothing. The "IFBB judges club" and the "Weider machine" arrogance was so blatant, bodybuilding lost its innocence, and to this day is NOT much better. Peace.

Vince B

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Re: Arnold owning the competition at the 1980 Olympia - check it out!
« Reply #84 on: January 08, 2006, 03:17:45 PM »
Paul Graham and Arnold lived together in the fall of 1968. In January 1969 Paul got arrested by the FBI in Honolulu for exporting stolen cars from the US to Australia. Paul promoted the 80 Olympia. How did Brendan Ryan get picked to be a judge? There were many other more senior people who deserved to judge instead of Brendan.

It is hard to have an opinion that goes against what most people think. Few people thought Arnold deserved to win the contest that year. I had the benefit of looking at several hundred photos I took at the judging and evening show. What those images revealed is that Arnold dwarfed everyone else in two important areas; arms and chest. His calves were right up there with the best. Only his thighs were a bit smaller than the others. However, if you have to decide between a guy with no arms (Dickerson) and no thighs (Arnold) then who would you pick? Arms have always been the hallmark of bodybuilders so that is why I say Arnold was the best bodybuilder there. He sure knew how to work the crowd. He was pals with most of the judges.

bigdumbbell

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Re: Arnold owning the competition at the 1980 Olympia - check it out!
« Reply #85 on: January 08, 2006, 03:23:50 PM »
Paul Graham and Arnold lived together in the fall of 1968. In January 1969 Paul got arrested by the FBI in Honolulu for exporting stolen cars from the US to Australia. Paul promoted the 80 Olympia. How did Brendan Ryan get picked to be a judge? There were many other more senior people who deserved to judge instead of Brendan.

It is hard to have an opinion that goes against what most people think. Few people thought Arnold deserved to win the contest that year. I had the benefit of looking at several hundred photos I took at the judging and evening show. What those images revealed is that Arnold dwarfed everyone else in two important areas; arms and chest. His calves were right up there with the best. Only his thighs were a bit smaller than the others. However, if you have to decide between a guy with no arms (Dickerson) and no thighs (Arnold) then who would you pick? Arms have always been the hallmark of bodybuilders so that is why I say Arnold was the best bodybuilder there. He sure knew how to work the crowd. He was pals with most of the judges.

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Re: Arnold owning the competition at the 1980 Olympia - check it out!
« Reply #86 on: January 17, 2006, 12:55:54 PM »
Admit it...the IFBB was created so Joe Weider had a method to create "champions" to push his bodybuilding products.  It's a great business plan:  Produce bodybuilding shows, write up stories about the shows and the competitor's bodybuilding methods in your magazines and fill the magazines with ads (hawked by the same IFBB champions) to sell your bodybuilding products.  You get money from the competitions, money from the magazine subscriptions and ad sales and money from selling the bodybuilding products.

Joe knew Arnold was the best spokesman he had for bodybuilding and would continue to bring in money to Weider Inc, hence the unwarranted win at the 1980 Olympia.  It's the same reason AMI brought Arnold back as "Executive Editor" of all the Weider magazines and started printing articles that are all Arnold, all the time...Arnold sells magazines.  If Arnold decided to compete in the Mr. Olympia at the age of 60, he would still win over Ronnie, Cutler, et al, no matter how poorly conditioned.

Exactly! I couldn't have said it better myself. Each Olympia champion has to have a good physique but not necessarily the best one on the stage that day. What makes the champ the champ is one who can sell mags, sell pay per view slots, get ad revenue, bring in more people to the gym so that they supplement sales go up and so do mag subscriptions.

Look at the history of the Olympia history each champion had something unique in his personality.

Larry Scott, a golden boy
Sergio Oliva amazing but Black in a time when being Black was the wrong color probably why he lost to the golden boy Arnold.
Arnold...well good looks
Columbu, Zane, Dickerson, Bannout all excellent physiques but none had a super personality and thats why they never had long reigns at the top.
Haney, Black at a time when being Black was not a civil rights curse and clearly appealing to the more "hardcore" audience.
Dorian Yates, brooding personality stiff British upper lip and muscle made from granite
Ronnie Coleman freakiness combined with aesthetics (to the hardcore fans until his gut started getting out of control).

Think about it. The only time I believe the Olympia was judged was during the Columbu, Zane, Dickerson, Bannout era, short reigns because there was none with a startling personality (not to discredit Bannout about whom I have heard some amazing stories about his personaity and chutzpah).

Now think about all those deserving 2nd place guys who may have been robbed a Sandow in the recent past...Shawn Ray = whining nancy boy, Kevin Levrone = No work ethic compared to Ronnie or Dorian, Jay Cutler = personality of a wet dish rag. Frankly the IFBB has done a reasonably good job of picking the best representative of the sport. While many think Ronnie is too hardcore and might be repulsive to the genera public couple of comments.

Remember that the level of muscularity has increased in the past 20-30 years. This is not only because of new types of hormones available (HGH, Insulin, IGF), better training and nutrition information (I think the guys in the 70's overtrained no wonder Mentzer put on so much mass while reducing volume, no need for 30 rep warm ups and 50 rep drop sets and 21's for biceps to make them grow). And not only has the muscularity of the pros increased so has the muscularity sported by the average natural recreational bodybuilder. As a result the IFBB has to choose even more muscular guys to win after all if the pro's muscularity is easily achievable by the guy in the street then there is no reason to pimp out supplements and mags is there?

As a result of the all-round improvement in muscularity of the general public the IFBB has to select competitors who manifest a level of muscularity significantly above the general public. Just as Arnold and Oliva were "freaks" in their day  Ronnie is todays freak. As I look at all the pics of Arnold and I think damn he looks like a buff swimmer after being used to seeing the likes of todays pros.  Just as a guy in the 70's would be shocked by seeing Arnold's body I have to see a back double bicep from Ronnie to get "shocked".

Kaliym73

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Re: Arnold owning the competition at the 1980 Olympia - check it out!
« Reply #87 on: January 17, 2006, 01:17:16 PM »
I just finished watching the 1980 Olympia competition on DVD and I have to say Mike should won that Competition and was robbed. Arnold looked nothing like himself and quite frankly was given the win, because he was Arnold. It's a shame that in sports we have to have favoritism, but that's life and life's a bitch and then you die.

Jr. Yates

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Re: Arnold owning the competition at the 1980 Olympia - check it out!
« Reply #88 on: January 17, 2006, 02:32:47 PM »
yeah mike was awesome, and looked good that night.
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vendo44

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Re: Arnold owning the competition at the 1980 Olympia - check it out!
« Reply #89 on: October 26, 2006, 09:24:15 AM »
Folks Arnold was still way ahead of his time and the rest of the crowd in the 1980 Olympia. He had a very small waist line and some very big lat's, shoulder, arms and calves.  And on top of that he was shredded.  When I read people saying that he was not in shape like he was in 1975 I have to laugh because it was a very different time. The standards had changed so much. Look at who was winning the Olympia the last three years prior to 1980. Frank Zane! And Mike could not even beat him! You have to look at all the body parts and yes even the posing as well. The score cards show most of the contenders beating Arnold in the legs but after that they got a beating over all. I bet most of you were not even born in 1980 let alone 1975. Go look at Joe Weiders magazine of the 1980 Olympia. The pictures just don't lie! What's even funnier is the complaining I read about regarding the rest of the placing's in the 1980 Olympia as well. IMHO If you watch the video you will see that they did in fact get it right on that night. 

dan18

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Re: Arnold owning the competition at the 1980 Olympia - check it out!
« Reply #90 on: October 26, 2006, 09:27:22 AM »
mentzer was robbed
p

Playboy

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Re: Arnold owning the competition at the 1980 Olympia - check it out!
« Reply #91 on: October 26, 2006, 10:00:18 AM »
arnold= billionaire , movie star, govenor, ultrasuccesful

mentzer= broke , mentally unstable, dead

who cares whether or not arnold desevred to win in 1980 he won the title and he won in life end of story
Agreed 100%. People need to learn.

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vendo44

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Re: Arnold owning the competition at the 1980 Olympia - check it out!
« Reply #92 on: October 26, 2006, 10:07:14 AM »
YouTube Video

Arnold Schwarzenegger Mr. Olympia 1980


pumpster

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Re: Arnold owning the competition at the 1980 Olympia - check it out!
« Reply #93 on: October 26, 2006, 10:14:55 AM »
Quote
Quote from: bcrizzy on June 02, 2005, 01:33:25 PM
arnold= billionaire , movie star, govenor, ultrasuccesful

mentzer= broke , mentally unstable, dead

who cares whether or not arnold desevred to win in 1980 he won the title and he won in life end of story
That pathetic assessment says a lot about the person who wrote it.

carvedoutofwood

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Re: Arnold owning the competition at the 1980 Olympia - check it out!
« Reply #94 on: October 26, 2006, 10:41:58 AM »
That pathetic assessment says a lot about the person who wrote it.

sorry pumpster, that was funny

vendo44

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Re: Arnold owning the competition at the 1980 Olympia - check it out!
« Reply #95 on: October 26, 2006, 11:11:54 AM »


"When I was called fifth  :(   

Question if Mike was so darn good then why the fifth place finish? Was he truly better then the other four guys on stage that night?

In Mikes own words.

WHO TERMINATED WHOM! That strain and tension came to an electrifying climax at the competitors meeting held the morning of the contest. Fifteen of the 16 athletes had signed a petition asking that the two weight classes be abolished and that the Olympia should henceforth be contested as one open class. The one athlete not in agreement was Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Whatever the rights and wrongs, facts and misconceptions, theories and myths that surrounded the 1980 Mr. Olympia contest, in the interests of this narrative, it's important to understand that Mike Mentzer felt he was cheated in Sydney, and that sinister machinations were afoot. His belief is that certain forces, fueled by ignorance and sycophancy, combined to thrust an undeserving Arnold to first place and relegate him - perceived as owning the best physique in the contest - to a "ridiculous" fifth place.

This is how Mike recalls that fateful day. "There were maybe 50 people at the competitors meeting and, as usual, Arnold wanted to be the center of attention. In every situation, he tries to be the standout, and on this occasion, he was the only athlete of the 16 in the contest who wanted to keep the two weight classes.

"He said something to denigrate Samir Bannout that I thought was uncalled for. I passed on that, feeling Samir should have defended himself. As the debate progressed, there was a lot of arguing between Arnold and some of the guys. I wasn't really concerned one way or the other - I thought I could win anyway. Then Boyer Coe stood up and, as the gentleman he is, said, 'Why don't we let Arnold explain to us right here and now his exact reasons for wanting to have two weight classes?'

"Arnold barked, 'Boyer, let's talk like adults here.' That really irked me, because Boyer made his plea with no hint of malice. In addition, this was the IFBB's event, but here was this big Prussian son of a bitch standing there and trying to walk all over us. I interjected and asked Arnold why he was so reluctant to see the open class introduced.

"For some reason, that question pissed him off. He seemed like a guy out of control as he turned to face me, his upper lip curled around like a snarling animal. We were debating the issue of weight classes, but Arnold chose to snap at me, 'Mike Mentzer, we all know Zane beat you last year because you have a big stomach!'

"I was seated 20 feet away from Arnold, who was standing holding court, and I perhaps allowed that comment to irritate me too much, as on impulse, I bolted toward him. As I approached him, I decided I wouldn't hit him, but nevertheless I was surprised when Arnold sat down: I scared him! He sat as I continued to berate him. Wagging my finger at him, I told him, 'Look, Arnold, Boyer Coe said what he did as a gentleman - he didn't deserve that response. You're the one who's acting like a baby, literally! Arnold couldn't look me in the eye. He went from being a frantic hysterical adolescent to shrinking away like an injured child."

Not for the first time in the history of bodybuilding, Joe Weider stepped in and defused the situation. He advised Arnold to accept the voices of the other 15. The debate ended as Arnold proclaimed, "I withdraw my objection."

DECISION DOWN UNDER "Throughout that meeting, Arnold had on a tight-knit sweater that made him look skinny. I was curious to see what he looked like once he stripped down. When he did, I remember looking at him and thinking, Not only am I going to win this contest, but I'm going to beat Arnold Schwarzenegger as well!

"When I was called fifth, I was totally shocked. It was just a ridiculous placing, made more ridiculous by an out-of-shape Arnold winning. As for the others who finished ahead of me, I knew Frank Zane [third], due to an accident he had sustained four months earlier, wasn't as good as he had been the previous year. I must say that Chris Dickerson [second] and Boyer Coe [fourth] were in phenomenal shape, particularly Chris. I felt he and I were the ones in absolute peak condition, and we should have been the top two.

"The majority of observers at the 1980 Mr. Olympia, with the exception of the judging panel, didn't have Arnold in the top five. The crowd booed Arnold at the contest's conclusion, and there were a number of things that took place during the prejudging that perhaps should have provided an indication that all was not as it should have been.

"Several of the judges were close friends of Arnold. Boyer Coe told me afterwards that he saw Reg Park, one of the judges, actually coaching Arnold from the officials' table. In contrast, Bill Pearl had honorably removed himself from the judging panel, as he had spent time training with Chris Dickerson.

"At times, the contest was like a circus. We had Franco Columbu - one of Arnold's weak-willed nambypamby lackeys - coming onstage with a towel, a comb and oil, to go through a little act with Arnold at the expense of everybody else. I could quote other anomalies, but possibly the most pertinent is that CBS Sports flew halfway around the world to tape the event and then never televised it. The word was that they were convinced it was a fix.

"The record may show Arnold Schwarzenegger as the 1980 Mr. Olympia champion, but he wasn't the best bodybuilder onstage that day - not by a mile."

In the immediate aftermath of the contest, several top names stated they would never compete again. They would later reverse their decisions and return to the contest dais. But even as he was announced fifth, Mike knew he would never compete again: "There was no way I was going to put myself through the same torturous process again for a similar reward. At no point since 1980 have I been even slightly tempted to consider the possibility of competing. I don't miss it."

Of all of its repercussions, it is difficult not to nominate Mike's premature retirement at 29 as being the major consequence of the 1980 Mr. Olympia contest. It effectively denied the sport a view of the physique he could have built in future years.

http://ironage.us/guest_edit/mcgough.html

ARNIE1947

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Re: Arnold owning the competition at the 1980 Olympia - check it out!
« Reply #96 on: October 25, 2008, 01:14:48 PM »
 ??? ??? ??? ??? ???

ARNIE1947

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Re: Arnold owning the competition at the 1980 Olympia - check it out!
« Reply #97 on: October 25, 2008, 01:22:14 PM »
 ??? ??? ??? ??? ???

ARNIE1947

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Re: Arnold owning the competition at the 1980 Olympia - check it out!
« Reply #98 on: October 25, 2008, 01:33:47 PM »
 ??? ??? ??? ??? ???

hipolito mejia

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Re: Arnold owning the competition at the 1980 Olympia - check it out!
« Reply #99 on: October 25, 2008, 02:00:33 PM »
"watch out Mike there's Fraco right behind you with a pipe about to knock you down"




Mike-  "yeah right"