Hey Wes...I don't understand the ins and outs of how guys turned pro back in the day....who or what determined if a guy turned pro?....was there cronyism or payoffs in order for a guy to turn pro?....did you have to win certain contests?....could you only turn pro under the IFBB or could you turn pro under other organizations?....take us step by step as to how an amateur turned pro.....also no homo here but were certain "favors" performed for guys to turn pro as has been rumored?..or is that just a myth or blown out of proportion?
To my knowledge,at one point there was no such thing as a pro card.
If you won a big title like the Mr. America,or Mr. Universe,or a similar title,this entitled you to compete in the Olympia.
The Mr. Olympia was actually created to provide a venue for past Mr. Universe and Mr. World winners,to give them a bigger title and more incentive to keep training and competing.
Someone else here should correct anything I might have gotten wrong,but I think this is a pretty accurate description.
You also had the Professional NABBA Mr. Universe.......if you won the overall amatuer NABBA Mr. U,than you qualified to compete for the pro title as well.