Well, Bob, those who have been around long enough know that beauty contests are never unanimous. Except for the time Sergio won the Olympia and no one showed up to compete against him. And the time Mike Mentzer had a perfect score. He always mentioned that but most of didn't think that such a big deal.
I knew Ken and he trained at the same gym in Vancouver. Good old Western Gym on Hastings Street. That was skid row then and the gym was adjacent to the boiler room in the basement. Primitive equipment but set up for hardcore longshoremen and others who dug the scene. Ken asked me a few months before the contest if I was entering. I told him I was going to win it! If you had seen how big Ken was you would have laughed at my remark. I think I said it to motivate myself to train hard. Seeing him that huge made me seek out some Dianabol and I gained some size and strength quickly. I trained in secret not revealing to anyone what I looked like. Two weeks before the contest I was 210 pounds. I competed at 190 but still didn't have enough cuts especially on my thighs. I easily beat my mate Jim Forsythe in arm wrestling at 210. On the contest day I was depleted and Jim won the final against me in a hard match. Some say he used the table for leverage but I wasn't going to win that day.
In the Mr Canada Ken was a sensation. International class upper body but he forgot to train his legs. He also showed up white while I was tanned. I also practiced posing for half an hour a day for months before the show. Ken didn't practice at all and he regretted it later because he looked clumsy and had no idea how to do most of the standard poses. Walter Milner was a sensation, too. A quiet lad from Moosehorn, Manitoba but living in Vancouver. We called him cuts and the judges laughed when he did a most muscular because Walter looked unbelievable.
Philippe Alfani was the complete package but came in too smooth. He placed third but was way bigger than me. That is why I didn't think I was going to win. In 4th place was John Mikl only 17. He and Walter won Mr Canada a few years later. He uses the stage name Thor as a musician. I haven't seen any of those guys since I left Canada in January 1971. It was snowing and I am glad I haven't seen any snow since then. Thank you, Australia.
