Ah, where to start when discussing who should have won in 1980? My gym sold 200 tickets to the Olympia so there were lots of people that gave us feedback afterwards. From the bodybuilders that I knew they mostly thought Dickerson was the best. That surprised me. If you examine the judges scores then it is obvious the contest was close because they gave out way too many 20 out of 20 scores in each round. Clearly, there were many who could have won the contest. Tinerino was in great shape but didn't make the top few. Roy Callendar won a contest in Sydney in 1979 so was popular with the crowd but he wasn't among the top placers. I took a shot of Mentzer that Ironman used on its cover. From that photo it is easy to think he is the best on stage. The trouble is he didn't seem to be the winner at the prejudging or at the evening show. Plus he had a tummy that protruded in some photos.
Zane was the reigning Mr Olympia but he looked small in 1980. Dickerson had small arms and funny looking elbows. When I looked at the hundreds of images from the prejudging and evening shows I concluded that Arnold was the winner. His chest was by far the best on stage. His arms and calves were among the best. Arnold also looked huge when he posed. The only thing lacking were his thighs but they were cut. He was nowhere near the condition he had in 73 but had enough to win.
The biggest guy, pound for pound, was Danny Padilla. He was not called out for any comparisons. That is how contests go. It doesn't pay to be short.
I had an argument with Roger Walker after the contest. He thought his waist was as small as Arnold's. It didn't look as small.
Boyer Coe looked great in the free posing section. Yet, where were his abdominals.
Dickerson had small arms and chest, Zane was small, Coe had missing abs, Padilla was too short, and so on. Arnold won by a point and that is what the judges voted for. How anyone 27 years later can insist Mentzer won is really pushing the sentimentality. Mentzer was nowhere near the best that day. Neither the judges, audience, photos or movie agree. I don't agree.
Mike was a philosopher who believed in Ayn Rand ideas. There was one true theory of anything. In bodybuilding there is one true theory and therefore one true method. Mike believed he alone knew both the right theory and method. He considered Arnold not knowledgeable about training. Therefore, it would be right if the person with the most knowledge won the contest. That is what the universe would want. That attitude was behind some of the angst re Arnold and Mike. So when Mike not only lost but didn't place second and Arnold won his brain snapped. Several of the top men boycotted the 81 Olympia, including Mike. Had Mike persisted he might easily have won in 81 and perhaps could have won for a few more years. We never found out because Mike lost it. According to Ray Mentzer, Mike abused drugs and went through many bad years after that contest. To him the universe had betrayed him.
I doubt anyone can know exactly what was in Mike's mind but even today many debate who should have won that contest.
