Bodybuilding in the Forties and Fifties
The winner of the Mr. America title in 1945 was a man whom many believe to be the first truly modem bodybuilder. Clarence “Clancy” Ross’s physique would not look out of place on any stage today-wide shoulders, flaring lats, narrow waist, good calves and abs. By this time the distinction between lifting weights purely for strength and training with weights to shape and proportion the body had been clearly made. The bodybuilder’s physique, as opposed to other types of muscular development, was now recognized as something unique.
However, bodybuilding still remained an obscure sport. No champion was known to the general public until Steve Reeves came along. Reeves planet had ever achieved the level of development of men like Grimek, Ross, and Reeves. Because they were training harder and more methodically than anyone else ever had, bodybuilders began to learn things about the physical potential of the body that even medical scientists could not have predicted. The word spread and soon there were more and more great bodybuilders coming along every year-Bill Pearl, Chuck Sipes, Jack Delinger, George Eiferman, and one of my great idols, Reg Park.
Reg was the next major champion to emerge when Reeves left competition for his movie career. He became Mr. Universe in 1951 and became Professional Mr. Universe in 1958 and in 1965. At this point, everyone recognized that Reg was far above all other leading bodybuilders. He dominated the bodybuilding scene for two decades.