Another Memorable Moment The 1965 Mr.

Olympia Contest
By: Ron Kosloff n/c NSP Research Nutrition The excitement for me started to build around January of 1965 and September was a long way off. I was just a kid, still going to school. I had to work hard and save my money in order to stay in the expensive hotels of New York. I was going to take the train, as I didnt want to fly. As each month passed, the excitement and tension of my upcoming trip grew and grew. Id read all the Weider magazines and just contemplated the day that I would be in New York, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Finally, September came. I had been so excited the previous weeks that I could hardly sleep. Then came the day I went down to the train station, got on the train and was on my way to New York. Naturally, I had a couple of Weider magazines with me. I was reading about the anticipated battle between Larry Scott, Harold Poole and others. It just seemed like I was on that train forever and I was getting impatient. I went back to the sleeper car and went to bed. I really didnt sleep that well. I tossed and turned all night. I got up early in the morning, had breakfast and as we were coming down the Hudson River I saw New York. I thought, Oh boy! Were here! The train pulled in, I got my bags, and I stepped outside Grand Central Station. A cab swerved to miss another car, came up on the sidewalk, and almost ran me down. I said to myself, Oh God, welcome to New York. So anyway, I got into a cab and went to the hotel. It was Friday night I had dinner and walked around Broadway for a little while before returning to the hotel to get some sleep. Saturday morning I went to visit some of my relatives and then returned to the hotel. I had the clerk at the front desk show me a map of how to get to the Brooklyn Academy of Music via the subway. I new cabs would be too expensive. I wanted to arrive at the contest a couple hours early, so my journey by subway began. I got on the train and as I looked around I thought to myself, Oh my 1

God, this is just like the movies and on TV. There were a bunch of mean; ragged-looking people and it just scared the living hell out of me. I sat down and tried to look inconspicuous. All the way there I prayed to God to please let me get back home safe. I thought for sure I was going to be mugged or get assaulted. Every once in a while a policeman came through and I felt a little bit safer. Finally when I got to the station in Brooklyn I thought again, its just like the movies. You have to remember, Im from the city of Detroit with about one million people. In New York there are about eight million and they live rather close together. I was terrified, some of them looked like the gangsters from the movies. I ran down the street to the Brooklyn Academy of Music, everyone was standing outside; I tried to mingle and look inconspicuous. I stood up against the building until they finally opened the doors. I was greatly relieved to go inside, the people in there were all interested in bodybuilding, not me. While I was standing there a fellow walked up and asked are you alone? I said yes. He said, well Im alone too and Im scared to death. He continued Are you going back to Manhattan when this is over? Again I said yes. He said Ill tell you what, Ill get a cab for us if you dont mind, because I dont want to take the subway again. I responded Thats terrific, Ill pay half, I dont want to take the subway again either. We stood there for 45 minutes discussing all kind of things. I found out he was from Buffalo, New York. We even argued about who was going to win, Harold Poole or Larry Scott for Mr. Olympia and Dave Draper for Mr. America. I cant remember whom Draper was competing against. They seemed to be the two favorites and everybody was talking about them. Ironically, Scott seemed to be veiled in secrecy. There were no recent pictures of him. Although, there were rumors coming out of California that he was looking absolutely fabulous. Anyway, about 45 minutes later the doors opened. I went to my seat and my newfound friend Jack, went to his seat. The place was packed. It looked like people were hanging over the rafters. Standing room only. I have never seen an event where the excitement was at such a fevered pitch. I could sense a great anticipation in the crowd and feel the excitement. Then of course the competition started. The emcee came out and said, Welcome 2

Mr. America, Mr. Universe, and Mr. Olympia contestants. To be truthful as the show progressed, I dont remember much about he first half because I was there to see Dave Draper and Larry Scott. When Dave Draper came out, he brought down the house. He had a beautiful tan, blonde hair, and he was wearing these sequined silver-blue posing trunks, which just added another dimension to his overall look. Of course he won that night. The clock ticked away and I was now getting closer to the battle between Larry Scott and Harold Poole. Its funny, I cant even remember who the other competitors were, and everything seemed like a blur to me. It was now time for the main event, Mr. Olympia. Harold came out and he looked phenomenal. I thought to myself, Scott better be in the best shape of his life. The applause died down, and I will never forget when the emcee stepped to the microphone. After a long pause, he said now representing Vinces Gym from North Hollywood, California, Larry Scott. I along with everyone else watch as Larry stepped out from behind the curtain to the left of me. The audience went absolutely berserk clapping, yelling and screaming. They stomped their feet and it just got louder and louder, total bedlam. Larry just stood there, motionless for about 20 seconds. He then walked, almost in slow motion, towards the dais. There he was, almost idol looking with his blonde hair and blue eyes. I had never seen anything like him before, almost like a freak of his day. The audience couldnt be quieted. It got so loud that I had to put my fingers in my ears. The noise level was so loud that I thought for sure the building was going to crumble. He stepped on to the dais and again stood there for about 15 seconds, taking in all of the screaming and yelling. Women were jumping up and down. The women next to me started to cry, tears of emotional joy. She just couldnt contain herself. The crowd was still whistling, stomping, screaming, and clapping. He was ultimately the total package. The secrecy was unveiled. Larry just stood there and the victory was his. He had a shape that I had never seen in my life: ponderous forearms, biceps, delts, back, legs, and triceps. The chest-pec tie in was something inexplicable. All the while the noise just kept getting louder and all he was doing was standing there. The he went into a double biceps and continued with an absolutely phenomenal posing routine. 3

I started to get dizzy, because Im hypoglycemic. I think my blood sugar level started to drop. Right away I ate some food that I had brought so my blood sugar level would go back up. I had to sit down. My head was spinning. I just couldnt believe what I was witnessing. I found myself crying too. They would not let him off the dais. The screaming, yelling and rumbling continued sounding like jet planes taking off or an earthquake. Everybody was screaming his name, Lar-ry! Lar-ry! or Sco-tt! Sco-tt! With each pose he grew into this mythical giant right before everyones eyes. I was truly a once in a lifetime, spectacular event. You could see him getting tired. He dropped his arms and started to walk off stage. As he was walking off the stage the noise level never depleted, it just got louder. They called him back on stage, and the man who was tired posed again. Finally, when Larry could hardly lift his arms, he said, Ive had it. I cant do anymore. Thank you. For 5 minutes after he left the stage the yelling, screaming and cheering never diminished. Someone behind me kept yelling, Hes a God! Hes a God! On that day, in that place, everyone looked at him and thought he was just that, a God. If the judges would have given the title to someone else, I think each one would have been shot or hanged. It was just obvious to everyone there that Larry Scott was the winner and they didnt have to go any further, the rest was just a formality. The contest was over and I was just spent. My voice was worn out and raspy from all the cheering. I was so tired. My blood sugar had dropped again. I had to eat something to boost my blood sugar up again. I didnt want to leave, no body did. I wanted to see it again. When the doors closed my friend and I walked out and got in the cab to go back to Manhattan. During the ride all Jack (my new friend) and I could talk about was the contest. At the end of the cab ride Jack went to his hotel and me to mine. For years after that Jack and I always stayed in touch. In fact, we came back in 1966 and saw the show again. When I got on the train the next day I meet a married couple, they were from the Detroit area. We struck up a conversation and come to find out they were at the contest also. We talked about nothing else, but Larry Scott, the entire trip back to Detroit. When I got home everybody at the

YMCA wanted me to go over the story of Larry Scott and the Mr. Olympia contest. I must have told the story for the next two months. I was a celebrity. I do have a tape that a gentleman sent me from Seattle three years ago. I received it after I wrote an article about Vince Gironda in Muscle Mag. International, Bob Kennedys magazine. He sent me the only film of the 1965 and 1966 Mr. Olympia competition. It is my understanding that someone had a home movie camera at the shows and used it to film the whole show. It isnt professional grade, but it was good and very informative. It is something that I will cherish forever. It really brings back those great memories. As a matter of fact I viewed it again Tuesday night just before I started to write this article. In all the years I have been in bodybuilding and nutrition this was the most memorable and thrilling moment of my life. The next year, in 1966, I saved my money and returned to New York and the second Mr. Olympia competition. Larry won again, of course. I felt it was hands down. Although Sergio Oliva, Chuck Sipes and Harold Poole did look great, there really was no comparison at all. That year, the noise level was exactly the same as it was in 1965. I dont think one man has ever stirred the emotions of people like Larry Scott. It was ironic that such a soft-spoken man could stir such emotion. He never had much to say when I met him, some years later, at Vinces Gym. I really think he was shy, but he had a certain charisma. There was just something about him that you couldnt help but like. He always attracted a crowd wherever he went. After the 1966 show, Larry retired. In all of the years that I had gone to the contests thereafter, I have never seen anything that could match Larry Scott and those two contests, and believe me Ive seen them all. Ive seen Arnold, Draper, Lee Haney, Frank Zane, and Dorian Yates etc. I realize the genius of Vince Gironda because he had Larry take each muscle and sculpt it individually through his special isolation exercises. Thats what created the look that Larry possessed that no one else did. Years later Frank Zane came close. He was always a little smaller, but Vince always attested to the fact

that Frank also possessed a special physique. He patterned his, Why Champs Muscles Look Different after Larry and Frank. Larrys posing routine was just superior. I always like to ask people, Who do you think taught Larry how to pose? Many years later, Ray Reardon, Vinces partner, and original owner of NSP, told me that the night that Larry won Mr. Olympia in 1965 Vince cried when he found out. You know that it was actually Vince Gironda that was up on stage that night. Larry was everything that Vince ever wanted to be and should have been. Unfortunately, Vince was so ahead of his time that he was never recognized on that level. I once asked Vince, was that your finest moment, when Larry won the Mr. Olympia and everyone new that you had trained him? He answered me with a definite, absolutely! After that Vince finally received the recognition that he deserved. Bodybuilders all over the world made the trek to his North Hollywood gym to train. Note: If any one who reads this article was at either of the shows mentioned in this article please contact me. Thanks so much,

Ron Kosloff n/c

NSP Research Nutrition (313) 372-1807