This is my first time seeing this competition. In my opinion it was between Platz and Padilla. I’m leaning towards Platz but overall I think Padilla wins. I can’t see how Franco placed higher than 5th let alone won, no disrespect to Franco, the judges awarded him 1st he just showed up. Great vid!
Damn, Danny Padilla looks absolutely insane! Upper and lower body, the back shots, that amazing side tri!!! I agree with your placings mostly which is something that's pretty rare. Roy Callender also looks very impressive judging by that last most muscular pic; definitely a very big and shredded gorillah monsoon (and not the smooth kind!), too bad there weren't enough pictures of him, he might've even edged out Platz but Idk, I'd have to watch the original video footage. But yeah, I definitely believe Danny Padilla should have gotten the Sandow. Excellent video Marx, have a good one! Edit: I'm not very familiar with the bodybuilders from this era because I've barely seen competitions/comparisons from that time, so that's why I'm so shocked. Sure, I knew who Franco Columbu, Tom Platz and Chris Dickerson were, just because they're so famous and talked about so much, and Franco DOES have an insane back (and upper body from the front, just look at that front relaxed at 0:40)
Danny Padilla deserved the win. Even though Franco was one of my favourite bodybuilders, I recall reading the sycophantic write-up of this event (by Robert Kennedy, I believe) in one of the Weider magazines, and realising then that too many of the results were made to sell copies and little else.
@@ronaldmccutcheon1329 Thanks, Ronald. I was working purely from memory, and may be entirely wrong about Kennedy's authorship. I do recall, simply because it struck me as absurd, how Franco's arms were described as being around the 22 inch mark, along with other unnecessary exaggerations. It had never occurred to me before then that the magazines would run articles that so stretched the truth (until it wasn't true..). Many thanks for the correction, and best wishes. H.
Excellent analysis, Mark! I completely agree with your judging and I think you were very fair. Plus Padilla and Callender looked awesome, and got the most "WOW's" out of me. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: You're doing a public service for the bodybuilding community with these historical videos. I appreciate your work. I also like that you've included the scorecard in the begining (I've suggested doing it some time ago, and don't know if you saw it, but thanks for that), it helps to understand what the judges were thinking (kind of, since it was a robbery).
this video was an absolute treat... thanks so much for it! 💛 great! i loved your commentary for this video especially i know how long it takes to make this type of more thorough videos, but I love them from you so i'd like to see some more :)
Head to toe and from every angle Danny Padilla won the contest. Jim Manion said he would have voted for Danny Padilla as his choice of the 1981 Mr. Olympia.
Don't forget to hit that like button :) It'll encourage MMM to do more videos like this one (longer format, controversial event, Hight quality judging, etc.)
Danny Padilla imo he was the most complete bodybuilder but Tom Platz did set the standard for legs something you don't really see in the 80s he was way ahead of time.
I’ve said this a 100 times on TH-cam, Danny had one of the all time builds in 81. Virtually flawless. Full ripped separated muscle , beautiful lines. I have him winning and honestly it’s not close imo. Calendar looked awesome as well talk about muscle ! His most muscular is fantastic and he won the side chest easy. As we all know 81 was just another 80, two travesty’s for all the guys that worked so hard to win a rigged contest .
Totally agree. Danny Padilla in '81, Francis Benfatto in '90, and Dorian Yates in '93 are the 3 best Olympia showings ever. They totally nailed it on the day. Arnold in '75 was good too, and Jay in '09, and a couple of Phil Heath's wins were pretty perfect as well. But Danny in '81 was perfect with mass, proportion, and conditioning and not a missing bodypart!! His only downfall is being 5'2" tall. It's hard to get noticed at that height.
And next year..1982...Zane showed up looking like a Greek god only to lose to Dickerson....proves it's not a real sport since everybody has a different winner
@@skeptacleone I didn't forget him. He's a spectacle all right, but when I think of perfection I don't think of Ronnie Coleman. Freaky big - yes! Perfection - no!
I’ve watched many of your videos and when you show Franco from ‘81 I don’t think you mentioned how his left leg is smaller than his right. (I assume his left is the leg he injured in the strongest man competition) He places his right leg forward and keeps his left back to hide it. I think the entire history of the Olympia has many questionable winners and placings of the competitors. From the perspective of a fan I think its better to think of the Olympia competitions as if they are guest posing, not fair competition.
Danny Padilla just looked fantastic, no bodyfat yet his muscle bellies are full and as far as symmetry....wow. Unbelievable Danny won by just standing in the relaxed pose.
My top 5 based on this five guys (Wicosz might defeat Columbo, not sure...): 1st Danny Padilla 2nd Roy Callender 3rd Tom Platz 4th Chris Dickerson 5th Franco Columbo
@@odessafile75 yeah but Lou was done with bodybuilding at that point, I think he coulda gotten bigger. *done beside his comeback in the 90s, where he was huge
@@cyprianofcarthage6890 Fair point but even in the 90s he was huge but am not impressed with those ridiculous calf implants and Padilla, Callender et al had better overall physiques IMHO.
No he should never have entered. Roy, Danny, Chris and Tom came in at their all time best. They all were better than Franco that day. But they caused a judging nightmare because they were so good. Franco basically benefited from his name. I agree, Danny was amazing that day. Best balance and condition. I still have my Iron Man magazines from this show. Great photos and commentary. I tend to agree with your placing. What would be great is a final call out of Danny and Roy.
At the 1:03 mark is what should've been the Top 3..... I would've had it: 1.) Padialla.. 2.) Platz. 3.) Callender. ....... 4th and 5th would be Dickerson and Franco, in either order.
Padilla got robbed . Franco looked god awful . Both legs zero separation and one leg 4 inches smaller then the other . And gyno worse then anyone in bodybuilding history .
Всегда удивляло, когда люди спорят о конкурсе красоты... Это же вкусовщина. Нет ни объективных поднятых кг, нет секунд, нет взятых сантиметров в высоту или длину... Субъективный конкурс.
Thanks Max, Padilla was balanced with the least flaws. Those Biceps were full and Long. Just like Ahhnold's. Max you do the best Ahhnold . . "Get Back to Da Choppa !!"
The politics of this show have been talked to death for a long long time but just a call out. Gyno was not a term familiar to any of us in the early 80’s and I doubt the judges even were aware of the topic, Franco’s chest was looked at as a strength at this show not a detractor. Negative Gyno connotations are really a much more a recent observation. All that said I agree Franco should not of won this show, I had Danny and Tom as my top 2 back then and still do today. Roy Calendar photos are just so bad he may be up there in the top 2 but I just can’t say without better photos or video . This was Danny’s best condition of his career, I’ve never seen him than conditioned since that show
Padilla looked incredible. He deserved the win, platz was a close second. Francos should have gotten fifth, we know why he won but lets be honest 81 was a rigged olympia
Totally agree with this one.biggist fan.could you do little man compare.Danny vs Lee vs Franco.luv to see them standing side by side.boom.saw Danny in1983.Worcester mass.guest poser at Mr mass. Stood up on tip toes.calf's wow. Notice all old school guys had great calf's.what happen.do calf compare.go jay.I'll be back.
if you look at the front double biceps at the 7:30 mark, Danny Padilla makes Franco look just terrible! If this were the ONLY pose available, Danny would have placed hands down above Franco.
Emphatically NO Look at Roy Callender shrink wrapped skin cuts that would put a fencer to shame 😮 Tom platz was dialling in his best condition Danny Padilla the original Giant Killer ........pays to have friends Franco ( my take)
1st: Padilla He is awesome and totally and completely best. 2nd: Dickerson He is good body ballance and definishion but muscle mass is less than Padella. 3rd: Platz He seems a little bit small front delts in back-double biceps pose. 4th: Callender He has also awesome body except very small calves. If his calves were propotional size he would have got 2nd place. 5th: Colombu His thigh is too smooth to win furthermore upper arm mass seems to weak than Padilla and Callender. Thank you to reading.
I strongly feel that Danny should've won this. I'm a Franco fan and loved the guy, R.I.P. However, he had the gyno and underdeveloped legs that year. Tom was well conditioned, but it's like I've always said. His lower body was just far too big to be in proportion with his upper body. Granted, bodybuilding is very subjective. Everyone has preferences and opinions on who's physique is better. To me Danny was the clear winner. Did bodybuilding politics and even Arnold have a part in Franco's win? Probably. But did they? I guess we'll never truly know for sure. What can ya do? What's done is done.
I think we need to see Franco Columbo against Jusup Wilcosz... The '81 Mr. Olympia *might* have been even more rigged than we think... Would you please do it Mark?
This is my first time seeing this competition. In my opinion it was between Platz and Padilla. I’m leaning towards Platz but overall I think Padilla wins. I can’t see how Franco placed higher than 5th let alone won, no disrespect to Franco, the judges awarded him 1st he just showed up. Great vid!
Platz for the win.
Everybody knows it's because of Arnold that he won.. shows how long shit politics have been in bodybuilding
I was just thinking Platz or Padilla. Think I'd go Padilla for overall physique. Platz legs though 🤔
Padilla . Plaza was bottom heavy with a water retention upper body . Like a balloon . Danny
@@CaseyKCRichards Padilla is getting outmuscled bad
Damn, Danny Padilla looks absolutely insane! Upper and lower body, the back shots, that amazing side tri!!! I agree with your placings mostly which is something that's pretty rare. Roy Callender also looks very impressive judging by that last most muscular pic; definitely a very big and shredded gorillah monsoon (and not the smooth kind!), too bad there weren't enough pictures of him, he might've even edged out Platz but Idk, I'd have to watch the original video footage. But yeah, I definitely believe Danny Padilla should have gotten the Sandow. Excellent video Marx, have a good one! Edit: I'm not very familiar with the bodybuilders from this era because I've barely seen competitions/comparisons from that time, so that's why I'm so shocked. Sure, I knew who Franco Columbu, Tom Platz and Chris Dickerson were, just because they're so famous and talked about so much, and Franco DOES have an insane back (and upper body from the front, just look at that front relaxed at 0:40)
Danny Padilla deserved the win. Even though Franco was one of my favourite bodybuilders, I recall reading the sycophantic write-up of this event (by Robert Kennedy, I believe) in one of the Weider magazines, and realising then that too many of the results were made to sell copies and little else.
Robert Kennedy never wrote for a Weider publication, but I get your point.
@@ronaldmccutcheon1329 Thanks, Ronald. I was working purely from memory, and may be entirely wrong about Kennedy's authorship. I do recall, simply because it struck me as absurd, how Franco's arms were described as being around the 22 inch mark, along with other unnecessary exaggerations. It had never occurred to me before then that the magazines would run articles that so stretched the truth (until it wasn't true..). Many thanks for the correction, and best wishes.
H.
@Harold Wood
Hi Harold. I was a big Kennedy fan and got to meet him at the 1990 and 1993 Mr. Os.
@@haroldwood1394
And Franco would have been lucky if his arms were 18".
Gotta agree with your placing! Colombo was gifted this by. Arnold’s influence over Joe Weider.
Excellent analysis, Mark! I completely agree with your judging and I think you were very fair. Plus Padilla and Callender looked awesome, and got the most "WOW's" out of me.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: You're doing a public service for the bodybuilding community with these historical videos. I appreciate your work.
I also like that you've included the scorecard in the begining (I've suggested doing it some time ago, and don't know if you saw it, but thanks for that), it helps to understand what the judges were thinking (kind of, since it was a robbery).
Danny’s rear double is beautiful! Perfect
Padilla was the deserving winner. Franco should have placed out of top 5.
Biggg factssss
Actually out of the top 15
Please do more long style videos
I’ll keep liking
takes a while to set these ones up, so i usually have one on the go for you guys. Thanks for the views
Agreed
15:07 Callendar downright reminds me of Phil Heath in the RLS
this video was an absolute treat... thanks so much for it! 💛 great! i loved your commentary for this video especially
i know how long it takes to make this type of more thorough videos, but I love them from you so i'd like to see some more :)
Head to toe and from every angle Danny Padilla won the contest. Jim Manion said he would have voted for Danny Padilla as his choice of the 1981 Mr. Olympia.
Don't forget to hit that like button :) It'll encourage MMM to do more videos like this one (longer format, controversial event, Hight quality judging, etc.)
Padilla is ine of my favorite physiques of all time. Glad you gave him some love
Danny Padilla imo he was the most complete bodybuilder but Tom Platz did set the standard for legs something you don't really see in the 80s he was way ahead of time.
The Italian judge voted for the Italian? I'm shocked! Jim Manion voted Danny Padilla 5th and then voted him number one in the posedown. WTF?!?
Franco Fassi
"
I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here! "
Captain Renault in " Casablanca "
Roy and Danny killed it
Awesome video.
*Jusup, Fuller and the other Metz were aesthetically pleasing as well!*
I’ve said this a 100 times on TH-cam, Danny had one of the all time builds in 81. Virtually flawless. Full ripped separated muscle , beautiful lines. I have him winning and honestly it’s not close imo. Calendar looked awesome as well talk about muscle ! His most muscular is fantastic and he won the side chest easy. As we all know 81 was just another 80, two travesty’s for all the guys that worked so hard to win a rigged contest .
Totally agree. Danny Padilla in '81, Francis Benfatto in '90, and Dorian Yates in '93 are the 3 best Olympia showings ever.
They totally nailed it on the day. Arnold in '75 was good too, and Jay in '09, and a couple of Phil Heath's wins were pretty perfect as well. But Danny in '81 was perfect with mass, proportion, and conditioning and not a missing bodypart!!
His only downfall is being 5'2" tall. It's hard to get noticed at that height.
And next year..1982...Zane showed up looking like a Greek god only to lose to Dickerson....proves it's not a real sport since everybody has a different winner
@@richardlawson6787 Dickerson worst lines of any Olympia winner ever … I would never have him number 1
@@mikthe2004 You Forgot The King Ronnie Coleman What A Spectacle That Is !!
@@skeptacleone I didn't forget him. He's a spectacle all right, but when I think of perfection I don't think of Ronnie Coleman.
Freaky big - yes! Perfection - no!
I’ve watched many of your videos and when you show Franco from ‘81 I don’t think you mentioned how his left leg is smaller than his right. (I assume his left is the leg he injured in the strongest man competition) He places his right leg forward and keeps his left back to hide it. I think the entire history of the Olympia has many questionable winners and placings of the competitors. From the perspective of a fan I think its better to think of the Olympia competitions as if they are guest posing, not fair competition.
Danny Padilla just looked fantastic, no bodyfat yet his muscle bellies are full and as far as symmetry....wow. Unbelievable Danny won by just standing in the relaxed pose.
My top 5 based on this five guys (Wicosz might defeat Columbo, not sure...):
1st Danny Padilla
2nd Roy Callender
3rd Tom Platz
4th Chris Dickerson
5th Franco Columbo
No way Franco beat wilcosz...or corney...or Katz...I've got him dead last
Between Danny and Tom.
They were definitely the standouts
1. Callendar
2. Samir
3. Platz
Padilla & Callender 1st & 2nd either way💯
No disrespect to the other Legends tho!💪🏽
How about a What if Arnold had competed in 1981. Where would he have placed?
If he showed up closer to his 1974-75 look...he would have won handily
I think the judges flipped the score card lmao
Tom Platz is just kinda standing there in that rear lat, did he not snap it in 1981?
Roy Callender wooow and that side chest
9:42 Roy Callender's side chest: *WOOOW*
Good video, Padilla, Platz,Callender,Colombu,Dickerson
Roy Callendar first, Tom Platz second, Danny Padilla third, Franco Columbo fourth.
Day 122 of saying hi to Marx!
Day 122 of Reading John s comment 😀
Now imagine if Ferrigno was there
Padilla, Callender et al had a superior overall better physique than Ferrigno especially in the early 80s.
@@odessafile75 yeah but Lou was done with bodybuilding at that point, I think he coulda gotten bigger.
*done beside his comeback in the 90s, where he was huge
@@cyprianofcarthage6890 Fair point but even in the 90s he was huge but am not impressed with those ridiculous calf implants and Padilla, Callender et al had better overall physiques IMHO.
@@odessafile75 well, it turned out fine cus we got the incredible hulk show.😂
Danny Padilla was the guy for this one.🏆🏆🏆
*Dickerson, then Padilla and then Franco, this wasn't his best year!* Edit: Roy looked fkn awesome
No he should never have entered. Roy, Danny, Chris and Tom came in at their all time best. They all were better than Franco that day. But they caused a judging nightmare because they were so good. Franco basically benefited from his name. I agree, Danny was amazing that day. Best balance and condition. I still have my Iron Man magazines from this show. Great photos and commentary. I tend to agree with your placing. What would be great is a final call out of Danny and Roy.
Added to the above I would have placed Tinerino et al ahead of Franco.
How do the scorecard numbers even add up? There’s 7 judges scoring 60 points but 300 points total?
At the 1:03 mark is what should've been the Top 3..... I would've had it: 1.) Padialla.. 2.) Platz. 3.) Callender. ....... 4th and 5th would be Dickerson and Franco, in either order.
No he didn't. He didn't deserve to win the 76 either.
Agreed, Zane should have won.
Bob Paris vs Rich Gaspari
Plats to me always looked unbalanced because his legs were too big for his upper body.
Exactly, it was not good
Not often you get to see the rear (no pun) off the Sandow statue.
Can we have Phil Heath 2020 vs Shawn Rhoden 2018 please
You're right. Callender was overlooked.
Jusup looked damn good here and also Roy Callendar...but Danny was powerful here...cmon.
Padilla is amazing 👏
Padilla got robbed . Franco looked god awful . Both legs zero separation and one leg 4 inches smaller then the other . And gyno worse then anyone in bodybuilding history .
Nothing to discuss. I was there. Contest was between Chris, Danny, and Platz. Franco should have been maybe 5th
Vorrei un super mega potentissimo abbraccio super musocloso virtuale fortissimo posso
Всегда удивляло, когда люди спорят о конкурсе красоты... Это же вкусовщина. Нет ни объективных поднятых кг, нет секунд, нет взятых сантиметров в высоту или длину... Субъективный конкурс.
Thanks Max, Padilla was balanced with the least flaws. Those Biceps were full and Long. Just like Ahhnold's.
Max you do the best Ahhnold . . "Get Back to Da Choppa !!"
Common!!! We gotta go!!
I always saw Danny on first
👍👍👍
The politics of this show have been talked to death for a long long time but just a call out. Gyno was not a term familiar to any of us in the early 80’s and I doubt the judges even were aware of the topic, Franco’s chest was looked at as a strength at this show not a detractor. Negative Gyno connotations are really a much more a recent observation. All that said I agree Franco should not of won this show, I had Danny and Tom as my top 2 back then and still do today. Roy Calendar photos are just so bad he may be up there in the top 2 but I just can’t say without better photos or video . This was Danny’s best condition of his career, I’ve never seen him than conditioned since that show
Padilla looked incredible. He deserved the win, platz was a close second. Francos should have gotten fifth, we know why he won but lets be honest 81 was a rigged olympia
No...Franco didn't deserve fifth...you think he beat wilcosz?...
Totally agree with this one.biggist fan.could you do little man compare.Danny vs Lee vs Franco.luv to see them standing side by side.boom.saw Danny in1983.Worcester mass.guest poser at Mr mass. Stood up on tip toes.calf's wow. Notice all old school guys had great calf's.what happen.do calf compare.go jay.I'll be back.
Roy calender #1, Tom platz#2
Agreed
That’s a No Brainer No Way Padilla or Platz should of won ,You have a point with Callender
Nope. Ditto for '76. Gifts from Joe Weider.
I'm MY BOOK Callender,Padilla and Dickerson were the top 3.
1:05 first 3 right there. All had legs and no gynocomastia
Padilla looks super good but...Platz with the size, good stuff
Jusup looks the best to me.
Platz or Padilla can go either way.
Franco had some serious Gyno..
I had Platz winning with Padilla a close second. Franco should have been 5th at best
Hello 👋🏻 Marx
yo my Artist friend
Franco 5, platz 4, callender 3, dickerson 2, padilla 1 in spite of padilla hasn't glutes !
Gyno should never place1st
if you look at the front double biceps at the 7:30 mark, Danny Padilla makes Franco look just terrible! If this were the ONLY pose available, Danny would have placed hands down above Franco.
Emphatically NO
Look at Roy Callender shrink wrapped skin cuts that would put a fencer to shame 😮
Tom platz was dialling in his best condition
Danny Padilla the original Giant Killer ........pays to have friends Franco ( my take)
1st: Padilla He is awesome and totally and completely best.
2nd: Dickerson He is good body ballance and definishion but muscle mass is less than Padella.
3rd: Platz He seems a little bit small front delts in back-double biceps pose.
4th: Callender He has also awesome body except very small calves. If his calves were propotional size he would have got 2nd place.
5th: Colombu His thigh is too smooth to win furthermore upper arm mass seems to weak than Padilla and Callender.
Thank you to reading.
I strongly feel that Danny should've won this. I'm a Franco fan and loved the guy, R.I.P. However, he had the gyno and underdeveloped legs that year. Tom was well conditioned, but it's like I've always said. His lower body was just far too big to be in proportion with his upper body. Granted, bodybuilding is very subjective. Everyone has preferences and opinions on who's physique is better. To me Danny was the clear winner. Did bodybuilding politics and even Arnold have a part in Franco's win? Probably. But did they? I guess we'll never truly know for sure. What can ya do? What's done is done.
Never saw anything special in Platzs upper body he looked like it was all scrunched up
He didn’t deserve to win in 1976 either.
Did Franco even train for this in '81?!
Columbu era il più completo, HA VINTO GIUSTAMENTE
I love Franco and give him his respect, but he's never been a top 5 competitor.
Platz or Padilla for number 1, callander 3rd.
Columbo should be behind Sammir, what a joke on the judges behalf
I think we need to see Franco Columbo against Jusup Wilcosz... The '81 Mr. Olympia *might* have been even more rigged than we think... Would you please do it Mark?
Danny was perfect, but...at 5'4". So....
Platz was the best, mass and conditioning
Danny was perfect, but, at 5'2". So...
I've got Franco in last place...he didn't beat anybody in that contest
Padilla is perfect. Platz muh guy tho.
Roy calendar for sure won
Rip Franco, great guy. But we all see his quads his chest, it wasn't a win
If Platz had smaller wheels he probably would have won
Padilla all the way.
Politics...
Franco with his gyno and no legs should have been 4th at best
let the man rest in peace....geez
Has anyone seen my blue shirt?
I would of given it to platz
Pra mim o campeao foi o Tom Platz
Padilla or Platz should of won..if he wasn't Arnold's friends he doesn't win..hell even Samir looked better
Franco had a bad gyno
Roy calendar just edged it for me....
Franco wasn't good enough for the top 5...
There's been soo many uncrowed Mr Olympia's
Platz was 4th or 5th, Padilla was better.