List of Mr Universe Winners by Year [Mr Universe F.A.Q]
Mr Universe is not only amongst the biggest platform available for bodybuilders to showcase their art. But it was also the first of its kind global bodybuilding contest at its time. The event takes place annually and hosts a variety of competition in various divisions. The most renowned of all is the Mr Universe (Pro) title awarded to the winner of Men’s Open category in the professional segment of the show. The Universe Championships came into existence in the year 1948. It was established by NABBA (National Amateur Body-Builders’ Association). NABBA is still the organiser of Universe Championships. Since its inception in the year 1948, there have been various Mr Universe winners over the years. However, professional Mr Universe was not the first-ever title held. In fact, Mr Universe (Pro) became a title in the year 1952. Before that 3 Mr Universe (Amateur) titles were awarded. The event didn’t take place in the year 1949, hence the 3 titles only. Mr Universe in the golden era days was an active platform for the bodybuilders which later became Mr Olympia. A number of great Mr Olympia winners during the ’60s to the ’80s were first Mr Universe. Let’s find out who these were bodybuilders were from the below Mr Universe winners list. Because there are two forms in which Mr Universe takes place- Pro and Amateur, we will be mentioning the winners of Mr Universe from both the segments in our list.
Mr Universe List of Winners
Year | Mr Universe (Pro) | Mr Universe (Amateur) |
---|---|---|
1948 | John Grimek | |
1950 | Steve Reeves | |
1951 | Reg Park | |
1952 | Juan Fererro | Manohar Aich |
1953 | Arnold Dyson | Bill Pearl |
1954 | Jim Park | Enrico Thomas |
1955 | Leo Robert | Mickey Hargitay |
1956 | Jack Delinger | Ray Schaeffer |
1957 | Arthur Robin | John Lees |
1958 | Reg Park | Earl Clark |
1959 | Bruce Randall | Len Sell |
1960 | Paul Wynter | Henry Downs |
1961 | Bill Pearl | Ray Routledge |
1962 | Len Sell | Joe Abbenda |
1963 | Joe Abbenda | Tom Sansome |
1964 | Earl Maynard | John Hewlett |
1965 | Reg Park | Elmo Santiago |
1966 | Paul Wynter | Chester Yorton |
1967 | Bill Pearl | Arnold Schwarzenegger |
1968 | Arnold Schwarzenegger | Dennis Tinerino |
1969 | Arnold Schwarzenegger | Boyer Coe |
1970 | Arnold Schwarzenegger | Frank Zane |
1971 | Bill Pearl | Ken Waller |
1972 | Frank Zane | Elias Petsas |
1973 | Boyer Coe | Chris Dickerson |
1974 | Chris Dickerson | Roy Duval |
1975 | Boyer Coe | Ian Lawrence |
1976 | Serge Nubret | Shigeru Sugita |
1977 | Tony Emmot | Bertil Fox |
1978 | Carlos Rodriguez | Dave Johns |
1979 | Bertil Fox | Ahmet Enünlü |
1980 | Tony Pearson | Bill Richardson |
1981 | Robby Robinson | John Brown |
1982 | Edward Kawak | John Brown |
1983 | Edward Kawak | Jeff King |
1984 | Edward Kawak | Brian Buchanan |
1985 | Edward Kawak | Tim Belknap |
1986 | Lance Dreher | Charles Clairmonte |
1987 | Olev Annus | Basil Francis |
1988 | Charles Clairmonte | Victor Terra |
1989 | Charles Clairmonte | Matt Dufresne |
1990 | Charles Clairmonte | Peter Reid |
1991 | Victor Terra | Reiner Gorbracht |
1992 | Peter Reid | Mustafa Mohammad |
1993 | Edward Kawak | Dennis Francis |
1994 | John Terilli | Nick van Beeck |
1995 | Brian Buchanan | Grant Clemesha |
1996 | Shaun Davis | Federico Focherini |
1997 | Eddy Ellwood | Grant Thomas |
1998 | Eddy Ellwood | Gary Lister |
1999 | Eddy Ellwood | Franco Malè |
2000 | Eddy Ellwood | Sergei Ogorodnikov |
2001 | Eddy Ellwood | Steffen Müller |
2002 | Gary Lister | Costantino Galeazzo |
2003 | Gary Lister | Hassan Al Saka |
2004 | Hassan Al Saka | Steve Sinton |
2005 | Sergei Ogorodnikov | Charles Mario |
2006 | Steve Sinton | Tomáš Bureš |
2007 | Orazio Salvatori | Orazio Salvatori |
2008 | Alessandro Savi | Lionel Beyeke |
2009 | Mahadev Deka | Martin Kasal |
2010 | Charles Mario | Miha Zupan |
2011 | Sangram Chougule | Paulo Lima Santos |
2012 | Sangram Chougule | Andy Polhill |
2013 | Lee Priest | |
2014 | Dave Titterton | Barny Du Plessis |
2015 | Tony Mount | Paul Stewart |
2016 | Tony Mount | Fabian Mayr |
2017 | Shaun Joseph-Tavernier | Lee Seung Chul |
2018 | Lee Seung Chul | Loughlin Gannon |
2019 | Josh Maley | Jack Brooker |
Bodybuilders Who Held Both Mr Olympia & Mr Universe Titles
Mr Olympia & Mr Universe are both important titles in bodybuilding. Mr Olympia winners are considered to be one of the finest. Imagine, a Mr Olympia who has not only won just that but also another celebrated title- Mr Universe. Well, it used to be a thing in the golden days. Today, it is rare a Mr Olympia competitor even stands on Mr Universe stage or the opposite. But there was an era where it did happen. It didn’t just happen but bodybuilders won both the titles in the same years for a streak as well. Let’s find out who are these Mr Universe winners who went on to win the Olympia title as well.
Arnold Schwarzenegger:
Arnold Schwarzenegger won the Mr Universe (Pro) title three times consecutively in the year 1968, 1969 and 1970 & Mr Universe (Amateur) once in the year 1967. On the other hand, he won the Mr Olympia title 7 times in the years 1970, 1971, 1072, 1973, 1974, 1975 and 1980.

Frank Zane:
Frank Zane won the Mr Universe (Pro) title in the year 1972 and the Mr Universe (Amateur) in the year 1970. On the other hand, he won the Mr Olympia title 3 times consecutively in the years 1977, 1978 and 1979.

Chris Dickerson:
Chris Dickerson won the Mr Universe (Pro) title in the year 1974 and the Mr Universe (Amateur) in the year 1973. On the other hand, he won the Mr Olympia title once in the year 1982.

Highest Number of Mr Universe Titles
The record number of Mr Universe (Pro) is 5 wins by Eddy Ellwood from the year 1997 to 2001. For the amateur segment, the record number of Mr Universe (Amateur) wins is 2 wins by John Brown from 1981 to 1982. If we were to combine both pro and amateur as 1 and count for who has the highest wins including both. Then the top spot still remains with Eddy Ellwood with 5 wins. The next best is 4 wins by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bill Pearl and Charles Clairmonte.

Who is the current Mr Universe?
The current NABBA Mr Universe as of 2019 is Josh Maley from United Kingdoms.
