The 1977 World's Strongest Man was the 1st edition of

World's Strongest Man The World's Strongest Man is an international Strongman competition held every year. Organized by American event management company IMG, a subsidiary of Endeavor, it is broadcast in the US during summers and in the UK around the end of Decembe ...

and was held at the

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

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and took place over ten weeks. The title was won by

Bruce Wilhelm Bruce Wilhelm (born July 13, 1945) is a former weightlifter and strongman from the United States. He is a two-time winner of the World's Strongest Man competition in 1977 and 1978 and the author of numerous strength-related articles and books. H ...

from the United States. It was his first title. Bob Young from the United States finished second, and

Ken Patera Ken or KEN may refer to: Entertainment * ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer. * ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film. * ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine. * Ken Masters, a main character in t ...

also from the United States third.

Background

Originally commissioned by

Trans World International IMG, originally known as the International Management Group, is a global sports, events and talent management company headquartered in New York City. It has been owned by Endeavor since 2013. Trans World International (TWI) is an event and pro ...

for

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

, the concept for the World's Strongest Man event came from Scots David P. Webster and

Douglas Edmunds Dr. Douglas Morris Edmunds Ph.D. (29 May 194430 October 2020) was a Scottish Highland Games competitor and strongman. Known as the "Godfather of Strongman", he was a two-time world champion of the caber toss and co-founded and acted as referee ...

. Webster had earned himself a name as an event organiser through his involvement with the Highland games, while Edmunds had experience in professional

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

, discus, and

caber toss The caber toss is a traditional Scottish athletic event in which competitors toss a large tapered pole called a "caber" (/ˈkeɪbər/). It is normally practised at the Scottish Highland Games. In Scotland, the caber is usually made from a l ...

ing. The event was mostly developed for entertainment purposes. With no precedent for a worldwide 'Strongman' competition, the concept of a strongman competitor and event was new, and as such, the competitors came from a wide range of existing disciplines, including American football, powerlifting and track and field. This meant that none of the competitors had ever trained for the events taking place during the competition. In addition, several of the events in which the athletes competed were poorly thought out or dangerous, as evidenced when

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Franco Columbu Francesco Maria Columbu (August 7, 1941 – August 30, 2019) was an Italian bodybuilder, powerlifter, actor, author, producer, and a licensed chiropractor. Originally a boxer, Columbu won the Mr. Olympia in 1976 and 1981, and competed in the i ...

fell during the penultimate event, the Fridge Race, dislocating his knee, forcing him to retire and putting him out of action for three years. The fridge carry was not reintroduced to the competition until 2004, with a crossbar added to stabilise two fridges on either side of the athlete.

Qualification

Qualification to the event was by invite only 'on the recommendation of experts.'

Background

Qualification

Line-Up

Results

References

External links