By Ken Kocab
One of the most exciting events to ever take place in Rotonda was the 1973 Superstars Competition. This “sporting” event, broadcast nationally by ABC TV, not only attracted millions of viewers but also helped to popularize Rotonda as an ideal Florida resort community. During the five-year run of the show, interest in Rotonda increased greatly as viewers were given a snapshot of the “Florida Lifestyle.”
The original idea for the Superstars came from Olympic skating star Dick Buttons. After winning the Sullivan Award as America’s top amateur athlete in 1948, Buttons felt he really wasn’t our country’s best athlete. Button formulated an idea at this time that there must be a way to find out just who is the best all-around athlete in America. Button didn’t act on his idea for another 25 years until he became an influential television analyst for figure skating. In 1973 Button founded his own production company and pitched his idea for a professional athletes’ decathlon. Unfortunately, all three networks turned down his idea. Things quickly changed as Buttons acquired Fram Filters as a half-sponsor for the show. ABC Sports, which had lost the broadcast rights for NBA games and was looking for a new sports program to fill its weekend sports slot, agreed to broadcast the show. All that was needed now was a place to host the event. ABC mounted an intense search for a place that featured ideal weather and facilities that would cover all ten sports in the competition.
Joe Klein, the original developer of Rotonda, was delighted when he was informed Rotonda was selected as the host of the first Superstars Competition to be held in February 1973. Klein was especially excited that Rotonda would be publicized week after week to millions of viewers on network TV. Don Ohlmeyer, an award-winning sports producer at ABC, was given the job of organizing the entire affair. The ten events would be taped on February 19, 20, and 21 and would be shown in a special two-hour presentation on February 25.
Ed McMahon, Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show sidekick and Rotonda spokesman for Joe Klein, was chosen as the official host for the Superstars. Before and during the competition, McMahon hosted many parties at his Rotonda home for TV, sports, and media types.
Before the games began, construction began on living quarters for the athletes, and the building of the various venues for the ten events. Crews worked day and night, as Klein put in $1 million towards construction costs. A condominium complex, an Olympic pool, and a PGA-rated golf course were quickly built. In Rotonda Shores, a 36-acre park was built featuring a track and field oval, canals for rowing, a baseball diamond, and a portable bowling alley.
Some of the top names in professional sports were invited to compete. Among those accepting invitations were: Johnny Bench, baseball; Joe Frazier, boxing; Bob Seagren, pole vaulting; and Johnny Unitas, football. Prize money for the contestants totaled $122,000. This was not all, however, as residual TV contracts, personal appearances, commercials, and endorsements all sweetened the pot. Joe Klein also presented each athlete with a Rotonda lot, worth about $8,500 at that time.
Each competitor could pick seven of the ten events that they wanted to compete in. Athletes could not compete in their own sport, however. Jim McKay, ABC sports announcer, was chosen to be the commentator for the show, and Howard Cossell also made a guest appearance. After seven grueling events, pole vaulter Bob Seagren eventually won the first superstars’ competition, getting $39,700 for his efforts.
An unforgettable moment happened in the 50-meter swimming event as competitors lined up to swim two laps of the pool. Joe Frazier did a massive belly flop into the water and barely made it to the other side of the pool. As it turned out, Frazier almost drowned and later realized that he didn’t know how to swim.
Audience reaction to the Superstars was so good that ABC returned to Rotonda in 1974 for another five weeks of shows. Table tennis, however, was eliminated as a sport, replaced with an obstacle course which became one of the most popular events in future contests. Superstars remained in Rotonda for five years, from 1973 to 1977. By 1975, women began to have their own Superstars competition, with volleyball star Mary Jo Peppler winning the first women’s contest.
Klein had signed a ten-year contract with ABC to broadcast the Superstars from Rotonda. However, by 1977, ABC wanted to broaden the television coverage for the Superstars and decided to look elsewhere to stage the contest. After ABC left Rotonda, it continued to broadcast the show for another seven years. By 1984, however, ratings had dropped, and ABC cancelled the Superstars altogether.
For a brief period of five years, Rotonda was the sports entertainment capital of the world. Even though the Superstars left in 1977, Rotonda had gotten the “jump start” it needed to expand as a resort community. It hasn’t stopped growing since.
