1981 MEN'S PRELIMINARY #4
FOOTBALL PRELIMINARY
Russ Francis, the tight end of the New England Patriots qualified for the Superstars final in an effort to improve on his second place finish of 1980. Francis won the preliminary with a record win in the 50 yard swim of 23.91 seconds and another win in rowing. Francis finished with 30 1/3 points and $13,033. Defending champion Charles White of the Cleveland Browns finished seventh and failed to qualify for the final despite a win in the bike race. White struggled due to the fact that the half mile run was not contested in this preliminary. Each preliminary round this year has consisted of only seven events. White won the half milr run last year in both the football preliminary and the Superstars final. Wilbert Montgomery of the Philadelphia Eagles and Billy Sims of the Detroit Lions, both running backs, finished second and third to also qualify for the final. Montogmery won the bowling and the 100 yard dash, Sims won the weight lifting and the obstacle course. Fourth and fifth place finishers, Ted Hendricks of the Los Angeles Raiders and Vince Ferragamo of the Los Angeles Rams also qualified for the final as two of the top three finishers from the first preliminary, skiier Andre Arnold and gymnast Kurt Thomas withdrew from the final.
Key Biscayne, Florida
February 15, 1981
Announcers: Frank Gifford, Don Meredith
| PLC. NAME, SPORT | SWIM |
WL |
ROW |
100 |
BIKE |
BOWL |
OC |
TOTAL |
MONEY |
| 1. Russ Francis, Football |
10 |
4 1/3 |
10 |
|
4 |
2 |
30 1/3 |
$13,033 |
|
| 2. Wilbert Montgomery, Football |
|
1/2 |
|
10 |
|
10 |
7 |
27 1/2 |
$7,750 |
| 3. Billy Sims, Football |
|
10 |
|
4 |
1 |
|
10 |
25 |
$5,000 |
| 4. Ted Hendricks, Football |
4 |
4 1/3 |
2 |
|
7 |
|
17 1/3 |
$1,733 |
|
| 5. Vince Ferragamo, Football |
7 |
|
4 |
|
4 |
1 |
|
16 |
$1,600 |
| 6. Nolan Cromwell, Football |
|
|
7 |
2 |
2 |
|
4 |
15 |
$1,500 |
| 7. Charles White, Football |
|
1/2 |
|
1 |
10 |
|
|
11 1/2 |
$1,150 |
| 8. Hugh Green, Football |
|
4 1/3 |
|
|
7 |
|
|
11 1/3 |
$1,133 |
| 9. John Jefferson, Football |
2 |
|
1 |
7 |
|
|
1 |
11 |
$1,100 |
| 10. Drew Pearson, Football |
|
|
|
|
|
2 |
|
2 |
$1,000 |
| 11. Harold Carmichael, Football |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
0 |
$1,000 |
INDIVIDUAL EVENT RESULTS
SWIMMING (50 Yards)
| 1. Russ Francis |
23.91r |
| 2. Vince Ferragamo |
N/A |
| 3. Ted Hendricks |
N/A |
| 4. John Jefferson |
N/A |
WEIGHT LIFTING
| 1. Billy Sims |
280 |
| 2. Russ Francis |
270 |
| 2. Hugh Green |
270 |
| 2. Ted Hendricks |
270 |
| 5. Wilbert Montgomery |
N/A |
| 5. Charles White |
N/A |
ROWING (100 yards)
| 1. Russ Francis |
N/A |
N/A |
| 2. Nolan Cromwell |
N/A |
N/A |
| 3. Vince Ferragamo |
N/A |
N/A |
| 4. Ted Hendricks |
N/A |
|
| 5. John Jefferson |
N/A |
100 YARD DASH-final
| 1. Wilbert Montgomery |
N/A |
| 2. John Jefferson |
N/A |
| 3. Billy Sims |
10.30 |
| 4. Nolan Cromwell |
N/A |
| 5. Charles White |
N/A |
BIKE RACE (Half Mile)
| 1. Charles White |
N/A |
| 2. Hugh Green |
N/A |
| 3. Vince Ferragamo |
N/A |
| 4. Nolan Cromwell |
N/A |
| 5. Billy Sims |
N/A |
BOWLING
| 1. Wilbert Montgomery |
N/A |
| 2. Ted Hendricks |
N/A |
| 3. Russ Francis |
N/A |
| 4. Drew Pearson |
N/A |
| 5. Vince Ferragamo |
N/A |
OBSTACLE COURSE
| 1. Billy Sims |
25.11 |
|||
| 2. Wilbert Montgomery |
N/A |
|||
| 3. Nolan Cromwell |
N/A |
|||
| 4. Russ Francis |
26.92 |
+5 | 31.92 | |
| 5. John Jefferson |
N/A |
e = estimated time
r = Superstars record
N/A = result not available
dnf - did not finish