Sat, Jan 4, 1975
The third year of Superstars got underway in August of 1974 with a variety of winter sports athletes. Thirteen athletes arrived in Rotonda West to contest the preliminary round. Two athletes, basketball's Lou Hudson and hockey's Bernie Parent were scheduled to compete, but did not show up. Pete Maravich was nursing a hamstring injury from a basketball camp earlier in the summer, so he limited himself to two events - bowling and the baseball hit. Rain on the first day of competition postponed the swimming and weight lifting events, causing their inclusion on an unscheduled third day of competition following the obstacle course. Rowing made its first appearance, held over a 175 yard course which accounts for the slow times. John Havlicek of the Boston Celtics jumped to the early lead after day one with second place finishes in tennis and bowling. However, 1973 champion Bob Seagren stormed to an easy win and a record 60 points. Finishing behind Seagren was his bitter pole vaulting rival Steve Smith. Smith finished second in four events that Seagren won. Dutch speed skater Ard Schenk qualified for his second Superstars final on the strength of his victory in the bike race.
Sat, Jan 18, 1975
Women's Superstars began as an outgrowth of the 1973 Battle of the Sexes competition in tennis where Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs in the Houston Astrodome. A little more than a year later, Billie Jean was back in the Astrodome as one of the competitors in the first Women's Superstars competition. King was in the second of two preliminary groups. With most of the events taking place in the Astrodome, about 1,500 spectators attended on day one and 2,500 on the second day. In group 1, the first two spots were grabbed by 1972 Olympic champions, diver Micki King and speed skater Dianne Holum. King had trained hard for the competition, in the style of Bob Seagren and won four events. Softball legend Joan Joyce and future Olympic speed skating champion and world cycling champion Sheila Young nabbed third and fourth place. As six athletes from each group would advance to the finals held in Rotonda in January, alpine skier Kiki Cutter and Hawaiian surfer Laura Ching wrapped up the final two spots.
Sat, Jan 18, 1975
The competition in this preliminary boiled down to a duel between volleyball Olympian Mary Jo Peppler and basketball player Karen Logan. Logan won the first two events, tennis and the 352 yard run. The 352 yards was a one-fifth mile event, due to the fact that a 1/4 mile track could not fit in the Astrodome. Peppler came on to win four events, including a 207 foot, 6 and 1/2 inch toss in the softball throw, which was the most impressive performance of the event. With six spots in the final up for grabs, gymnast Cathy Rigby grabbed the sixth spot in the standings with a third place finish in the obstacle course. When qualified finalists Sheila Young and Billie Jean King could not participate, seventh place finisher Paula Sperber was added to the field of finalists.
Jan 1975
The first Women's Superstars final was held in Rotonda, Florida following preliminary rounds a month earlier in Houston. Eleven women, each from a different sport had advanced to the final. On the first day of competition, Laura Ching, who barely qualified for the final, was a surprise leader with second place finishes in swimming and rowing. Softball's Joan Joyce easily won the bowling with a 181 score. Basketball player Karen Logan easily defeated all her competitors in tennis while volleyball player Mary Jo Peppler defeated Ching in rowing and Olympic diving champion Micki King beat Ching in swimming to move within one point of the lead after four events. Wyomia Tyus, Olympic 100 meter champion in 1964 and '68, withdrew from the competition after the first day. Logan defeated King in the 60 yard dash, but the second place finish moved King into the lead. King extended her lead by defeating Logan in the quarter mile run. However, it was Peppler who took the overall crown. Peppler surged into the lead with a runner-up finish in the bike race and then wins in the softball throw and the basketball event. Entering the obstacle course, an event in which Peppler elected not to participate, Peppler led with 41 points, followed by Logan with 38 and King with 34. Logan, who needed just a third place in the obstacle course, recorded the second fastest time, but was charged with a penalty for failing to grasp the last bar on the monkey bars. King also had a chance to win, but she dislodged the bar on the high jump and finished fourth in the obstacle course, giving the first Women's Superstars title to Peppler.