| Monroe Saffold Jr. | |
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Monroe Saffold in 2006 |
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| Born | Monroe Saffold Jr. April 12, 1948 Lexington, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Occupation | Bodybuilder/Minister/Professor |
| Years active | 1966 – present |
| Spouse | Patricia Saffold (1974-present) |
Monroe Saffold Jr. (born April 12, 1948) is an American body builder, Professor, and Minister. During the 80s and early 90s Saffold entered the Masters Mr. America AAU national body building competition and took 1st place, tall division, in 1990. [1]
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Saffold was born in Lexington, Mississippi but later moved with his family to Chicago in search of better education and financial opportunities. He is the eldest of six children to the union of his father, Monroe Sr. and mother Dixie Saffold.
During his teen years, Saffold became serious about weight training to improve his physique for school athletics and build strength and muscle. His earlier training sessions were spent at the Duncan YMCA located on Chicago’s near Westside. Saffold started compete in open bodybuilding and weightlifting tournaments. Saffold won a number of championships most notably in 1983 where he took third place in the Junior Mr. America AAU and first place in 1990 in the Masters Mr. America AAU competition.[2] He has appeared in several different newscast programs such as WLS-TV sports [3] and WMAQ-Channel 5.[4] He has also appeared in the press most notably Sunday Chicago Sun-Times [5] and Chicago Tribune.[6]
Saffold attended the University of Illinois at Chicago where he received a B.S. in Physical Education and a minor in Biological Sciences. He later received a M.S. in Adapted and Exercise Physiology also at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Saffold has been teaching for the Chicago Board of Education at Lane Tech Biological Sciences Department [7] for over 30 years and has also taught at several local colleges including Triton College.[8]
Saffold also completed a Master of Arts degree in Christian Ministry from North Park Seminary in 2005. He currently is the Welcome Minister at First Baptist Church of Oak Park.[9]
Saffold is also an accomplished Jazz piano musician.
-1983 Junior Mr. America AAU – 3rd place [10]
-1990 Masters Mr. America AAU - 1st place [11]