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Brian Budd, athletic 'superstar'

Broadcast Date: March 22, 1978

Canadian professional soccer player Brian Budd recently competed in the World Superstars champions a televised competition in which accomplished athletes from different sports compete in a variety of athletic challenges. The outcome? He won. And now he's arguably "the best professional athlete in the world," says Peter Gzowski in this 1978 clip from 90 Minutes Live. Gzowski chats with the jovial soccer player about the Superstar competition, his soccer career, and what attracted him to soccer in the first place.

Brian Budd, athletic 'superstar'

• Brian Budd was born in Toronto in April 1952.

• He began his professional soccer career as a striker for the Vancouver Whitecaps of the North American Soccer League in 1974. He played with them until 1977. He played briefly for the Colorado Caribous in 1978, followed by the Toronto Metros-Croatia (which changed its name to Blizzard in 1979) for part of 1978 and 1979, then the Houston Hurricane in 1980. He was also a member of Canada's national soccer team.

• The televised Superstars competitions originated with the BBC in Britain, but the idea was quickly adopted by other European and North American TV stations. Although there have been more recent incarnations, Superstars was most popular throughout the 1970s and early 80s.

• Each competition featured 10 events, such as rowing, tennis, bicycle racing, running and obstacle course. The winner was the athlete with the highest total score.

• Budd won the Canadian Superstars competition four years in a row, from 1977 to 1980.

• ABC TV in the U.S. ran the World Superstars championship from 1977 to 1982, featuring the best of the Superstars from around the world.

• Budd dominated the world competition, winning in 1978, 1979 and 1980.

• After the 1980 World Superstars win, Budd complained that he wasn't going to be asked back again because ABC said he couldn't compete after three wins. A March 1980 interview with CBC's As it Happens referred to this as "the Budd rule." Budd believed the network was creating this rule because they wanted someone better known in the U.S. to win, like American football players "O.J. Simpson or Joe Theisman or Russ Francis." (Listen to the additional clip 'The Budd rule.')

• Budd's Superstar wins made him a minor Canadian celebrity. A May 20, 1978, Globe and Mail article discussed Budd's recent trade to the Toronto Metros-Croatia. The reporter called Budd "confident, aggressive, outgoing and enthusiastic," but noted that Superstars made him much more famous than he would have otherwise been. Still, his fame was expected to attract more young fans to the games. "Metros are treating the acquisition of Budd… as if it was the second coming of Pelé," wrote the reporter.

• Budd's last season with the North American Soccer League was 1980.

• As of 2006, he was a soccer analyst for Sportsworld on Canadian sports TV network, The Score.

• Budd passed away on June 11, 2008; the cause of death was not revealed. He was 56.

Brian Budd, athletic 'superstar'

Medium: Television

Program: 90 Minutes Live

Broadcast Date: March 22, 1978

Guest(s): Brian Budd

Host: Peter Gzowski

Duration: 6:11

Last updated:
April 16, 2010