By the end of 1973, a similar event appeared in Great Britain and within a few years, separate competitions were being held in nearly a dozen countries including Australia, Canada, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand and Sweden.
During that period former great NFL players Frank Gifford, Dan Dierdorf and Lynn Swann worked as commentators of the Superstars Tournament.
The original course had the contestants climb a 12' rope wall, run through a tubular tunnel, push a blocking sled (or traverse across monkey bars in the Women's and Superteams versions), cleanly step through two rows of tires (originally 9, later increased to 2 even rows of 6), jump over a 12' water hazard (rectangular pool of water), clear a 4'6" high bar, jump two sets of hurdles and cross the FINISH line.
For the 2009 "elimination event" version, contestants have to climb a rope wall, duck under four rope hurdles (2 sets side-by-side) (this was changed mid-season to a balance beam just over 3-inches wide), cleanly step through a bungee grid, ascend and descend a large ramp, push through a large door-like block, jump two sets of hurdles, run through a cargo net and cross the FINISH line.
[1] In the 1978 final, the Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Royals split the first six events, so the tug-of-war would decide the winner.
However, while there was a time limit in the preliminary rounds, there was none in the final, and after 75 minutes in which neither team came particularly close to winning, the organizers declared the event (and, as a result, the competition) a tie.
The other participants were the aforementioned Yankees (1977), the Boston Red Sox (1976), the Baltimore Orioles (1980), the Pittsburgh Pirates (also 1980), the Philadelphia Phillies (1981), and the St. Louis Cardinals (1983).
The participating stars were:[3][4] An early leaked clip showed Supermodel Joanna Krupa displeased with the performance of her teammate, Terrell Owens.
Although Owens performed better this time, Cortese stayed close enough behind him that Krupa was unable to outrace Leslie and Owens/Krupa were the first team eliminated from the competition.
Krupa continued to vent her frustration and disappointment in Owens's performance well after the race was over, stating that she expected better results from such a well-known athlete.
Along with Leslie/Cortese, Capriati/Charvet also struggled during the first round of competitions; most significant was Capriati missing the exchange of the bike between the teammates in the first event (a 1.1 mile duathlon) when she failed to spot it propped against a barricade where her partner had left it for her, and had to run nearly the entire distance of the road course.
In the second episode, the Capriati/Charvet team was disbanded after Capriati had been injured, and Owens and Krupa were allowed back on the show to compete in their stead.
Dan Cortese withdrew from the competition due to an injury during the second episode, and he was replaced by Charvet as Leslie's partner.
The hosting cast is ESPN's John Saunders, former NFL All-Pro defensive tackle Warren Sapp, and NFL sideline reporter, fitness model, and TV host Jenn Brown (an accomplished athlete in her own right, having captained the University of Florida softball team).