I was lucky enough to go to three of these. The focus was heavily on SPI and Avalon Hill including a softball event between the two companies. The conventions were large and a lot of fun with a more diverse range of interests in evidence. Miniatures definitely take a back seat here but are still present. At the time, I was a thin tall guy in my twenties. I went to a talk on 16th and 17th century warfare and found myself in a roomful of thin tall guys in their twenties.

One memorable thing about these conventions was the opportunity to meet with game designers. These are fun conventions and as far as I can tell still being held somewhere in Ohio.

So what miniatures rules were popular in 1979?
Johnny Reb
Fighter by Lou Zocchi
Bushido
Chivalry and Sorcery
Dragonlord
Dungeon Adventure
Dungeons and Dragons
Empire Napoleonics
Fields of Terror
Gladiatorial Combat
Lord of the Rings ( Heritage Models )
Melee/Wizard
Seapower
Siege and Assault
Space Patrol
Starships and Spacemen
Star Trek
Stars n Bars
Strike Team Alpha
Superhero
Swords and Spells
Tunnels and Trolls
Universal Soldier
Whiff of Grapeshot
The Wizard’s Tower Strikes Again
Wizard’s War
WRG Armor
WRG Ancients

All of these had tournaments. D&D was clearly the winner. WRG was a consistent presence.