Jim Williams (powerlifter)

Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Williams was exceptional in size and strength from a young age. By the time he was 12 years old, he weighed 200 pounds and excelled in both football and track and field. Williams reached the state finals in the shot put four times, ultimately winning once. Even when he weighed 340 pounds, he was capable of dunking a basketball.[1]

In his early life Big Jim Williams became involved in criminal activity and in 1961 was sentenced to ten years in prison for assault, battery and strong-arm robbery. It was there in captivity when Williams took up lifting weights seriously. When he was released, he was a success in the powerlifting world, along with his training partner John Kuc.[5]

Williams' first major goal was to break the world record of 615 pounds of Pat Casey, the first man to bench press 600 pounds.[1]

On August 30, 1969, he crossed the magical 600 lb barrier to become only the second man in history to achieve an official 600 lb bench press.[6] Williams broke Casey's world record in 1971 at the Eastern USA Open, hitting 635 pounds, which was recognized as the American record.[3]

On November 6, 1971, at the inaugural AAU World Championships he set another record with a 660 pound bench press.[3] He was also the favorite to win the World Championships, but came in second to Hugh Cassidy, who totaled 2160 pounds as well, but being lighter got the victory for having the lower bodyweight.

On November 9, 1972, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, at the second World Powerlifting Championships ever, Williams achieved second place again, this time behind fellow training partner John Kuc. He also made his best official bench result with a 675 pounds press with only ace bandages of a specified length on his elbows, wearing a T-shirt and singlet.[3][1] This lift would have been recognized as the official world record, but it was done one year before the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) was formed and began keeping "official" world records.[6] Still, Williams' 675 pound bench press went into the books as an American Record[6] and it was the all-time bench press world record, regardless of governing organization. In addition to that, it stood as the American record in the AAU and later in the USPF for over 20 years from November 9, 1972, until July 31, 1994, when Anthony Clark established a new mark at 683 pounds with the help of a bench shirt.[3] Williams had attempted 700 at the 1972 World Championships and got it 3/4 of the way up.[7] Although he never did it in competition, Williams had reportedly done 700 pounds[3] in training,[1] with a best of 720 pounds.[1] The powerlifter John Kuc was one of the witnesses of Williams' 700 pounds bench press (as well as three international referees)[8] at the York Gym and stated: "That was more enjoyable to watch than the 675 (official) lift, but it wasn't official."[8] Williams always lifted in a raw fashion – supportive equipment was not available in his day, and a two-second pause at the chest was required.[1] Many experts consider him to be one of the greatest bench pressers of all time.[3]

Although known for his bench pressing, Williams also broke the world record in the squat, with 865 lbs, and did 1,200 lbs in a half squat unofficially, which he said was about 3-4 inches above parallel. His best training lifts included a squat of 900 and a deadlift of 815, even though he did not have good leverages for the deadlift and did not focus on it in his training.[1]

His lifting career was not long and Williams did not compete officially after 1973.[9] Shortly after the 1972 World Championships the U.S. Secret Service arrested Williams and charged him with counterfeiting.[5] In late 1979 he trained for a comeback, but suffered a serious quad tear, which ultimately ended his attempt as well as his lifting career.[9]

Williams died on January 23, 2007, at age 66, after having diabetes for over 12 years.[9]

Former super heavyweight world powerlifting champion John Kuc said about Williams:

"Jimmy had more potential than anyone other than Paul Anderson. I truly think with proper training he could have totaled over 2,500 pounds without equipment."[1]

His friend and fellow powerlifting legend Don Reinhoudt stated that Jim Williams in his opinion is "the very greatest bench presser of all time".[12]

Iron game historian Dr. Terry Todd, said Jim Williams was one of the strongest super heavyweight lifters he had ever seen:

"I would definitely place Jim Williams’ benching in the top ten, along with such stalwarts such as Paul Anderson’s squat, Bill Kazmaier’s dumbbell pressing, Vasily Alekseyev’s cleaning, Zydrunas Savickas’ overall power, Mikhail Koklyaev’s pull, Andy Bolton’s deadlifting and Mark Henry’s grip strength."[1]

Joe Ladnier, multiple time World Champion:

"I never met Big Jim, but he was one of the strength legends that I admired from Day 1. R.I.P. Big Jim."[9]

• Progression of the bench press world record
• Big James Henderson
• Scot Mendelson
• Ted Arcidi
• Anthony Clark
• John Kuc
• Jon Cole
• Hugh Cassidy

• Starting Strength - Iron Icons Big Jim Williams and John Kuc by Marty Gallagher
• Starting Strength - Iron Icons Kuc & Williams, II by Marty Gallagher