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. ==Early life==

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. ==Powerlifting career==

Williams' first major goal was to break the world record of 615 pounds of Pat Casey, the first man to bench press 600 pounds. Williams broke Casey's world record in 1971 at the Eastern USA Open, pressing 635 pounds, which was recognized as the American record. Although he never did it in competition, Williams had reportedly done 700 pounds 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. Many experts consider him to be one of the greatest bench pressers of all time. Although known for his bench pressing, Williams also broke the world record in the squat, with 865 lbs, and did 1,200 lbs 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. ==Life after competition==

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

Powerlifting competition records In official Powerlifting full meets. • Squat - 865 lbs (392.35 kg) raw with ace-bandage wraps (2235 lbs (855/655/725), which later weighed out at 2240 lbs (860/655/725)) on 5/6/1972 (AAU) Powerlifting gym records (unofficial) • Squat: 900 lbs raw ==Death==

Williams died on January 23, 2007, at age 66, after having diabetes for over 12 years. ==Quotes about Williams==

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." 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." 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." ==See also==