I sit at my desk and think to myself after the death of the great Bill Pearl, the leaves of time keep falling off the tree of weightlifting and body building knowledge. Bill Pearl just recently passed away at 91 years of age. As we all know Bill was an American professional body builder, athlete, and strongman. During the 1950’s and 1960’s Bill won The Mister Universe Title five times and was named World’s Best Built Man of the Century. Bill was born on the 31st October 1930 and sadly passed away on the 14th September 2022.
I bought Bill Pearl’s book in 1980 called Keys to the Inner Universe, and read it many times, it still sits proudly on my bookshelf. The book is 636 pages of comprehensive knowledge gained from over thirty years of teaching and training athletes. From an early age Bill had an intense desire to be strong and well built, studied the Strength and Health magazine and looked at the photos of John Grimek, Clancy Ross and Steve Reeves and he knew then he had found the way. Bill worked long and hard hours to save enough money to buy a York Barbell set. Bill would write of strongmen such as the Saxon brothers, Eugene Sandow and Louis Cyr.
Bill Pearl, like Jack LaLanne, Peary Rader, and Bob Hoffman influenced me and many others, to train in weight training. Whether you were an athlete, body builder, or just an average active person, with weight training your body became stronger, you bettered your health, fitness, and longevity. Thank you, Bill Pearl, for helping me guide my life to its most exciting potential of strength, health and well-being.
Rest in Peace Bill Pearl.
Editor's Note: Nice job David. Bill was truly one of the all-time greats. I had his picture on the wall of my basement gym in my earliest years of training. He had a huge influence on me to start weight training and make it a way of life. I had the honor to interview him for the informative chapter he contributed in Iron Nation. Thank You Bill and RIP. You were a tremendous Iron Game champion and will be missed.
