Me and Bill Pearl
by Thom Van Vleck
One of my favorite Bill Pearl photos. He was in his 40’s in this photo and as a teenager that was OLD! It inspired me to be fit but also fit for life.
If you don’t know who Bill Pearl is then you don’t know weightlifting history and you should drop everything and look him up and learn about the greatest bodybuilder of all time.
There have been countless stories written about Pearl by guys that know much more than me. This is a story about my relationship with Pearl.
When I first got interested in weightlifting when I was around 14 years old my Uncle Phil took me under his wing and taught me about lifting, lifters, and all the history, types of strength, and just about everything you’d want to know about weightlifting. My Uncle Phil would tell me, “I’ve forgotten more than you’ll every know”. He was my guru whereas my Uncle Wayne, his brother, was my training partner. Wayne didn’t talk much about lifting. He just did it and with great success. Phil became a student of the sport, opened a gym, and became a great trainer.
The guy my Uncle Phil first told me about was Bill Pearl. Pearl was the epitome of size and strength according to Phil. Pearl was a 1 time amateur Mr. Universe and 4 time Pro Mr. Universe. He first won in 1953 and his last win was in 1971. This would have been 1977 when I first learned about Pearl so not too long after his last win. The amazing thing is Pearl never lost. Theoretically he could have won every year in between but chose to come “down from the mountain” every so often to reclaim the title.
My Uncle Phil had a 3 ring binder that included just about ever photo of Bill Pearl out there. He “loaned” it to me (40 years later I still have it). There wasn’t much on lifting out there and I would peruse that binder for inspiration while lifting.
My Uncle Phil met Bill Pearl in the 60’s. Right after he won the 1967 Mr. Universe. My Uncle was stationed in Alabama in the Air Force and found out about Pearl appearing at a nearby gym. Phil went and listened to his seminar. He said Pearl was wearing street clothes but stripped off his shirt and loaded a barbell to 300lbs. With no warm up he powercleaned the barbell and pressed it overhead then pressed it behind the neck twice.
Pearl also did feats of strength that inspired me. He would rip decks of cards in half, tear license plates in half, and blow up hot water bottles. I learned how to do all of these things because of Pearl.
Then about 15 years ago I got to thinking. Pearl was still very much alive. My Uncle Phil was struggling with some health issues and needed some inspiration. Maybe I could call Pearl and arrange for them to talk on the phone.
After a couple of phone calls I reached Bill! It seemed weird talking to someone you’d grown up reading about. The amazing part is he claimed he knew me! I had been writing articles for Milo, a strength journal, and Bill was a fan. He love Milo and recognized my name and even quoted a couple of articles he remembered. Well, that made my day.
I arranged for my Uncle Phil to talk with Pearl. Phil said they talked for 3 hours! It had been nearly 40 years in the interim. Pearl was as friendly as they come.
Over the years I’ve kept in touch with Pearl. I once had plans to go to Oregon where he lives but he was called away last minute. I really need to go. He promised me a workout!