Bill Anderson (6 October 1937 - 2 August 2019) was a Scottish heavyweight sportsman. He won the

World Highland Games Championships The World Highland Games Championships is a well-recognized event in both strength athletics and Highland Games. The championships were organized by David Webster, OBE of Scotland, who still conducts the World Championships. A roll of past comp ...

in 1981 and the Scottish Highland Games Championships 16 times. He has also held every possible Scottish record in Highland Games.

Biography

Bill was born on Greenferns Farm,

Bucksburn Bucksburn is an suburb of the city of Aberdeen, Scotland, named after the stream that flows through it. The stream is called Bucks Burn. Bucksburn was formerly a market village before being swallowed up by the spread of the city. The area is bo ...

, close to

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

in Scotland. He began competing as an 18-year-old at Alford in 1956 and went on to compete at the top of his sport, excelling at

caber toss The caber toss is a traditional Scottish athletic event in which competitors toss a large tapered pole called a "caber" (/ˈkeɪbər/). It is normally practised at the Scottish Highland Games. In Scotland, the caber is usually made from a l ...

ing and hammer throwing. Anderson dominated the heavy events for three decades, winning 16 Scottish championship titles as well as British, European, American, Canadian and World championships. Anderson claimed his first Scottish title in 1959 and he became the first man to hurl the hammer in 1969 at the

Lochearnhead Lochearnhead (Scottish Gaelic: Ceann Loch Èireann) is a village in Perthshire on the A84 Stirling to Crianlarich road at the foot of Glen Ogle, north of the Highland Boundary Fault. It is situated at the western end of Loch Earn where the A8 ...

Games. Of the heavy events, the Scots hammer was Anderson's, wooden shafted and thrown from a standing position. His 1969 Scottish Championship record of with the 22 lb hammer set at the

Crieff Crieff (; gd, Craoibh, meaning "tree") is a Scottish market town in Perth and Kinross on the A85 road between Perth and Crianlarich, and the A822 between Greenloaning and Aberfeldy. The A822 joins the A823 to Dunfermline. Crieff has becom ...

Games still stands. The one and only time he threw the wire hammer was on national service in Aden in 1957 when with a standing throw he reached . Even after retiring as a competitor, he remained active on the games circuit, judging at the Aberdeen, Crieff,

Aboyne Aboyne ( sco, Abyne, gd, Abèidh) is a village on the edge of the Highlands in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, on the River Dee, approximately west of Aberdeen. It has a swimming pool at Aboyne Academy, all-weather tennis courts, a bowling green and ...

and Braemar Highland Games. Anderson competed in the 1979

World's Strongest Man The World's Strongest Man is an international Strongman competition held every year. Organized by American event management company IMG, a subsidiary of Endeavor, it is broadcast in the US during summers and in the UK around the end of Decem ...

contest, but withdrew early in the competition due to an injury. A biography, ''Highland Fling'' was published by Argyll Publishing. Bill Anderson died on 12 August 2019.

Accomplishments

*1981

Champion *Four times World Caber Tossing Champion *Winner of 16 Scottish Highland Games Championships *Five times USA Highland Games Champion 1976–1980 *Canadian Highland Games Champion 1977

Awards and honours

He was made a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the

1977 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1977 are appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 1977. The awards were announced on 30 December 1976 in the United Kingdom,United Kingdom: Australia,Australia: Ne ...

by Queen Elizabeth II, for services to Highland Games.United Kingdom: Anderson was inducted into the

Scottish Sports Hall of Fame The Scottish Sports Hall of Fame is the national sports hall of fame of Scotland, set up in 2002. It is a joint project organised by sportscotland, the national governmental body for Scottish sport, and National Museums Scotland. It is also funded ...

in 2007.

References

External links

"Last Words" ''BBC Radio 4'', broadcast 6 September 2019
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Bill 1937 births 2019 deaths Members of the Order of the British Empire Scottish highland games competitors Scottish strength athletes Sportspeople from Aberdeen