| Bill Anderson | |
| Honorific Suffix: | MBE |
| Birth Name: | William Smith Anderson |
| Birth Date: | 1937 10, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Bucksburn, Scotland |
| Occupation: | Highland Games/Strongman |
Bill Anderson (6 October 1937 - 2 August 2019) was a Scottish heavyweight sportsman. He won the World Highland Games Championships in 1981 and the Scottish Highland Games Championships 16 times. He has also held every possible Scottish record in Highland Games.[1]
Bill was born on Greenferns Farm, Bucksburn, close to Aberdeen 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 tossing and hammer throwing.[2]
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 150feet in 1969 at the Lochearnhead Games.[3] Of the heavy events, the Scots hammer was Anderson's, wooden shafted and thrown from a standing position. His 1969 Scottish Championship record of 123inchesft5inchesin (ftin) with the 22 lb hammer set at the Crieff 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 133feet.
Even after retiring as a competitor, he remained active on the games circuit, judging at the Aberdeen, Crieff, Aboyne and Braemar Highland Games.
Anderson competed in the 1979 World's Strongest Man contest, but withdrew early in the competition due to an injury.[4]
A biography, Highland Fling was published by Argyll Publishing.[5] [6]
Bill Anderson died on 12 August 2019.
He was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1977 New Year Honours by Queen Elizabeth II, for services to Highland Games.[7] [8]
Anderson was inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.[9]