Inducted in 2007
BILL ANDERSON MBE
Highland Games
Bill Anderson is undoubtedly the greatest ‘heavy’ of modern times, having dominated the Highland Games Championships between 1959 and 1988 and broken every record in the process.
Born on a farm in Bucksburn, Aberdeen, he began competing aged 18 and soon excelled at caber tossing and hammer throwing.
After claiming his first Scottish title in 1959, he went on to dominate the heavy events for three decades, winning 16 Scottish championship titles as well as British as European crowns. He was also twice world Highland Games champion.
In 1969, he became the first man to throw the hammer 150ft and in the same year at Lochearnhead, he broke both the 16lb hammer record and the hammer itself, causing a delay in the Games. Among other notable achievements he was world caber tossing champion four times, USA Highland Games champion five times and Canadian Highland Games champion in 1977.
Bill was awarded the MBE in 1977 and retired from competition in 1988. When not coaching, he is still a much sought-after judge at Highland Games around the world. He died in 2019, aged 81.