Legendary bodybuilder Bill Pearl almost lost his life over a lawnmower!

Among the still living legends of bodybuilding is Bill Pearl, who is an incredible 91 years old! This great former bodybuilder dominated in the 50s and 60s and won the Mr. Universe title a total of five times. His most notable victory in the sport came after defeating bodybuilding star Frank Zane in 1971. In addition, he won first prize at the Mr. America show in 1953, as well as first place at Mr. USA in 1956. Bill retired from competition in 1971 after his last win at Mr. Universe, but he made guest appearances on various shows until 1989.

Bill Pearl | 1956 Mr. USA

But recently, this former bodybuilding great almost lost his life. According to a recent Facebook post, Bill fell off his Craftsman mower. The post states that he was trapped under the machine face down... Fortunately, there was help to get him out After a terrifying ordeal, Bill was informed by doctors that he had a compression fracture of his T-10 vertebrae, which required surgery that lasted over six hours.

Fortunately, the whole situation seems to have turned out well, even though it looked really scary at first.

To all our friends on Facebook: personal notifications:
It rained last night, but the sun came out and Bill decided to go up the hill and mow around the barn. He was using a smaller Craftsman riding mower and it got stuck on a squirrel hill, so he put it in reverse to get off it only it kind of jumped and when it was close to the embankment it went over the edge and leaned against the barn and ended up on Bill's back.

I was working in the house and realized I hadn't heard the mower in a while so I went up the hill to check on him. When I first saw the mower upside down and him underneath it I panicked and ran the rest of the way fearing the worst. (The best was bad enough) He was conscious but completely pinned, face down in the grass.

I knew I was going to have to leave him like that to call 911. Just as I got up to leave, a truck pulled into the driveway with two strong guys, a friend and his son, to work out in the barn. Together they were able to lift the machine up and off Bill's back without injuring him further. They then called an ambulance, who managed to attach a neck brace, safely turn him around and take him to the hospital. After an X-ray of Cat and an MRI, the neurologist determined that he had a T-10 vertebral compression fracture, among other things.

He was scheduled for surgery the next day. He endured six hours of a very complicated surgery and Praise the Lord, he is resting uncomfortably in the hospital and should be home in a few days. It may be a while before he is sitting at a computer again, but he IS coming back!

We have many friends and family to thank for their prayers and well wishes, we are so grateful.
Bill and Judy