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News

Bodybuilding Legend Bill Pearl Recovering From Back Surgery After Scary Accident Involving Riding Mower

Greg Patutoby Greg Patuto Published on Apr 8, 2022

Bill Pearl
This post may contain affiliate links (disclosure policy).

91-year-old Bill Pearl was in a dangerous accident when he flipped on his Craftsman riding mower.

Bodybuilding legend Bill Pearl enjoyed great success over the course of his career on stage. At 91 years old, Pearl remains active in retirement and enjoys doing daily tasks to keep living a healthy lifestyle. Recently, Pearl was working outside and had a scary accident that left his face down under his Craftmans riding mower.

A recent Facebook post shared a story of the accident. Pearl was working outside when his riding mower got caught in the grass. After backing it up, the mower flipped and landed on Pearl’s back. After help was called, the mower was removed from Pearl’s back without any further damage. At the hospital, X-Rays revealed that Pearl suffered fractures in his back and required surgery.

Bill Pearl has recovered from his operation and will be able to return home soon.

“The article I just posted was prepared by Bill on Tuesday morning. It had rained the night before, but the sun had come out, and he decided to go up the hill and mow around the barn. He was using the smaller Craftsman riding mower and it got stuck on a squirrel mound, so he put it in reverse to back off of it and it kind of jumped, and being close to an embankment, rolled over the edge and came to rest against the barn, on top of Bill’s back.”

Bill Pearl began competing on stage in 1952 and enjoyed great success early on. Over the course of his career, Pearl won multiple Mr. Universe titles, along with Mr. America and Mr. USA. During his final Mr. Universe victory, Pearl defeated the likes of Frank Zane and Sergio Oliva.

Pearl retired from competition in 1971 but continued to make goes posting appearances until 1989. He has also written many books on fitness and continued his passion and love for bodybuilding even in retirement.

“after x-Rays a cat scan and an mri, a neurologist determined that he had a compression fracture of his t-10 vertebrae, among other things.

he was scheduled for surgery the next day. he endured six hours of very complicated surgery and praise the lord, he is resting un comfortably in the hospital, and should be home in a few days.

it may be awhile ’til he can sit at a computer again, but he’ll be back !!! we have many friends and family to thank fo their prayers and good wishes, we are so grateful.”

Bill Pearl continues to live an active life at 91 years old and nothing is going to change that. he is expected to recover and will be able to do so in the comforts of his own home.

For more news and updates, follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Greg Patuto

About Greg Patuto

Greg has covered the four major sports for six years and has been featured on sites such as Sports Illustrated, Fox Sports, SB Nation, NJ.com, and FanSided. Now, he is transitioning into the world of bodybuilding and strength sports.

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