Bill Rhodes watched Saturday’s arm wrestling tournament at the
biker rally from a truly unique perspective.
Bill Rhodes watched Saturday’s arm wrestling tournament at the biker rally from a truly unique perspective.
He’s a former world champion. And since his career began in 1960, his passion for the sport has thrived as a competitor and now as a referee.
At 62, his arms still thick, his gray hair delicately combed, Rhodes refereed some of the best arm wrestlers in the world at the Hollister Independence Rally’s annual competition.
At about 12:30 p.m. when the first matches began, Rhodes’ cordial demeanor and persisting smile transformed into hard-nosed authority, an intense gaze. He locked two wrestlers’ hands at his table, where a second referee watched for illegal movements.
One of the wrestler’s arms advanced just a bit too much, and Rhodes told him to stop moving. The man disagreed.
“Don’t argue with me or I’ll foul you,” Rhodes hollered, four inches from the wrestler’s ear. “Don’t move a thing!”
To Rhodes and those deeply involved in the worldwide arm wrestling culture, this was serious business, the lifestyle’s finest four hours.
During a delay preceding the tournament, the four other referees demonstrated proper wrestling techniques and otherwise bantered to the crowd.
“Is this a golf match, folks? I don’t think so,” referee Bill Collins yelled into the microphone. “This is an arm wrestling competition.”
Rhodes, though, took the time to reminisce about his career. He conveyed a deep gratitude for the profession.
His good friend, Jim Pollock, now a five-time world champion, got him started in the sport.
Rhodes described his greatest moment in arm wrestling – winning the 1971 world championship in the light heavy weight division. His girlfriend at the time embraced him. A TV network covered his victory, he proudly said.
Winning on any stage, though, he said, is always a great moment.
“Oh God!,” he said, about the feeling of winning in arm wrestling. “How do I describe it? It’s the ultimate endorphin rush.”
When Collins told the crowd that six to eight former world champions signed up for the Hollister tournament, Rhodes pointed behind the Sixth Street Stage at five burly men huddled around a small table, talking, waiting patiently.
“They’re all world champs,” he said, reveling in the mystique of the scene, appreciatively.
Their reasons for entering the Hollister tournament? Each winner in several weight categories was placed in a raffle for a Sportster motorcycle, a big prize for one arm wrestling tournament, Rhodes said.
Through the years, Rhodes has learned that arm wrestling – the sport’s original enthusiasts still call it wrist wrestling – is about 75 percent mental.
That includes preparation throughout the year, such as weightlifting and practicing, he said. He said the sport’s best athletes train year-round for the competitions.
Every time arm wrestlers lift a weight or pull a cable, they visualize beating their opponents, he said.
Remaining one of arm wrestling’s preeminent figures, now mostly as a referee, Rhodes continues to admire a sport that lifted him to legendary status.
“When it’s all over, there’s one winner, one loser, and there’s no excuses.”
