The man known as ‘Scranton Superman’ lived a life built by weights and as a black man growing up in northeast Pennsylvania.

SCRANTON, Pa. — “These are from the world championship.”

Polaroids and trophies scatter a table at the Greater Scranton YMCA in Dunmore. They are snapshots of the life and feats of Big Jim ‘Chimsey’ Williams.

“When I was younger, it was like my father was always, you know, big and I didn’t look at him as anything other than my father,” said Jim Williams.

Born in Scranton, Jim Williams, Chimesy’s son, says his father grew up in the 1940s and 50s racing soapbox cars and attending what was once Scranton Tech High School.

It was there that he found weights, and he could lift like no other. In the years that followed, he haunted the YMCA, Peffers Athletic Club, and other gyms. Chimesy grew strong. His numbers became unbelievable.

Williams says his father dead lifted 800 lbs., squatted 900 lbs., and was the first man ever documented to bench over 700 lbs.

“At the time, which were unconventional training methods, so like I feel like fast forward to now, what I know, like he was ahead of his time in his methodologies, like some of the old Eastern Bloc training that they were doing back then, he was, you know, he started to incorporate that,” said Williams.

Life was also heavy in other ways. Williams says his father had several run-ins with the law, even serving time in Ottisville Correctional Facility in the late 80’s.

But while inside, Williams used his strength for good.

“You know, got involved in the training culture when he was incarcerated, and so he was helping other individuals in there, you know, in fact, um, there were times he was commended for it, you know, that he was doing those types of things to help other people develop. so he didn’t just do the time, or he didn’t let the time do him, he, he, he was productive when he was there.” 

Once he was back in Scranton, Williams says his father, who was always a faithful man, was determined to lift others up.

In his later years, he spent giving back to the community, cooking at church, and writing books on the things he knew well.

“He wrote a book on squatting. He wrote two local black history books, you know, Northern Fried Chicken Parts 1 and 2, and then he had, you know, some other things he wrote too that were just in the rough draft that never got there because the other ones became a priority, but he was always, uh, always writing, exploring something.”

Building the best bench press and stories about being a black man in the northeast are some of the pieces Chimsey has left for future generations to learn from.

A legacy that still lives nearly 20 years after his passing.

“I think physical strength is the easy button. It takes, you know, motivation. I would say motivation is what gets you going, commitment keeps you going. I think he had that in that area, but beyond that, the real motivation and commitment was to be the best possible version of himself, and that’s the strength that it took to do that based on, you know, coming out of a situa situation that wasn’t really ideal, not continuing to punish himself even if others were, so that he can keep moving forward, and I think that’s what he did.”

So what is strength? Is it lifting heavy weights? Is it overcoming the odds? Achieving something new? Or is it a culmination of all three? 

If that’s it, then I guess you could say, ‘Chimsey’ was one of the strongest men to ever live.