 During the early 1970s he set numerous bench press national and world records in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU).On November 9, 1972 he performed his greatest official bench press of 675 lbs (with ace bandages on elbows/without a bench shirt), which is considered raw by today's standards.Since that day Jim Williams is officially the first man in history to bench press 300 kg (661.41 bs) in competition - since 1981 however, Bill Kazmaier is given credit for being the first person to bench press 300 kg after the formation of the IPF - the international governing body for the sport of powerlifting.