At TGR we love hearing stories about Jewish athletes that aren’t in the four major sports. We have covered Pro-wrestling, swimming, and others. But never have we interviewed an arm wrestler. Meet Ed Grossman, an over 60 arm wrestler from Chicago who is just getting started in competition.

1) Tell TGR a little bit about yourself.
I am 60 years of age.  I am married to Lydia for over 35 years and have one daughter, Iris, who just started law school at DePaul (where I also went).  I was born in St. Louis but my family moved to Chicago when I was very young. I grew up on the far north side and in Niles.  I went to Niles North High School, the University of Iowa for one year and then Indiana University in Bloomington.  I now live in Palos Heights.  I co-founded the Chicago Legal Clinic, Inc., a not-for-profit provider of legal services to those who cannot afford a private attorney.  The organization has served over 450,000 people since its founding in 1981.

2) How did you get involves in arm wrestling?
I was always pretty good at arm wrestling.  I was relatively small but always had good upper body strength.  I was a gymnast in high school (see below) and did the rings, which is conducive to good arm strength.

3) Did you play High School sports? 
I followed in the footsteps of my two older brothers and was on the gymnastic team at Niles North, doing the rings.  I was on teams that were very accomplished but by no means was I the star of the team.  We had some excellent gymnasts.

4) How do you think you will fair in the competition?  
The competition will be very tough and I probably will not fare very well.  The sport of armwrestling is pretty big in Eastern Europe and they have some amazing armwrestlers there.  I am a little banged up left handed, but hope to be pretty competitive with my right hand.

5) How can others get involved? 
Anyone who wishes to get involved in a formal way with armwrestling can come to practices that occur in several locations in the Chicago area.  The team I am on Is called “Armed and Dangerous” and we usually work out on Sundays at 1:00 p.m. at the Brauerhouse in Lombard, Illinois.  A couple of my teammates are amazing, but since I am over 60, there is a bit less competition. But some of them have won national championships.  Anyone can join, as there is no fee, but you might have to buy the guys a pizza!

6) Is this your first experience? If not, what is it like?
In 1980 I entered an armwrestling competition that was world class, but just with my left hand, as my right arm was injured.  I took in the top 9 in my weight class.  After a 35 year hiatus, I was watching TV and ESPN had on world championship armwrestling matches.  One of the competitors was Allen Fisher, who is a few months older than me.  He was highly competitive, even at his age against much younger guys. So I figured I would give it a try. That was about two years ago.  So after training with my teammates since then, I guess I am as ready as I can be.

7) Anything else we should know? 
A couple of years ago I played in the world series of poker and that was an amazing experience. I am a licensed pilot and somewhat of an amateur magician.  However, I believe I am much better at armwrestling than those other vocations.  I guess now is my chance to see if that is true.  I am very proud that I will be representing the United States of America in this competition and I feel extra motivation to do well.

Good luck Ed and keep us posted!