Jim Armstrong

“Big Jim” Armstrong was a policeman by profession and had two distinct sporting careers. As a rugby league player he played nine seasons as a front row forward between 1939 and 1947 for South Sydney in the New South Wales Premiership and also played for New South Wales. The highlight of his rugby career came in 1946 when he made an appearance for the Australian national team, the Kangaroos, against Great Britain at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

He first experienced Wrestling in his Police training curriculum in 1938 and two years later won the first of his 21 consecutive New South Wales Amateur Heavyweight Championship in 1940. Armstrong was also amateur heavyweight champion of Australia on five occasions - 1946, 48, 50, 60 and 61. At the 1948 London Olympics, Jim won the bronze medal in the freestyle wrestling heavyweight division and two years later won the gold medal in the same division at the British Empire Games in Auckland beating future Olympic medallist Ken Richmond in the process.

After a long absence from major championships he was chosen to wrestle for Australia at the Rome Olympics but was forced to withdraw following a knee injury. At the Perth 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Armstrong, aged 45 years, added to his international medal by winning a bronze in the light-heavyweight division. Along with Eddie Scarf and Dick Garrard, he is one of only three Australians to win an Olympic wrestling medal.

Jim Armstrong spent forty years in the Sydney police force before his retirement in 1977 and was also active as a coach to junior rugby teams.