Dick Weber
Encyclopedia
Ten-pin bowling
Ten-pin bowling is a competitive sport in which a player rolls a bowling ball down a wooden or synthetic lane with the objective of scoring points by knocking down as many pins as possible.-Summary:The lane is bordered along its length by semicylindrical channels Ten-pin bowling (commonly just...
professional and a founding member of the Professional Bowlers Association
Professional Bowlers Association
The Professional Bowlers Association is the major sanctioning body for the sport of professional ten-pin bowling in the United States. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the PBA membership consists of almost 4,300 members worldwide...
(PBA). Weber was known not only as a bowling superstar, but also as a bowling pioneer and one of the sport's most popular players.
Bowling Accomplishments
Weber moved to Florissant, MissouriFlorissant, Missouri
Florissant is a second-ring suburb of St. Louis, located in northern St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The city has a total population of 52,158 in 2010 census.-History:...
, in 1955 to form a soon-to-be legendary bowling team called the Budweisers (after the popular American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
brand). Other members of the Budweisers included Ray Bluth, Don Carter
Don Carter (bowler)
Don Carter was a right-handed American professional bowler. Learning the game while working a childhood job as a pinsetter, Carter went on to become one of the legends of ten-pin bowling and a founding member of the Professional Bowlers Association in 1958. He was 6-time bowler of the year...
, Tom Hennessey and Pat Patterson. The team established a long-standing 5-man ABC league series record in 1958.
In 1958, Weber became a founding member of the Professional Bowlers Association, which he subsequently dominated. Weber won his first PBA title in the inaugural 1959 season, and two of the three PBA events held that year. He went on to win 10 of the first 22 PBA tournaments, and during his career won titles in 30 PBA Tour
PBA Tour
The Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour is the major professional tour for ten-pin bowling, operated by the Professional Bowlers Association. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the PBA Tour consists of "exempt" bowlers who are a part of the almost 4,300 members worldwide...
events and six PBA Senior Tour events (amassing a total of 36 PBA titles in both categories). He was PBA Player of the Year in 1965, and earned BPAA National Bowler of the Year honors three times (in 1961, 1963 and 1965). His 30 regular tour wins place him in seventh-place on the all-time PBA wins list. In 1999, he became one of five people to knock down over 100,000 pins in the USBC tournament. In 2002, Weber also became the first player to win at least one PBA title in six decades (counting PBA Senior events). Bowling mostly in an era of low prize money, he still managed to cash over $930,000 in PBA earnings.
Weber was also known as a tireless ambassador of his sport, and rarely passed up an opportunity to promote the sport of bowling. One promotion had him bowling the highest (altitude) game ever in "Operation AstroBowl," which took place on a Boeing 707
Boeing 707
The Boeing 707 is a four-engine narrow-body commercial passenger jet airliner developed by Boeing in the early 1950s. Its name is most commonly pronounced as "Seven Oh Seven". The first airline to operate the 707 was Pan American World Airways, inaugurating the type's first commercial flight on...
on January 7, 1964. This was a joint campaign for American Airlines
American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...
' Cargo Service. The aircraft used was an all-cargo Boeing 707 with a single AMF lane installed in the main cargo hold. The flight was from New York to Washington's Dulles Airport. Weber also appeared several times on Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is...
. He usually bowled into strange items, as requested by viewers. A lane was set up outside the studio and Weber would roll a ball into things like TV sets or eggs.
League bowling in the United States had its heyday in the 1960s and early 1970s, partly due to the influence of pros like Weber and Don Carter
Don Carter (bowler)
Don Carter was a right-handed American professional bowler. Learning the game while working a childhood job as a pinsetter, Carter went on to become one of the legends of ten-pin bowling and a founding member of the Professional Bowlers Association in 1958. He was 6-time bowler of the year...
. Several PBA pros like Johnny Petraglia
Johnny Petraglia
Johnny Petraglia was born in Brooklyn, New York, and now hails from Manalapan Township, New Jersey. He is best known as a left-handed bowler and member of the Professional Bowlers Association , where he won 14 tour titles. He has also won six Senior PBA Tour titles...
claimed to be inspired by Dick Weber: "The main reason I went on Tour was Dick Weber. When I was 14, I saw him do an exhibition in Madison Square Garden. When I left I remember saying to myself: 'I want to be like Dick Weber.'"
Both Dick and his son, Pete Weber
Pete Weber
Peter David "Pete" Weber, nicknamed “PDW”, , is a famous bowling professional on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour. Weber is one of the sport's most popular active players and is well known for his maverick, rebellious personality...
, are members of the United States Bowling Congress
United States Bowling Congress
The United States Bowling Congress is a sports membership organization dedicated to ten-pin bowling in the United States. It was formed in 2005 by a merger of the American Bowling Congress, Women's International Bowling Congress, Young American Bowling Alliance, and USA Bowling...
Hall of Fame and the PBA Hall of Fame
Professional Bowlers Association
The Professional Bowlers Association is the major sanctioning body for the sport of professional ten-pin bowling in the United States. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the PBA membership consists of almost 4,300 members worldwide...
. In 1999 Dick Weber was inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame
St. Louis Walk of Fame
The St. Louis Walk of Fame honors well-known people from St. Louis, Missouri, who made contributions to culture of the United States. All inductees were either born in the Greater St. Louis area or spent their formative or creative years there...
. The PBA ranked him 3rd on its 2008 list of "50 Greatest Players of the Last 50 Years." Only all-time titles leaders Earl Anthony
Earl Anthony
Earl Roderick Anthony was a left-handed American professional bowler who amassed records of 41 titles and six bowler of the year awards on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour. His title count was amended to 43 in 2008, when the PBA chose to include ABC Masters titles earned by a PBA member...
and Walter Ray Williams, Jr. ranked higher.
Dick Weber died suddenly of respiratory failure
Respiratory failure
The term respiratory failure, in medicine, is used to describe inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, with the result that arterial oxygen and/or carbon dioxide levels cannot be maintained within their normal ranges. A drop in blood oxygenation is known as hypoxemia; a rise in arterial...
on February 13, 2005. He was survived by wife Juanita, 3 sons, and 1 daughter.
Media Presence and Tributes
Weber also produced his own training video called Let's Bowl With Dick Weber. Its blurb reads: "Voted 'one of the best bowlers that ever lived,' Weber has held the PBA presidency and 26 PBA titles in a career that spans four decades. Weber covers all the basics: bowling accessories, proper ball weight and fit, stance, follow through, delivery and release. He even gives tips for aiming and addresses some of the common faults of new bowlers. This unique, in-depth video brings the elements of high-precision sport into your living room so you can practice these tips at the alley and begin building your bowling skills." http://www.bowlingemporium.com/catvdins.html?mgiToken=469E76162A380A7D46The Weber Cup
Weber Cup
The Weber Cup, named after bowling legend Dick Weber, is the Ten-pin bowling equivalent of Golf's Ryder Cup. It consists of two teams, Team Europe and Team USA competing over three days in a series of singles, doubles and team matches....
, named after Dick, is a Ryder Cup
Ryder Cup
The Ryder Cup is a biennial golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is jointly administered by the PGA of America and the PGA European Tour, and is contested every two years, the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe...
-style event that pits European and American ten-pin bowlers against one another. It is held annually in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. For the past three seasons, the PBA has had a tour stop named the Dick Weber Open. In 2011, the PBA named its all-new playoff series the Dick Weber PBA Playoffs.
On April 17, 2006, the inaugural Dick Weber Tribute was held in St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. Organized by Bill McCorkle, the event attracted many of bowling's top luminaries. The event was attended by over 20 members of the Weber family, representing four generations, as well as over 50 professional bowlers, including champions and members of the Hall of Fame. The highlight of the evening came when Pete Weber
Pete Weber
Peter David "Pete" Weber, nicknamed “PDW”, , is a famous bowling professional on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour. Weber is one of the sport's most popular active players and is well known for his maverick, rebellious personality...
delivered a moving tribute. Many in the audience had never seen this side of him before. http://www.bowlersjournal.com/intelligencer/display_article?id=133
A documentary on the life and fame of Dick Weber was released on March 23, 2007, by Live Technologies, Inc. and Bill McCorkle. It consists of interviews with many current and former professional bowlers, family, and sportscasters as well as footage covering Weber's 60-year history as a professional athlete.
Weber's legacy also lives on through the Bowling Proprietors Association of America (BPAA), which now gives out an annual BPAA Dick Weber Bowling Ambassador award. The most recent award winner was Parker Bohn III
Parker Bohn III
Parker Morse Bohn III is a left-handed American professional bowler and has been a member of the Professional Bowlers Association since 1984. He currently ranks sixth all-time with 32 career PBA titles, and has earned over $2.7 million in PBA events—good for fourth on the all-time list...
in 2011.