Graham
Staff member
By Dick Evans
Dick Weber, bowling's greatest ambassador ever and possibly its greatest bowler ever, died peacefully in his sleep Sunday night at his home in the St. Louis Area. Less than 36 hours earlier Weber had gotten a standing ovation when he was introduced at the opening ceremonies of the 102nd American Bowling Championship Tournament at the River Center Convention Center in Baton Rouge, La.
A tearful Rich Weber, Dick's oldest child, called Monday morning to deliver the sad news that will shake up the tenpin bowling world. Dick Weber had won 26 Professional Bowlers Association titles in his young years, six PBA Senior titles and four old National All-Star titles that featured 400 players and 100-game formats.
On August 6, 1992, Dick Weber became the first professional bowler to win titles in six consecutive decades. At the age of 72, Dick Weber won his first PBA Senior Regional championship at New North Lanes in Taylorville, Illinois, on January 20, 2002, to become the first player to win a PBA event in six consecutive decades. No one else has ever done that.
The rail-thin righthander in his young years was named National Bowler of the Year in 1961-63-65 and was voted one of the three all-time great bowlers at the end of the 20th century. He was inducted in the ABC Hall of Fame in 1970 and the PBA Hall of Fame in 1975.
Weber also established a world wide following for anchoring the famous Budweiser teams and with a half century association with the AMF Bowling Ball company, which sent him around the world.
He had gotten much media attention world wide by bowling a match in an airplane from the New York area to Texas, on the sand at Miami Beach and as a feature attraction with unorthodox bowling shots in Manhattan on national TV shows.
He was a man who could never say no to an autograph seeker, an invitation or a bowling function.
I told a friend that Dick Weber, 75, looked very tired at the reception before the ABC opening ceremonies Saturday night but still he was his genial self. He said that he would return to Baton Rouge for the ABC Hall of Fame ceremonies March 14-18 and to bowl in the tournament that he loved so dearly.
Dick said he wished that the new United States Bowling Congress, which replaced the ABC Jan. 1, would hold future Hall of Fame ceremonies at the tournament site but would be there no matter where they were held.
I had the honor to serve on Hall of Fame committees with Dick Weber and I was always impressed that when Dick Weber talked, everybody listened intently. In the past few years bowling has lost two of its greatest stars - Joe Norris and Earl Anthony.
But neither of those great bowlers touched as many bowlers world wide as Dick Weber - his laugh was infectious, his personality always that of a champion, his bowling skills unmatched and his love of bowling unrivaled.
Dick Weber will be dearly missed as a great bowler and a unique human being.
Dick Evans
Dick Weber, bowling's greatest ambassador ever and possibly its greatest bowler ever, died peacefully in his sleep Sunday night at his home in the St. Louis Area. Less than 36 hours earlier Weber had gotten a standing ovation when he was introduced at the opening ceremonies of the 102nd American Bowling Championship Tournament at the River Center Convention Center in Baton Rouge, La.
A tearful Rich Weber, Dick's oldest child, called Monday morning to deliver the sad news that will shake up the tenpin bowling world. Dick Weber had won 26 Professional Bowlers Association titles in his young years, six PBA Senior titles and four old National All-Star titles that featured 400 players and 100-game formats.
On August 6, 1992, Dick Weber became the first professional bowler to win titles in six consecutive decades. At the age of 72, Dick Weber won his first PBA Senior Regional championship at New North Lanes in Taylorville, Illinois, on January 20, 2002, to become the first player to win a PBA event in six consecutive decades. No one else has ever done that.
The rail-thin righthander in his young years was named National Bowler of the Year in 1961-63-65 and was voted one of the three all-time great bowlers at the end of the 20th century. He was inducted in the ABC Hall of Fame in 1970 and the PBA Hall of Fame in 1975.
Weber also established a world wide following for anchoring the famous Budweiser teams and with a half century association with the AMF Bowling Ball company, which sent him around the world.
He had gotten much media attention world wide by bowling a match in an airplane from the New York area to Texas, on the sand at Miami Beach and as a feature attraction with unorthodox bowling shots in Manhattan on national TV shows.
He was a man who could never say no to an autograph seeker, an invitation or a bowling function.
I told a friend that Dick Weber, 75, looked very tired at the reception before the ABC opening ceremonies Saturday night but still he was his genial self. He said that he would return to Baton Rouge for the ABC Hall of Fame ceremonies March 14-18 and to bowl in the tournament that he loved so dearly.
Dick said he wished that the new United States Bowling Congress, which replaced the ABC Jan. 1, would hold future Hall of Fame ceremonies at the tournament site but would be there no matter where they were held.
I had the honor to serve on Hall of Fame committees with Dick Weber and I was always impressed that when Dick Weber talked, everybody listened intently. In the past few years bowling has lost two of its greatest stars - Joe Norris and Earl Anthony.
But neither of those great bowlers touched as many bowlers world wide as Dick Weber - his laugh was infectious, his personality always that of a champion, his bowling skills unmatched and his love of bowling unrivaled.
Dick Weber will be dearly missed as a great bowler and a unique human being.
Dick Evans
