Billy Hardwick

William Bruce "Billy" Hardwick (July 25, 1941 – November 16, 2013) was a right-handed ten-pin bowler and member of the Professional Bowlers Association.

Hardwick joined the PBA Tour in 1961, and amassed a total of 18 PBA titles during his career. He was the first player to capture the PBA career "Triple Crown"—which is achieved by winning the three primary PBA major tournaments: U.S. Open, PBA National Championship, and Tournament of Champions. Hardwick captured all three between 1963 and 1969. There have been only five other Triple Crown winners since: Johnny Petraglia, Mike Aulby, Pete Weber, Norm Duke and Chris Barnes. Hardwick was named PBA Player of the Year in both the 1963 and 1969 seasons. A 22-year old in 1963, Hardwick is still the youngest bowler to ever win PBA Player of the Year honors. In 1969, he matched Dick Weber's 1961 PBA record by winning seven titles in one season. The record would stand until 1978, when it was broken by Mark Roth's eight titles.

Billy was ranked #12 on the PBA's 2008 list of "50 Greatest Players of the Last 50 Years". He retired relatively early from the PBA Tour after developing arthritis. Billy's final PBA title came in April, 1976 at the Monro-Matic Open in Toledo, Ohio when he was still just 34 years old. He was inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame in 1977, and was the proprietor of Billy Hardwick's All-Star Lanes in Memphis.

Billy injured the third finger of his right hand in a machine shop accident while in high school. As a result, this finger would not bend, making it impossible to use a conventional bowling ball grip (thumb, third finger, and ring finger). Instead, he used his thumb and first two fingers.

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