Dick Weber

Richard Anthony "Dick" Weber (December 23, 1929 in Indianapolis, Indiana – February 14, 2005 in Florissant, Missouri) was a Ten-pin bowling professional and a founding member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA). Along with Don Carter, Weber is widely regarded as professional bowling's first superstar.

Weber made his first bowling headlines during the early 1950s, while working as a mailman in his native Indianapolis. In 1955 he moved to Florissant, Missouri to join the bowling team named the Budweisers (after the popular American beer brand). Other members of the Budweisers included Ray Bluth, Don Carter, Tom Hennessey, and Pat Patterson. The team established a long-standing 5-man ABC league series record on March 12, 1958 at the National Team Match Games at Floriss Lanes in St. Louis, Mo., breaking a 1937 ABC record for a 5-man team with 3,858 pins and 138 strikes. The record wasn't broken until 1994.

In 1958 Weber became a founding member of the Professional Bowlers Association, which he subsequently dominated. Weber captured his first PBA title in the 2nd tournament of the inaugural 1959 season, and won three of the PBA's first four tournaments. He went on to win 10 of the first 23 PBA tournaments, including winning seven titles in the 13 events held during the 1961 PBA season. Only Mark Roth has won more titles in a PBA season with eight victories in 1978, but Roth's feat was accomplished over a 35-event season.

During his career, Weber won titles in 30 PBA Tour events, including four major titles. All of his major titles were earned in the BPAA All-Star, which later became the U.S. Open. Weber won this tournament four times in a five-year span (1962, '63, '65 and '66). He also captured 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). He was named an All-American ten times, and in 1999 was ranked #2 bowler of the 20th Century by Bowlers Journal. In 2002 Weber also became the first player to win at least one PBA title in six decades (counting PBA Senior events).

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