Walter Ray Williams Jr.
| Walter Ray Williams, Jr. | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
Walter Ray Williams, Jr. October 6, 1959 Eureka, California |
| Other names | "Deadeye" |
| Occupation | Ten-Pin Bowler, Horseshoer |
| Years active | 1980–present |
| Spouse(s) | Paige Pennington |
Walter Ray Williams, Jr. (born October 6, 1959 in Eureka, California) is a professional bowler. He currently holds the record for all-time standard PBA Tour career titles (47) and total PBA earnings (over $4.5 million through the 2015 season). He is a seven-time PBA Player of the Year, and won at least one PBA Tour title in 17 consecutive seasons (1993 through 2009-10); both of these feats are also PBA records. He starred in the ten-pin bowling sports documentary A League of Ordinary Gentlemen. He is currently active on both the PBA Tour and the PBA50 Tour (formerly PBA Senior Tour), and has won ten titles on the PBA50 Tour. On December 18, 2016, Williams became the first player in history to reach 100 total PBA titles (combined PBA Tour, PBA Regional Tour, PBA50 Tour, PBA50 Regional Tour).
Williams is also a nine-time world champion in the game of horseshoes (3 junior titles and 6 men's titles).
Williams is a seven-time PBA Player of the Year (1986, '93, '96, '97, '98, 2003, 2010) which is one more than Earl Anthony for the most Player of the Year awards. He has won a record eight Bowling Writers Bowler of the Year awards and is also the all-time leading money winner on the PBA Tour. He has the most PBA money titles (seven). He was the first bowler in history to surpass $2 million in career earnings, achieving this in 1997. With his win in the 2003 U.S. Open, he also became the first $3 million career winner. He became the first (and so far only) $4 million career winner in 2008. Williams also has the highest monetary winnings in a single season, with $419,700 during his 2002–03 season.
On September 24, 2006, Williams eclipsed Earl Anthony's then-recognized career record of 41 PBA regular tour titles with his 42nd win at the Dydo Japan Cup over Pete Weber in a 289–236 single game pinfall. [Note: Anthony's title count was amended to 43 in 2008, when the PBA chose to include ABC Masters titles earned by a PBA member as PBA Tour titles.] Williams has been known as "Deadeye" in PBA fan circles, but he actually first got the nickname in horseshoes, when he threw 45 ringers out of a possible 50 in a junior tournament when he was 10 years old. He is known for several PBA achievements:
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