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Richard Anthony "Dick" Weber (December 23, 1929 in Indianapolis, Indiana – February 14, 2005 in Florissant, Missouri) was a Ten-pin bowling professional, a superstar and a founding member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA). ==Bowling Accomplishments== 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, which 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 1961 alone. During his career, he 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). Bowling mostly in an era of low prize money, Weber managed to cash over $930,000 in PBA earnings.〔Clark, Tom. "Pete Weber's resurgence has PBA on edge." Article at www.usatoday.com on March 1, 2002.〕 Weber was also known as a tireless ambassador of his sport, and rarely passed up an opportunity to promote it. One promotion had him bowling the highest (altitude) game ever in "Operation AstroBowl," which took place on a Boeing 707 on January 7, 1964.〔Davis, Steve. "A Match Made in Heaven." Bowlers Journal, Mar 1984:86-92〕 This was a joint campaign for American Airlines' 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''. 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. Several PBA pros like Johnny Petraglia 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.'"〔Chat log of Johnny Petraglia in "Talk Today" at www.usatoday.com, 1/21/05.〕 Both Dick and his son Pete Weber are members of the United States Bowling Congress Hall of Fame and the PBA Hall of Fame. When Pete won his first PBA title in 1982, it marked the first time in history that a father and son had both won PBA Tour titles.〔(1982 Greater Hartford Open at www.pba.com )〕 The feat has since been matched by Don and Jimmy Johnson, Don and Eugene McCune, and Guppy and Kyle Troup. In 1999 Dick Weber was inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame. 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 and Walter Ray Williams, Jr. ranked higher. On February 14, 2005, Richard Anthony Weber died in Florissant, MO at age 75. On the day of his death, Weber had just returned from a USBC meeting (United States Bowling Congress) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He showed no prior sign of ill-health but experienced serious breathing problems that evening and paramedics were unable to revive him. The underlying cause of death was not known, but was ultimately due to respiratory failure. Dick Weber was survived by his wife Juanita, one daughter and three sons including Dick Weber, Jr. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Dick Weber」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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