Posted on 02/14/2005 8:53:01 PM PST by NormsRevenge
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Dick Weber, one of bowling's first national stars and a three-time bowler of the year, died. He was 75.
Weber died Sunday night in his sleep at his home in the St. Louis area, said Steve James, retired executive director of the American Bowling Congress Hall of Fame. A cause of death was not immediately known.
Weber had just returned from the opening of the congress' championships in Baton Rouge, La. James said he spent Sunday morning with Weber, who gave no indication he was ill.
In an e-mail to the Bowlers Journal, Weber's wife, Juanita, said Weber began having breathing problems Sunday night. Paramedics were unable to revive him.
``He was a lot bigger than the tour,'' James said Monday. ``He was probably the best-known bowler worldwide.''
Weber was one of bowling's first national TV stars, at a time when ABC broadcast bowling events on Saturday afternoons. He initially drew attention as a member of the Budweisers, a five-member St. Louis bowling team that held the record for highest team score for decades.
In 1958, he was a founding member of the Professional Bowlers Association, and he went on to win 26 PBA Tour events and six Senior Tour events. He was national bowler of the year three times, in 1961, 1963 and 1965.
``He's well-known and well-loved,'' said Jim Baltz, curator of the International Bowling Hall of Fame in St. Louis. ``Everyone who knows him loves him. In competition, he's been amazingly successful. I don't think his contribution to the sport can be underestimated.''
Weber, a skinny right-hander, was a postal worker in Indianapolis with a growing reputation as a top bowler when he was lured to St. Louis in 1955 to bowl with the Budweisers. The team, which included Ray Bluth, Don Carter, Pat Patterson and Tom Hennessey, had a record of 3,858 pins in one match that stood for more than three decades.
His son, Pete, is second on the career PBA money list. Both father and son are members of the PBA Hall of Fame. Dick Weber was also a member of the American Bowling Congress Hall of Fame.
Pete Weber is the defending U.S. Open champion and was scheduled to participate in this year's open, which began Sunday in North Brunswick, N.J. A PBA spokesman said Weber dropped out of the tournament to return to St. Louis to be with his family.
PBA Tour Commissioner Fred Schreyer called Dick Weber ``a great competitor and champion, and he was an outstanding ambassador for our sport. More importantly, Dick was a truly good, compassionate person who treated everyone like family.''
Survivors, in addition to his wife and son Pete, include two other sons and a daughter.
RIP Dick Weber
May he retire to the 7-10 split in the sky. RIP Mr. Weber.
He threw a pretty straight ball. When the pressure was on, he threw it harder and straighter. He was pretty reserved.
Son Pete was one of the first to get a lot of revolutions and bend on the ball. A lot of power for a smaller guy. Pete is known as one of the bad boys of bowling, not that you'd think he was a wrestler.
He was a great guy to watch on TV back in the day. He never blinked.
I used to watch Dick Weber and Don Carter on TV when I was a kid.
(Good Lord I am growing old.)
May God bless Dick Weber and his friends and family, and may he rest in peace.
Mr. Weber was just a wonderful guy, and a great teacher.
''Throw it high and hard. Don't worry about the turn, find a line and stay with it.''
He also hated the modern methods of conditioning lanes for just a few feet for non-professional play: ''If you let the oil beat you, it will. Roll it a little harder than you want to, to get past the oil.''
...and Buzz Fazio, and Carmen Salvino, and Dick Hoover, and Andy Marzich (g!) <<<---yep, I'm that old, too!
"I used to watch Dick Weber and Don Carter on TV when I was a kid.
(Good Lord I am growing old.)"
I hear you, damn how time flies.. I remember Carter had such a strange delivery, but it sure worked.
The good ol days, when TV was decent. IMO. Rest in Peace Mr. Weber.
The above photo of Dick Weber (left) and Billy Hardwick was taken at the 1966 Firestone Tournament of Champions. Weber advanced to the title match against Wayne Zahn, but fell 203-170 in the runner-up role. (Photo credit: Julius Greenfield; Akron Beacon Journal)
A different era. A different America.
RIP.
Besides his bowling legacy, anyone who ever met him would tell you he was a terrific gentleman. He radiated a good hearted personality, never seemed angry, and was the greatest ambassador bowling ever had. God bless Dick and his family, I know he will be missed.
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