[Deathwatch] Dick Weber, bowler, 75

[Deathwatch Central <cdw@slick.org>]

Thanks to a reader for this submission - Ed.

Dick Weber, Early Star and Ambassador of Bowling, Dies at 75
By FRANK LITSKY

Published: February 16, 2005

Dick Weber, perhaps the greatest bowler ever and for more than a
half-century an international ambassador for the sport, died Monday at
his home in Florissant, Mo., a suburb of St. Louis. He was 75.

Weber's wife, Juanita, said he had experienced breathing problems and
could not be revived by paramedics. The cause of death was not
immediately determined.

Weber had returned Sunday from Baton Rouge, La., where he had helped
open the American Bowling Congress championships.

Weber, at 5 feet 10 inches and 130 pounds, was one of the first big
stars of bowling when it was a major attraction on Saturday afternoon
television in the 1960's.

In 1959, he became a charter member of the Professional Bowlers
Association, and from 1959 to 1992 he won 26 P.B.A. Tour titles and six
titles on the P.B.A. Senior Tour.

He was voted bowler of the year in 1961, 1963 and 1965. He won four
all-star tournaments before that event was succeeded by the United
States Open, and he was elected 11 times to Bowling Magazine's
all-American first team.

He was especially proud that his three sons and one daughter had all
rolled 300 games. One of those sons, Pete, has become the
second-leading money-winner in bowling history. He was scheduled to
defend his title in the United States Open, which began Sunday in North
Brunswick, N.J., but withdrew.

Dick Weber was elected to the A.B.C. Hall of Fame in 1970 and the
P.B.A. Hall of Fame in 1975. Pete Weber was voted to the P.B.A. Hall of
Fame in 1975, giving it its first father-son team.

In 1999, a Bowling Magazine panel voted Dick Weber the best bowler of
the 20th century, with Earl Anthony second and Don Carter third. An
A.B.C. poll in 1995 ranked Anthony first, Dick Weber second and Carter
third.

To promote the sport, Dick Weber bowled on the beach in Miami Beach and
in the belly of a cargo plane. Appearing on television with David
Letterman, he rolled bowling balls at ketchup bottles, beer bottles and
lava lamps. He traveled overseas to publicize bowling.

As Steve James, the retired executive director of the A.B.C. Hall of
Fame, said: "He was a lot bigger than the Tour. He was probably the
best-known bowler worldwide." Sports Illustrated said in 1985, "Whether
he wins or loses, Weber, like Arnold Palmer, will mesmerize the
masses."

Richard Anthony Weber was born Dec. 23, 1929, in Indianapolis. At 8, he
was setting pins by hand for 3 cents a game and worked himself up to 5
cents a game. He paid $20 to enter his first tournament, won $36 and
was hooked.

He spent one semester at Butler University and worked as a mailman, a
salesman and a street photographer. In 1955, he moved to St. Louis to
bowl with the Budweiser team, which included Carter.

In 1958, that team rolled a 15-game total of 3,858, a record that
lasted 36 years. Weber, the anchorman, rolled games of 258, 258 and
259.

In later years, Weber owned and operated bowling centers and was a
spokesman for AMF, which manufactures bowling equipment. He retired
from full-time duty on the regular Tour in 1985 and the Senior Tour in
1995, but he kept making occasional appearances. In 1993, he told The
St. Louis Post-Dispatch why.

"I'm a ham," he said. "I love it. I love the autographs. I love the
attention."

Weber is survived by his wife, the former Juanita Delk, whom he married
in 1948; his sons, Richard Jr. and John of St. Peters, Mo., and Pete of
Saint Ann, Mo.; a daughter, Paula Darmon, of St. Charles, Mo.; a
sister, Sharon Nozzola, of St. Louis; nine grandchildren; and a
great-grandchild.

Weber was disappointed that bowling had failed to reach the mainstream
of American sports. In 1985, he told The New York Times: "I think the
biggest reason is crowds. You can't put a crowd of 25,000 in a bowling
alley."