Dick Weber

He was born Richard Anthony Weber in Indianapolis, Indiana, on December 23, 1929. The son of Carl John and Marjorie Amelia (Dunn) Weber, he began bowling while still a boy. After finishing school, Weber took a job as a postal clerk in Indianapolis but bowled whenever he could. He entered his first American Bowling Congress (ABC) tournament in 1948. Of that first tournament, Weber years later told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that "the ABC I remember the most is my first one in Detroit in 1948. I had never been there before, and walking out to the lanes was a thrill." That same year he married Juanita Delk on December 23, his birthday. The couple has four children, Richard Jr., Paula Kae, Carl John, and Peter David.

In the mid-1950s, Weber left his postal job and Indianapolis behind when he received an offer to join the famed Budweiser bowling team of St. Louis. Also playing for the St. Louis bowling team were future Hall of Famers Don Carter, Ray Bluth, Pat Patterson, Tom Hennessey, and Bill Lillard. "I had a beat-up car and not much more, but it was a great opportunity," Weber told Chuck Pezzano of the Bergen Record.

One of the biggest factors in propelling professional bowling into the spotlight in the second half of the 20th century was the formation in 1958 of the Professional Bowlers Association, in which Weber played a key role. However, the unlikely central figure in the establishment of the PBA was a lawyer/television personality named Eddie Elias. In the 1950s, while working his way through law school, Elias hosted a television talk show at WAKR.