Dick Weber

Weber is perhaps as well known for his efforts to popularize bowling as for his bowling expertise itself. Weber used television to tell millions of Americans about the joys of bowling and to legitimize bowling as a sport. He was there when ABC-TV first began televising the PBA Tour in the early 1960s and has outlived that relationship to become a frequent guest on David Letterman's late-night talk show. Over the years Weber has helped to promote bowling as an owner of a bowling center, a charter member and president of the PBA, TV announcer and analyst, and inventor and salesman for dozens of bowling products. Further cementing Weber's reputation as one of bowling's best ambassadors have been his frequent tours around the United States and abroad to conduct bowling clinics and exhibitions. In the mid-1990s he conducted such a tour of South Korea.

With the advent of nationwide televised coverage of professional bowling, Weber's fame as a bowler grew rapidly. He dominated the bowling scene in the first half of the 1960s and was named Bowler of the Year by the Bowling Writers' Association of America (BWAA) in 1961, 1963, and 1965. Because Weber's best years on the PBA Tour came relatively early in the history of professional bowling, his career earnings of just under $1 million on the PBA Tour are dwarfed by the leading bowlers of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. But Weber was among the best of his era, and he still hasn't lost his touch, as he proved in January 2002 when he won another tournament on the PBA Senior Tour. For his career as a whole, Weber has won four All-Star titles, eleven All-American Team honors, twenty-six PBA tournaments, and six PBA Senior titles.