Walter Ray Williams Jr. facts for kids
Williams in 2016
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Deadeye |
| Born | October 6, 1959 San Jose, California |
| Years active | 1970–present |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) |
| Sport | |
| Country | United States |
| Sport | Ten-pin bowling, Horseshoes |
| League | PBA, NHPA World Tournament, PBA50 Tour |
| Turned pro | 1970 (horseshoes) 1980 (bowling) |
| Achievements and titles | |
| National finals | 47 PBA Tour (8 majors) 16 PBA50 Tour (3 majors) 1 PBA60 Tour 7× PBA Player of the Year (1986, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2003, 2010) 3× PBA50 Player of the Year (2012, 2013, 2019) 9 World Horseshoes titles |
Walter Ray Williams Jr. (born October 6, 1959) is an amazing American athlete. He is a professional bowler and a top player in horseshoes.
Walter Ray holds many records in bowling. He has won more PBA Tour titles than anyone else, with 47 wins! He has also earned over $5 million playing bowling. He has been named PBA Player of the Year seven times, which is tied for the most ever. From 1993 to 2010, he won at least one PBA Tour title for 17 years in a row!
He is also a nine-time world champion in horseshoes. In 2016, Walter Ray became the first player to reach 100 total PBA titles across different tours. He retired from the main PBA Tour in 2021 but still plays in other PBA events.
Contents
Bowling Achievements
Walter Ray Williams Jr. is one of the greatest bowlers of all time. He has set many records and won many awards.
PBA Tour Highlights
Walter Ray has won the PBA Player of the Year award seven times. This is a record he shares with another great bowler, Jason Belmonte. He has also won the Bowling Writers Bowler of the Year award eight times.
He was the first bowler to earn over $2 million in his career in 1997. Later, he was also the first to reach $3 million and $4 million in earnings. In the 2002–03 season, he won $419,701, which was a record for a single season at the time.
In 2006, Walter Ray broke the record for most PBA Tour titles, passing Earl Anthony. He is known as "Deadeye," a nickname he first got in horseshoes when he was just 10 years old.
Here are some of his other amazing PBA achievements:
- He has the highest spare percentage in a season (88.16% in 2004–05).
- He has the best single-pin conversion percentage (100% in 2005–06).
- He has appeared on TV more than any other bowler (182 times by 2012).
- He holds the record for winning at least one PBA Tour title for 17 seasons in a row.
- He has played the most games in one season (1300 in 1993).
- He is tied for the most perfect 300 games in one tournament (4 in 1993).
- He is the only PBA player to convert the tough 4-6-7-10 split on TV.
- He was the oldest bowler (50 years old) to be named PBA Player of the Year in 2010.
- He is the only player to win the USBC Masters and USBC Senior Masters twice each.
- He bowled a perfect 300 game using a two-handed style in 2019.
In the 2007–08 season, when he was 48, Walter Ray had the second-highest average in PBA history for a single season (228.34). He has bowled 110 perfect 300 games in PBA competitions.
His amazing streak of winning at least one PBA Tour title for 17 years in a row ended in the 2010–11 season.
World Championships
In 2008, Walter Ray joined Team USA to play in the FIQ World Men's Championships in Thailand. This was the first time professional bowlers were allowed to compete. Walter Ray was the most successful bowler there, winning four medals:
- Gold in Masters
- Gold in Singles
- Gold in Team
- Bronze in Trios
Retirement from PBA Tour
On March 17, 2021, Walter Ray announced he was retiring from the main PBA Tour. He said he would continue to play in the PBA50 Tour and PBA Regional Tour events.
PBA50 Tour Success
After turning 50, Walter Ray started playing in the PBA Senior Tour (now called the PBA50 Tour). He won his first PBA Senior Tour event just three days after his debut in 2010.
He won two Senior titles in 2012 and was named PBA Senior Player of the Year for the first time. He won three more PBA50 titles in 2013 and earned his second PBA50 Player of the Year award.
In 2014, he won the USBC Senior Masters. This made him only the second bowler to win both the USBC Masters and USBC Senior Masters. In 2017, he won his second USBC Senior Masters, becoming the only player to win both events twice!
In 2019, at age 59, Walter Ray started the PBA50 season with three wins in a row, including a major championship. These wins tied him for the most PBA50 Tour titles ever. He also won his third PBA50 Player of the Year award that year.
In 2021, he won the opening event of the PBA50 Tour, giving him the most PBA50 Tour titles of all time with 15 wins. He extended this record to 16 titles in 2022.
Popularity and Legacy
Walter Ray Williams Jr. is known for his incredible career and how long he has stayed at the top. Many of his titles and major wins came after he turned 40. His most recent PBA Tour title was in 2010 when he was 50 years old.
He once said, "As long as I feel good and stay competitive, I'll keep on bowling."
He was named "Male Bowler of the Decade" for the 2000s. He is a member of the USBC and PBA Halls of Fame. He is also in the World Horseshoe Pitching Hall of Fame.
In 2009, a group of bowling experts ranked the "50 Greatest Players of the Last 50 Years." Walter Ray finished second on this list, right behind Earl Anthony.
In his later career, Walter Ray started trying a two-handed bowling style. He even bowled a perfect 300 game with this style in 2019! He continues to bowl at a high level even after turning 60.
Horseshoes Champion
Besides bowling, Walter Ray Williams Jr. is also a world-class horseshoe pitcher. He has won six Men's World Horseshoe Pitching titles. In 1989, he was even invited to pitch horseshoes at the White House with President George H.W. Bush.
After switching his throwing hand from right to left, he still managed to finish second in the 2005 World Horseshoe Pitching Championships.
Personal Life
Walter Ray graduated from Cal Poly Pomona in 1984 with a degree in physics and a minor in mathematics. He once said that if he hadn't been a successful bowler, he would have worked for NASA.
He lives in Oxford, Florida, with his wife, Fancy Allen. Walter Ray also enjoys playing golf and was once a very skilled golfer.
Walter Ray's Major Bowling Wins
Walter Ray has won 47 PBA Tour titles, including eight major championships. He has won the PBA World Championship three times, the U.S. Open twice, the ABC/USBC Masters twice, and the Touring Players Championship once. He almost completed a "super grand slam" by winning all major titles.
He has also won 16 PBA50 Tour titles, making him the all-time leader on that tour. He is one of only five bowlers to win at least 10 titles on both the main PBA Tour and the PBA50 Tour. Walter Ray is the only player in history to win at least 60 combined titles across both tours.
PBA Tour Titles (Selected)
- 1986 True Value Open
- 1993 Flagship City Open
- 1994 Touring Players Championship
- 1998 BPAA U.S. Open
- 2001–02 PBA National Championship
- 2002–03 U.S. Open
- 2002–03 PBA World Championship
- 2003–04 ABC Masters
- 2005–06 Denny's PBA World Championship
- 2009-10 USBC Masters
PBA50 Tour Titles (Selected)
- 2010 Miller High Life Senior Classic
- 2014 USBC Senior Masters
- 2017 USBC Senior Masters
- 2019 PBA50 National Championship
- 2021 PBA50 Lightning Strikes Open
- 2022 PBA50 Odessa Open
PBA60 Tour Titles
- 2023 PBA60 Tristan's T.A.P.S. Memorial
