Billy Hardwick

Billy Hardwick (born July 25, 1941) was a legendary right-handed ten-pin bowler and member of the Professional Bowlers Association. He currently hails from Memphis, Tennessee.

PBA career

Hardwick joined the PBA Tour in 1961, and amassed a total of 18 PBA titles during his career. He was the first player to capture the PBA career "Triple Crown" -- which is achieved by winning the three primary PBA major tournaments: U.S. Open, PBA National Championship, and Tournament of Champions. Hardwick captured all three between 1963 and 1969. There have been only four other Triple Crown winners since: Johnny Petraglia, Mike Aulby, Pete Weber, and Norm Duke. Hardwick also captured an ABC Masters title to earn the unofficial career "Grand Slam." He was named PBA Player of the Year in both the 1963 and 1969 seasons. In 1969, he set a record by winning seven titles in one season. ["PBA History" at www.pba.com] The record would stand until 1978, when it was broken by Mark Roth's eight titles.

Hardwick retired relatively early from the PBA Tour after developing arthritis. He was inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame in 1977, and is now the proprietor of Billy Hardwick's All-Star Lanes in Memphis. He is also the father of the comedian "super bad-ass" Chris Hardwick.

References

ources

* www.pba.com, official site of the Professional Bowlers Association and Denny's PBA Tour