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delivery. A full roller rolls the ball over the full circumference of the ball, with the ball track going through the palm of the bowling ball at an angle between the gripping holes. Billy was unique in that he rolled a very straight ball with little side turn or hook. Billy also rolled the ball much
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on seeing Billy throw his second opening strike in a row with his slow straight shot, "How does he do it, Chris?! Everyone wonders how
Hardwick does it." After his third strike in a row, Nelson further commented, "It is almost unbelievable the control and accuracy of Hardwick. He does not depend on
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After his career, while living in
Florida, he was an important mentor to Glenn Hannigan, who he groomed to be "the best bowling writer in the county". Hannigan later became a leading writer and editor for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and authored many books on the Olympics. Hannigan credits
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on August 12, 2010, Hardwick was the last athlete to film a beer commercial profiling athletes. Chris added that his father originally had lines in the commercial but, "got a little intoxicated after so many takes that they cut out his lines for the commercial." A decision was made after that
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slower than most other players. With his straighter, slower, full roller delivery and his pinpoint accuracy (he rarely missed a spare and often converted the splits he was faced with), Billy was able to lay the ball tightly into the pocket again and again and consistently carry the strike.
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Billy injured the third finger of his right hand in a machine shop accident while in high school. As a result, this finger would not bend, making it impossible to use a conventional bowling ball grip (thumb, third finger, and ring finger). Instead, he used his thumb and first two fingers.
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the power strikes like
Marshall Holman, he depends on splicing a small target out there at the arrows. When Hardwick is right, he can hit a half-board, consistently, 20 foot down the lane, Chris. Put it right in the pocket. All three strikes he's got so far are perfect packed strikes."
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For this seemingly contradictory ability to roll straight and still carry strikes, he was nicknamed "The
Magician" when he was competing on the 1965 "Championship Bowling" TV show. During the 1976 Firestone Tournament of Champions title match, where Billy faced a young
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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 original PBA major tournaments:
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Hardwick married five times and had four children, two of whom died in infancy. He also has two stepdaughters. He is the father of comedian and television personality
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when he was still just 34 years old. He was inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame in 1977, and was the proprietor of Billy
Hardwick's All-Star Lanes in Memphis.
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Billy was ranked #12 on the PBA's 2008 list of "50 Greatest
Players of the Last 50 Years". He retired relatively early from the PBA Tour after developing
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337:'s eight titles. Another record, which still stands even in this high scoring era, is the 2165 for an eight-game block achieved in Japan in 1968.
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329:. A 22-year old in 1963, Hardwick is still the youngest bowler to ever win PBA Player of the Year honors (through 2023). In 1969, he matched
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commercial that it would make a bad impression on the youth to give the message that if you want to become a champion, you should drink.
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333:'s 1961 PBA record by winning seven titles in one season. The record would stand until 1978, when it was broken by
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620:"Tackett Wins GEICO Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year Award; Canada's Lavoie Named Rookie of the Year"
594:"DOM BARRETT WINS THIRD MAJOR TITLE AND EARNS TRIPLE CROWN STATUS AT KIA PBA TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS"
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Hardwick with making him comfortable asking the tough questions to elite athletes.
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Billy
Hardwick died on November 16, 2013. He was preparing to return from
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Bowlers Association and Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour website
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253:(July 25, 1941 – November 16, 2013) was a right-handed
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Hardwick was named PBA Player of the Year in both the
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46:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
695:"Billy Hardwick, Hall of Fame Bowler, Dies at 72"
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106:Learn how and when to remove this message
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592:Williams Jr., Emil (27 February 2022).
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468:1965 Firestone Tournament of Champions
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772:Sportspeople from Memphis, Tennessee
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505:1969 Smallcomb Enterprises Classic (
453:1964 North American Van Lines Open (
44:adding citations to reliable sources
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460:1964 Southern California PBA Open (
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344:. Billy's final PBA title came in
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693:Slotnik, Daniel E. (2013-11-18).
767:American ten-pin bowling players
645:Vint, Bill (November 20, 2018).
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259:Professional Bowlers Association
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618:Vint, Bill (February 5, 2016).
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671:"PBA History" at www.pba.com
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228:Right (full roller delivery)
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429:1963 Los Angeles PBA Open (
348:at the Monro-Matic Open in
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683:Spring 2009 issue, p. 7.
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529:1969 Grand Rapids Open (
507:Redwood City, California
359:Billy was known for his
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543:1976 Monro-Matic Open (
422:1963 Phoenix PBA Open (
407:Major championships in
395:Opie & Anthony Show
284:Tournament of Champions
531:Grand Rapids, Michigan
522:1969 Fort Worth Open (
462:Costa Mesa, California
388:According to his son,
251:William Bruce Hardwick
146:William Bruce Hardwick
441:Garden City, New York
500:Milwaukee, Wisconsin
269:Hardwick joined the
138:Personal information
40:improve this article
486:Seattle, Washington
484:1968 Seattle Open (
448:Birmingham, Alabama
431:Gardena, California
202:Bowling Information
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699:The New York Times
574:Memphis, Tennessee
536:1969 Joliet Open (
513:1969 BPAA All-Star
491:1969 Denver Open (
477:1967 Kokomo Open (
392:, speaking on the
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524:Fort Worth, Texas
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374:Nelson Burton Jr.
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190:Years active
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165:Florence, Alabama
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288:Johnny Petraglia
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304:Chris Barnes
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177:(2013-11-16)
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38:Please help
33:verification
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762:2013 deaths
757:1941 births
630:February 7,
603:28 February
472:Akron, Ohio
361:full roller
346:April, 1976
217:Rookie year
207:Affiliation
751:Categories
712:2017-09-03
580:References
372:, analyst
331:Dick Weber
296:Pete Weber
292:Mike Aulby
265:PBA career
240:(3 majors)
157:1941-07-25
66:newspapers
707:0362-4331
342:arthritis
335:Mark Roth
300:Norm Duke
276:U.S. Open
193:1961–1977
271:PBA Tour
238:PBA Tour
598:pba.com
80:scholar
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411:type.
282:, and
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564:Death
390:Chris
87:JSTOR
73:books
703:ISSN
659:2018
632:2016
605:2022
409:bold
325:and
323:1963
314:and
233:Wins
220:1963
172:Died
151:Born
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