Walter Ray Williams JR: Career, Legacy & Net Worth
Walter Ray WIlliams Jr. is an American right-handed professional bowler and a competitive horseshoe pitcher.
He is the current record holder of the most PBA titles won by an individual throughout their career. He has won 47 titles which include eight notable titles.
Walter is widely famous in the bowling scene for his standard fingertip grip with Contour soft oval grips in both fingers bowling style.
As for his horseshoe pitching career, he has won Men’s World Horseshoe Pitching titles six times.
Furthermore, he also has pitched in the Whitehouse alongside president George H.W. Bush.
Asides from bowling and horseshoe pitching, Williams has also made an appearance in a documentary about bowling titled ‘A League of Ordinary Gentlemen.’
Before we get into his lifestyle and career, let’s look up some quick facts about Walter.
Quick Facts
| Full Name | Walter Ray Williams Jr. |
| Birth Date | October 6, 1959 |
| Birth Place | San Jose, California |
| Residence | Oxford, FL |
| Nick Name | Deadeye |
| Religion | Unknown |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | Unknown |
| Style | Standard |
| Food Habit | Non-vegetarian |
| Education | Cal Poly Pomona |
| Zodiac Sign | Libra |
| Father’s Name | Unknown |
| Mother’s Name | Unknown |
| Siblings | Unknown |
| Age | 64 Years Old |
| Height | 6 feet 2 inches (188cm) |
| Jersey Number | 11 |
| Weight | Unknown |
| Eye Color | Brown |
| Hair Color | Brown |
| Body type | Average |
| Profession | Professional Bowler and Horsepitcher |
| Associated Teams | Brooklyn Styles |
| Individual Awards | Seven-time PBA Player of the Year |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Wife’s Name | Fancy Allen |
| Debut | 1970 (horseshoe pitching) 1980 (Bowling) |
| Children | Rebecca Lynn |
| Net Worth | $5 million |
| Social Media | Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
| Website | Walterray |
| Merch | A-League of Ordinary Gentlemen, Trading Card |
| Last Update | April 2024 |
Walter Williams: Early Life, Family, and Education
Walter Ray Williams jr. was born on October 6, 1959, in San Jose, California.
The bowler was born and raised there and spent most of his childhood there.
Unfortunately, there is no information about Walter’s parents. He has not disclosed if he has a sibling or not either.
There is no information about Walter’s childhood either, but it is known that Walter was known as the prodigy child in Horseshoe pitching, and he was extremely good at it since his early days.
As for his education, Walter attended Cal Poly Pomona University and graduated from there in 1984 with a Bachelor of Science degree in physics and a minor in mathematics.
Walter was a very bright student. Although he was better at bowling and horseshoe pitching, his educational background was also very proficient.
In one interview, he stated that he would be working for NASA if he was not a bowler.
Walter Williams: Nationality, Ethnicity, and Horoscope
Walter is a proud American born and raised in San Jose, California, in America.
Apart from his nationality, there is not much information about his background.
His ethnicity and family background are not disclosed yet too.
Talking about his horoscope, he falls on the Libra sign.
Furthermore, Libras are known to crave balance in things.
Walter Williams: Age, Height, Weight, and Physical Appearance
Walter is 64 Years Old.
The Californian stands at 6 feet and 2 inches tall.
Unfortunately, his weight and body measurements are not disclosed yet.
Moving on to his physical appearance, he has brown hair.
Similarly, he has brown eyes as well.
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Walter Willams: Horseshoe Pitching
Before his successful bowling career, Walter began his horseshoe pitching career when he was 11 years old.
He was known as the prodigy child of horseshoe pitching. He officially debuted in a tournament in 1970.
Williams participated in the 1971 Junior Boy’s world championship for horseshoe pitching.
To no one’s surprise, he won the tournament easily and continued his win next year.
He won the Junior Boy’s World Championship for two consecutive years in 1971 and 1972.
Additionally, Walter won the Junior Boy’s World Championship in 1975.
Moreover, the most fantastic thing is that he did not lose a single game in these three tournaments that he won.
After finishing the junior championship, Walter pitched in the Men’s world championship in 1977, but unfortunately, he could not win.
But next year, in 1978, he attained his first-ever Men world championship.
After this win, he began dominating the scene single-handedly.
He won 5 more World championships in 1980, 1981, 1985, 1991, and 1994.
His stats were crazy in the tournament as he had 162 wins and just four losses throughout all these years.
During the prime of his career, he also pitched at the Whitehouse alongside president George H.W. Bush in 1989.
His last recorded match in horseshoe pitching is back in the 2005 World Horseshoe Pitching Championships, where he came second after he changed from right hand to left hand.
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Walter Williams: Bowling Career
Walter debuted in bowling in 1980.
But it was not easy for Deadeye to get a good start as he was more focused on horseshoe pitching in his early career.
He was good at bowling but not good enough to win, and due to that, it was not until 1986 that he would win his first PBA title.
It took Deadeye six years to win his first PBA Tour title since his debut.
Furthermore, this win sparked a light in him, and this was when he started pushing and practicing hard on bowling.
In 1986, he won two more titles and ended the year with three titles in his bag.
Winning seven titles in a year
After winning three titles in 1986, he started the following year with another win at the Miller Lite Classic and another win at Hammer Open’s end.
After his 5th PBA tour title, his title drought started again, and he could not win any championships for the next four years.
He attended several events but could not win any of them.
Finally, he ended his title drought in 1991 after winning the Oronamin C Japan Cup held in Tokyo.
Again, he followed the next year with no titles, but it was like the silence before the storm.
Walter Ray Williams Jr. destroyed and devastated professional bowling in the year 1993.
That year he won seven titles throughout the year.
Moreover, with that achievement, he became the first player in the history of PBA to win seven titles in a single year.
1993 was the best year of his career, and he sure loved winning all the tour titles.
He was finally the bowler competent in dominating his opponents with this winning streak.
Next, in 1994 he won two titles, and in 1995, he followed it up with one more tour title.
Again he almost repeated his 7 title win feat in 1996 when he won 5 titles in a single year.
Furthermore, Walter Williams became the first player to ever cross the $2 Million milestones in career earnings with all those wins.
Becoming the richest bowler
His wins kept flowing in, and he was on a roll. In 2003, he became the first bowler to surpass $3 million in career earnings.
By 2003, Walter had already accumulated a total win of 41 titles and matched the record of Earl Anthony.
In the same year, he won the Dydo Japan Cup and surpassed his record of Earl to become the player with the most PBA tour titles.
Due to his precise and accurate shots, he was known as the ‘Deadeye’ in the bowling world.
And in 2008, he became the only player in bowling to get to $4 million in career earnings.
Again in 2009, he won another PBA title and expanded his one title per season record to 17 years.
He needed two more years of consistency to break his record of Earl.
Unfortunately, he did not win any titles in the 2010 season, and his 17 years long consistent record came to an end.
Joining the Senior Tour
In 2010, Walter turned 50 years old, which meant it was time for him to move on to the PBA50 tour.
He debuted in the PBA50 tour around the mid of 2010. He participated in the Miller High Life Senior Classic.
Similarly, in 2010, Williams was honored with the title of PBA Senior Rookie of the Year.
And yes, of course, he won the tournament with ease.
Walter continued his extraordinary form, and in 2012, he won two more titles, followed by PBA50 player of the year.
Retirement and Stats
Walter continued to win many titles, and despite being 59 years old, he won three consecutive titles in 2019.
He was ready for the 2020 season, but unfortunately, the pandemic hit us, and the organization canceled the PBA50 tour for the year.
And earlier this year, on March 21, 2021, Walter Ray William Jr. announced his retirement from all bowling scenes.
The bowler concluded his career with 102 combined PBA titles to his name. He has a 110 perfect 300 score.
The American also became the first-ever player to have career winnings of $4,921,574.40.
Walter participated in 1038 events throughout his career.
Here’s a video that shows Walter Ray Williams’s layout in slow motion.
Similarly, some videos on YouTube show the hand-release sides and styles Williams uses.
Legacy
Walter Ray William Jr. is considered one of the greatest players in bowling.
He is ranked just behind Pete Weber as the greatest player ever.
Although Pete is known as the face bowling. William is the one who is respected more.
William is the one that is respected and loved more by the fans most due to his calm and relaxed behavior.
Furthermore, he is widely known to be one of the humblest and most consistent players.
Many new bowlers idolize him and move forward in their careers.
Walter is also inducted into the PBA hall of fame, and not to forget that he is also a legend in horseshoe pitching.
He is also inducted into the World Horseshoe Pitching Hall of Fame.
Walter Williams: Wife and Kids
Walter is currently happily married to Fancy Allen.
The couple got married at Creek Lodge in Lincoln, Calif.
It was an outdoor event, and the couple invited many people to attend the wedding, and it was grand.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t Walter’s first marriage. He had to go through a divorce with his ex-wife Paige Pennington.
Walter and Paige were married for a long time, there is no exact timeline of their marriage, but it was more than a decade.
They also had an adopted daughter named Rebecca Lynn.
Walter and Paige got divorced in 2017.
But things worked out, and Walter is again in a happy relationship with his new wife. They both currently reside in Oxford, Florida.
Walter Williams: Net Worth
Bowling was the primary income source for Walter, and he had earned more than anyone in bowling.
Walter Ray Williams Jr. has an estimated net worth of approximately $5 Million
He earned his fair share from all the endorsements throughout his career. Companies like track and ford sponsored him.
Moreover, he is known as the wealthiest bowler of all time.
Walter also earned tons from his early years in horseshoe pitching.
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Walter Williams: Social Media
Deadeye is available on two social media sites, but he is not active on those accounts.
He is available on Facebook and Twitter.
Walter has 38K followers on Facebook, and on his Twitter account, he has only 2.5K followers.
Similarly, Williams also has a Linkedin account with over 272 connections.
Furthermore, he also has his website named Walterray.
Walter Williams: FAQs
What’s the highest prize pool tournament Walter has won?
Walter has won a tournament with a prize pool of $120,000.
Is Walter the greatest of all time in bowling?
Arguably yes, if we look at the stats.
How many total Major titles did Walter win in the PBA50?
Walter won 3 PBA50 notable titles.
How many perfect games have Walter Williams rolled in his career?
Over his glorious career, Walter has rolled 110 career perfect 300 games.
