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Billy Hardwick

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Bowler

The Resume

    (July 25, 1941-November 16, 2013)
    18 PBA Titles
    Two-time PBA Player of the Year (1963,1969)
    Inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame (1977)
    Father of comedian Chris Hardwick
    Operated Billy Hardwick's All-Star Lanes in Memphis

Why he might be annoying:

    As a teen, he would spend the entire weekend, from midnight Friday to 6 PM Sunday, hustling bowlers. ('You'd bowl all night, load up on No-Doz and coffee.')
    He had an unusual grip that earned him the nickname 'the boy with the golden claw' and an unusual delivery that had 'Bowler's Journal' writing, 'He throws the ball like he's falling out of a tree.'
    His first year on the PBA tour, he finished out of the money in all 17 tournaments that he played (1962).
    While filming a Miller High Life commercial, he got so intoxicated from multiple takes that his lines had to be cut (1969).
    After his second Player of the Year title, he went into a seven year slump, not winning another tournament until 1976.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He began suffering rheumatoid arthritis in childhood, which left him unable to completely straighten his arms.
    The ring finger on his bowling hand was almost immobile from a childhood accident. ('I won my first Bowler of the Year with my index and ring fingers.')
    His second year on the PBA tour was one of the greatest turnarounds in bowling history, capped by the Player of the Year title.
    He was the first bowler to capture the PBA career Triple Crown: the US Open, PBA National Championship, and Tournament of Champions.
    Two of his children died in infancy.
    He blamed his bowling slump on grief over the deaths: 'At that point, who really gives a damn about bowling? People say they understand, but until you actually lose two children, there's no way to describe what it's like.'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 8 Votes: 87.50% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 6 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 77 Votes: 62.34% Annoying