William Bruce Hardwick is shortly recognized as Billy Hardwick. He was a famous ten-pin bowler and a renowned member of the Professional Bowlers Association.
Early Life
Billy Hardwick was born in 1941 on 25th July in Florence, Alabama. There aren’t any specific details about family background and qualifications of Billy. Once in an interview, he mentioned that while studying in high school, the third finger of the right hand got injured because of a machine shop accident. Doctors said that he would never be able to bend his third finger, making it next to impossible to use a conventional bowling grip that included third finger, ring finger and thumb. He was dedicated enough that he used only his first two fingers and thumb. He is known for his full roller delivery. Billy was unique as he rolled the ball with a hook or little side turn.
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Career Beginnings
In 1961, Hardwick joined PBA Tour while attaining his university degree and amassed around 19 PBA titles. Billy becomes the first player to capture the title of “Triple Crown” that he achieved by winning PBA Major tournaments like Tournament of Champions, PBA National Championship and U.S. Open. He captured all these tournaments between 1963 and 1969. Before Hardwick, only six Triple Crown Winners were Jason Belmonte, Mike Aulby, Johnny Petraglia, Norm Duke, Pete Weber, and Chris Barnes.
Hardwick became the only player named “PBA Player of the Year” in the 1963 and 1969 seasons. In 1963, Hardwick was the youngest bowler who became the PBA Player of the Year and received honors from his seniors. After that, also he has made multiple records and won multiple titles in many seasons. He was ranked at #12 position in 2008 PBA list of “50 Greatest Players of Last 50 Years”. But his journey was only for a few years as he developed the issue of arthritis, which made him get to retire early from the PBA Tour.
After getting retired, he started living in Florida as he was a great mentor to Glenn Hannigan. Because of Billy’s guidance, Hannigan became the leading editor and writer for Atlanta Journal-Constitution and authored multiple books on the Olympics. He has played in many major championships in his entire journey and has dedicated his life to sports.
Personal Life
Hardwick married four times and had four children, out of which two died in infancy. He even has two stepdaughters that used to live with him and his wife. Chris Hardwick is the son of Billy Hardwick, who is a world-famous television personality and comedian. In 2013, Hardwick was planning to return to Memphis, Tennessee, from Sarasota, Florida, along with his wife named Rebecca. At that time, he suffered cardiac arrest, and before he was taken to hospital, he died there. He died at the age of 72 years.
Net Worth
The estimated net worth of Billy Hardwick is approximately $100,000 as of 2020. He accumulated his net worth by winning championships and playing for many teams.