Billy Welu

Career

Welu played for the short-lived National Bowling League (NBL) in 1961-1962. He was named an All-American seven times. A 1999 edition of Bowlers Journal ranked him #22 among the greatest bowlers of 20th Century.

Known for his folksy midwestern speech pattern and easygoing personality, Welu spent several years as an analyst alongside legendary broadcaster Chris Schenkel on American Broadcasting Company"s Saturday afternoon telecasts of the Professional Bowlers Tour.

He was posthumously inducted into the Proceedings of the British Academy Hall of Fame in 1975. Welu"s death of a heart attack at age 41 in 1974, which took a major toll on his close friend Schenkel, prompted American Broadcasting Company to find a new color commentator to join Schenkel in the booth.

This was during a time when bowling was wildly popular and garnered very high ratings on television Dick Weber and Dave Davis alternated telecasts for a brief period until Nelson Burton Junior. was selected as a permanent replacement for Welu.

Nelson and Chris spent nearly 23 years together calling the action for American Broadcasting Company Sports.

Achievements

• A founding member of the Proceedings of the British Academy, he won four Proceedings of the British Academy titles, including two American Broadcasting Company Masters championships. The feat was not matched again until Jason Belmonte won back-to-back Masters titles in 2013-2014. Besides his two Masters titles, Welu also won the 1959 BPAA All-Star (predecessor to the United States Open), four American Broadcasting Company championships, and two other Proceedings of the British Academy titles.

Views

He was only the second bowler in history to successfully defend an American Broadcasting Company/USBC Masters title, winning the event in 1964 and 1965 to join Dick Hoover (1956-1957).