Wayne Webb

Wayne Webb (born August 4, 1957) is an American professional bowler from Rehoboth, Massachusetts. He was known mostly for his success from the late 1970s to the end of the 1980s, when he won 17 of his 20 PBA Tour titles in a 12-season stretch. Webb is one of only 17 players in history to win at least 20 PBA Tour titles, and is a member of both the PBA and USBC Halls of Fame.

PBA career

PBA Tour The son of a bowling center operator, Webb knew from age twelve that "all I ever wanted to be was a professional bowler." He was eighteen when he got his wish and joined the PBA (Professional Bowlers Association) tour in late 1975. He found success quickly, winning his first tournament at age 21 and earning "Player of the Year" honors by age 23. On November 2, 1982, Webb won the Columbia 300 Open in Sterling Heights, Michigan to become one of the youngest players in PBA history to reach ten career PBA titles. Webb remains the fifth-youngest player to reach ten titles as of 2026, behind Pete Weber (24 years, 247 days), Marshall Holman, Mike Aulby, and Anthony Simonsen.

Webb was one of the PBA's first 10 career "millionaires." Webb captured 20 career PBA titles, including his lone major championship at the 1980 PBA Tournament of Champions. He was named PBA Player of the Year in 1980, the only player not named Earl Anthony or Mark Roth to win that award in an 11-season stretch (1974–1984). He became a member of the PBA Hall of Fame in 1993.

Webb's 20th and final PBA Tour title came in 1997 at the Bud Light Championship, where he defeated future Hall of Famer Amleto Monacelli in the final match. This was the second title for Webb in 1997, marking the first time he had won multiple titles in a season since 1985. The 20 titles puts Webb in a 14th-place tie with fellow PBA Hall of Famers Dick Ritger, Tommy Jones and Monacelli. A panel of bowling experts selected by the PBA ranked Webb #18 on their 2008 list of "50 Greatest Players of the Last 50 Years." While the film had a mostly positive message about how Steve Miller and three Microsoft executives had rescued bowling from bankruptcy, Webb lamented the effects of the all-exempt PBA Tour on veteran players like himself, stating what it felt like to "give an entire life to something on the belief that it will never end, and then to watch it end anyway." He has appeared only in selected events on the PBA Tour since that time. He bowled at the PBA 2008 H&R Block Tournament of Champions along with several other past TOC winners who were invited.

PBA50 Tour In 2008, Wayne Webb joined the PBA Senior Tour (now called PBA50 Tour). On June 20, Webb won the 2008 Senior U.S. Open, defeating Johnny Petraglia 204–172 in the championship match. This was only his second ever Senior Tour event. Webb was named 2008 PBA Senior Rookie of the Year. On winning this award, he commented: "Obviously it's a great honor. Being on the Tour for 30 years, quitting for three years, and then coming back on the Senior Tour this year and doing as well as I did, it kind of re-sparked my life with bowling again."

Webb repeated as Senior U.S. Open Champion in 2009. On June 18, 2010, Webb won his third PBA Senior Tour major, capturing the USBC Senior Masters in the final three-game match, 705–628, over reigning PBA Player of the Year, Walter Ray Williams, Jr. Webb's victory denied Williams the chance to become just the second bowler in history to win both the USBC Masters and USBC Senior Masters in a career. (PBA Hall of Famer Dave Soutar was the only player to win both until Williams, Jr. finally won a Senior Masters in 2014.)

Following his win in the August 2010 PBA Senior Jackson Open, his third title of the season, Webb was named 2010 PBA Senior Player of the Year. This made him just the second bowler in history (after Mark Roth) to win both PBA and Senior PBA Player of the Year awards in a career.

PBA titles Over his career, Webb made the final championship match 36 times in PBA Tour events, winning the title in 20 of those matches. Major championships are in bold type. Webb participated in the 2017 Players Championship and finished 72nd out of 113 entrants, missing the match play cut. The Players Championship also returned to Wayne Webb's Columbus Bowl for the 2019 and 2020 PBA Tour seasons. It also hosted the inaugural PBA60 World Series of Bowling in 2025, where the Wayne Webb Classic is conducted on the eponymous oil pattern.