Richard A. Ritger (November 8, 1938 – August 27, 2020) was a right-handed
ten-pin bowler in the
Professional Bowlers Association
The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) is the major sanctioning body for the sport of professional ten-pin bowling in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, the PBA membership consists of over 3,000 members worldwide. Member ...
(PBA), who spent his later years as a bowling instructor and proprietor of Dick Ritger's Bowling Camp. Known for his smooth
stroker delivery, he is one of only 16 players in history to have won at least 20 career
PBA Tour
The PBA Tour is the major professional tour for ten-pin bowling, operated by the Professional Bowlers Association. Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, over 3,000 members worldwide make up the PBA. While most of the PBA members are Regional profess ...
titles.
PBA career
Ritger grew up in
River Falls, Wisconsin
River Falls is a city in Pierce County, Wisconsin, Pierce and St. Croix County, Wisconsin, St. Croix counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is adjacent to the River Falls (town), Wisconsin, Town of River Falls in Pierce County and the Kinnic ...
. He joined the PBA Tour in 1964, and won his first two PBA titles in successive weeks in
1966
Events January
* January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko.
* January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...
. He won his 20th and final PBA title in
1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
. The 20 titles put him in a 13th-place tie with
Wayne Webb
}
Wayne Webb (born August 4, 1957) is an American professional bowler from Rehoboth, Massachusetts. He was known for his success from the late 1970s to the end of the 1980s. Webb is one of only 17 players in history to win at least 20 PBA Tour tit ...
,
Amleto Monacelli
Amleto Monacelli (born 27 August 1961) is a Venezuelan professional bowler and a member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA). He has amassed 20 titles on the PBA Tour, making him one of only 16 players in history to accumulate at least ...
and
Tommy Jones on the all-time list. He won multiple titles in five different seasons on tour, including three titles each in the
1969,
1973
Events January
* January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
* January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...
and
1974
Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...
seasons. Ritger also won two titles in the Classic Division at the National USBC Championships, in Team (1967) and All-Events (1977).
A gentleman on the lanes and off, Ritger won the PBA's Steve Nagy Sportsmanship award on two occasions. His status among the all-time greats was solidified with his election to the PBA Hall of Fame in 1978.
[
Ritger's best chance at a major title came in 1970, when he made the televised final of the Tournament of Champions and shot 268 in the final match. But he was on the wrong end of 26-time titlist ]Don Johnson
Donnie Wayne Johnson (born December 15, 1949) is an American actor, producer and singer. He played the role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s television series ''Miami Vice'', for which he won a Golden Globe, and received a Primetime Em ...
's legendary 299 game. He also finished runner-up in the 1972 PBA National Championship and 1979 Tournament of Champions.
PBA Tour titles
# 1966 Southern California Open (Encino, California
Encino (Spanish language, Spanish for "oak") is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California.
History
In 1769, the Spanish Portolá expedition, first Europeans to see inland areas of California, traveled north t ...
)
# 1966 Fort Worth Open (Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
)
# 1967 Fresno Open (Fresno, California
Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...
)
# 1968 North Phoenix Open (Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...
)
# 1968 New Orleans Lions Open ()
# 1969 Greater Buffalo Open (Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
)
# 1969 Japan Gold Cup (Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
, Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
)
# 1969 Bellows-Valvair Open (Rochester, New York
Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...
)
# 1970 Japan Gold Cup (Tokyo, Japan)
# 1972 Bay City Open (Bay City, Michigan
Bay City is a city and county seat of Bay County in the U.S. state of Michigan, located near the base of the Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 34,932, and it is the principal city of the Bay City Metropol ...
)
# 1973 Fair Lanes Open (Towson, Maryland
Towson () is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 55,197 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Baltimore County and the second-most populous unincorpo ...
)
# 1973 STP Classic (Miami, Florida
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
)
# 1973 Canada Dry Open (Detroit, Michigan
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
)
# 1974 Midas Open (Alameda, California
Alameda ( ; ; Spanish for "Avenue (landscape), tree-lined path") is a city in Alameda County, California, located in the East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), East Bay region of the Bay Area. The city is primarily located on Alameda (island), Alam ...
)
# 1974 Fair Lanes Open (Towson, Maryland)
# 1974 Star Lanes-Ebonite Open (Waukegan, Illinois
''(Fortress or Trading Post)''
, image_flag =
, image_seal =
, blank_emblem_size = 150
, blank_emblem_type = Logo
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_type1 = State
, subdivisi ...
)
# 1975 Ebonite Don Carter Classic (Miami, Florida)
# 1977 AMF Pro Classic (Garden City, New York
Garden City is a village located on Long Island in Nassau County New York. It is the Greater Garden City area's anchor community. The population was 23,272 at the 2020 census.
The Incorporated Village of Garden City is primarily located within ...
)
# 1978 Dutch Masters Open (North Olmsted, Ohio
North Olmsted is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 32,442. North Olmsted is a west side suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, and is the 8th most populated city within Cuyahoga County.
History
...
)
# 1979 AMF Magicscore Open (San Antonio, Texas
("Cradle of Freedom")
, image_map =
, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, subdivision_t ...
)
Bowling instructor career
In the 1980s, Ritger started a bowling pro shop business and went into the instructional field, working as a coach for AMF and his own Dick Ritger's Bowling Camps. He became recognized as one of the most effective bowling instructors in the world, running over 500 clinics in 24 countries covering five continents.[''U.S. Bowler'', Fall, 2008 issue, p. 10]
Personal
Ritger began bowling regularly at age 9 in his family's 10-lane center in Hartford, Wisconsin
Hartford is a city in Washington and Dodge counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 14,223. All of this population resided in the Washington County portion of the city. The portion of the cit ...
. In his teens, he often competed in adult leagues. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse with a double major in Physical Education and Recreation.[
]
Death
Ritger died in his home on August 27, 2020 at the age of 81. He is survived by Judy Ritger (his wife of 60 years), three children, 13 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.[
]
Awards and recognition
* PBA Steve Nagy Sportsmanship award (1970, 1973)
* PBA President, 1977–78
* Inducted into PBA Hall of Fame, 1978
* Inducted into USBC Hall of Fame (Performance Category), 1984
* World Bowling Writers Distinguished Service Award, 1995
* John Martino Award for "Outstanding Contribution to the Sport of Bowling," 1998
* BPAA Dick Weber
Richard Anthony Weber (December 23, 1929 – February 14, 2005) was a ten-pin bowling professional and a founding member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA). Along with Don Carter, Weber is widely regarded as professional bowling's fi ...
Bowling Ambassador Award, 2006
* Inducted into USBC Bowling Coaches Hall of Fame, 2008
* Was ranked #14 on the PBA's 2008 list of "50 Greatest Players of the Last 50 Years"
* Inducted into Wisconsin State USBC Hall of Fame (Skills Category), 2009
References
Other sources
*PBA.com, official site of the Professional Bowlers Association and the Lumber Liquidator's PBA Tour
*wibowl.com, Official site of the Wisconsin State USBC Bowling Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ritger, Dick
American ten-pin bowling players
1938 births
2020 deaths
People from River Falls, Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin–La Crosse alumni
Sportspeople from Wisconsin