Controversy
Despite Weber's talent, he was not popular with his bowling peers and was even denied Player of the Year honors in 1987 despite winning the Tournament of Champions and leading the tour in earnings; the award was instead given to Marshall Holman. By 1989, Weber had won 13 PBA Tour titles and had reached over $1 million (USD) in earnings, but his personal life was plagued with problems. By the mid-1990s, Weber had been through two divorces. He went through a three-season stretch (1994-96) without winning a title, and he failed to make a championship round appearance during the entire 1995 season. At the same time, the PBA tour itself was in decline.
In 2000, the PBA Tour was sold to three former Microsoft executives; Weber was not on the tour during this transitional phase, as he was still serving a six-month suspension given by the former PBA leadership in 1999 due to behavior related to his drinking problem. The new tour ownership saw Weber's flashiness as a potential tool for marketing the PBA to a new audience. By the 2001-02 season, Weber had his career back on track, winning three titles in all. In an interview during the season, Pete remarked:
| “ | The new PBA has told me to be animated, and I was already animated to begin with. The new PBA likes me, likes my antics. They think that's what's going to sell the PBA. (USA Today, February 12, 2002 ) | ” |
On December 4, 2005, Weber overcame a year of trying times both personally and professionally by clinching what was, perhaps, the most emotional title of his career at the 2005 Bowlersparadise.com Classic at Stardust Bowl in Hammond, Indiana. This marked the first television appearance for Pete Weber in 666 days, and it was his first title after the death of his father on February 13, 2005. Pete honored his father after the victory by looking into the ESPN cameras and pointing at the "DW" patch on his sleeve.
Weber's attitude on television has given him a reputation as a brash "action bowler," which some critics view as unsportsmanlike. During the 2010 Dick Weber Open he became furious over the sound a photographer's camera made while he was bowling. In the finals of the 2012 U.S. Open, he repeatedly confronted an audience member whom he believed was intentionally distracting him on his shots. He eventually won the 2012 event, his unprecedented fifth U.S. Open title, getting a strike on the final ball of the tenth frame to defeat Michael Fagan by one pin.
After time to cool down, Weber was humble in his post-tournament interview, stating that although he had just surpassed his father and Don Carter in career U.S. Open titles, "I'll never say I'm better than them. They paved the way for us to be here. It was an honor and a privilege to join them when I won my fourth U.S. Open, and it's even more of an honor to be the first one to win five."
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