Pete Weber Is Out for the Rest of 2000 - bowler suspended from competition - Brief Article

THE PBA ANNOUNCED IN March that Hall-of-Famer Pete Weber has been suspended from tournament competition and will not be eligible to compete in PBA events for the remainder of the year. Weber, a 37-year-old from St. Ann, Mo., received a conduct fine for "conduct unbecoming a professional" during the PBA tour event at Bay Lanes in Bay City, Mich., last fall. Weber was already on probation when this incident occurred.

The PBA's rule book states that "Any conduct offense while on probation will, if the Member is deemed guilty, result in suspension and a possible fine, the length and amount to be determined by the Commissioner." Thus, PBA commissioner Mark Gerberich suspended Weber for the incident in Bay City. Weber then appealed the decision of the Commissioner, as is his right under the PBA Constitution, but the decision was upheld. Weber still had the right to appeal the decision to the PBA board of directors but decided to drop his right of appeal following the Bayer/Brunswick Touring Players Championship and accept his suspension.

The suspension will run through December 31, 2000. During this time Weber will not be eligible to compete in PBA national, regional, or invitational tournaments. Following the nine-month suspension, Weber will remain on probation for a period of 18 months, through June 30, 2002.

Weber, who was the 1980 PBA rookie of the year, trails only Walter Ray Williams Jr. on the PBA tour's all-time earnings list, with more than $2.2 million. His 25 career titles (including one this year) rank him seventh all-time, just one victory behind his legendary father Dick Weber, Mike Aulby, and Don Johnson, who are tied for fourth on the all-time list. He was inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame in 1998 in his first year of eligibility and is one of only four players--including Aulby, Billy Hardwick, and Johnny Petraglia--to have completed bowling's Triple Crown: the Tournament of Champions, PBA National Championship and U.S. Open.

Ironically, Weber was off to a fast start in 2000. He won the Parker Bohn III Empire State Open in Latham N.Y., and finished second at the recently completed Bayer/ Brunswick Touring Players Championship in Akron.