Walter Ray Williams Jr. (born October 6, 1959) is an American professional tenpin bowler and competitive horseshoes pitcher. He has won 47 national PBA Tour career titles, the most in the tour’s history, and has earned over $5 million in total PBA earnings as of 2022. Among his 47 titles are eight major championships. Williams is a seven-time PBA Player of the Year, tied with Jason Belmonte for the most all-time in history, and is one of five bowlers (with Earl Anthony, Mark Roth, Belmonte and E. J. Tackett) to win the award in three consecutive seasons (1996–1998). Williams has the distinction of being the only bowler to win the PBA Player of the Year award in 4 different decades, and is also the oldest player (50 in 2010) to win the award. He won at least one PBA Tour title in a record 17 consecutive seasons (1993 through 2009–10).
He was one of four featured bowlers in the ten-pin bowling documentary A League of Ordinary Gentlemen.
As of June 26, 2022, he is also the all-time leader in PBA50 Tour titles, with 16. Additionally, he is a three-time PBA50 Player of the Year and has won three major championships on that tour. He had rolled 110 career perfect 300 games in PBA competition through 2019.
On December 18, 2016, Williams became the first player in history to reach 100 total PBA titles (combined PBA Tour, PBA Regional Tour, PBA50 Tour, PBA50 Regional Tour). Only one player, Pete Weber, has matched this accomplishment. Williams' total is now 131 (with PBA60 Tour wins added). Williams retired from the regular PBA Tour in 2021 but continues to bowl in PBA50 Tour, PBA60 Tour and PBA Regional Tour events. He owns the most combined Regional titles all-time with 67 (35 on the PBA Regional Tour and 32 on the PBA50 Regional Tour).
Williams has had multiple sponsors over the years. He is currently sponsored by Brunswick, VISE grips and Dexter shoes.
Williams is also a nine-time world champion in the game of horseshoes (three junior titles and six men's titles).
Williams is a seven-time PBA Player of the Year (1986, '93, '96, '97, '98, 2003, 2010), having surpassed Earl Anthony in 2010 for the most Player of the Year awards in PBA history. Jason Belmonte tied Williams with his seventh PBA Player of the Year award in 2022. Williams has won a record eight Bowling Writers Bowler of the Year awards and is also the all-time leading money winner on the PBA Tour. He holds the most PBA money titles.
He was the first bowler in history to surpass $2 million in career earnings in 1997. With his win in the 2003 U.S. Open, he also became the first $3 million career winner and the first $4 million career winner in 2008. Williams also set a record for the highest monetary winnings in a single season, with $419,701 during the 2002–03 PBA season. This record would be broken in the 2021 season by Kyle Troup.
On September 24, 2006, Williams eclipsed Earl Anthony's career record of 41 PBA regular tour titles with his 42nd win at the Dydo Japan Cup over Pete Weber in a 289–236 single game pinfall. Anthony's title count was amended to 43 in 2008 when the PBA chose to include ABC Masters titles earned by a PBA member as PBA Tour titles. By that time, Williams had accumulated 44 titles to maintain a lead over Anthony. Williams has been known as "Deadeye" in PBA fan circles, but first got the nickname in horseshoes, when he threw 45 ringers out of a possible 50 in a junior tournament at the age of 10 years old.
In the 2007–08 season, at age 48, Williams established the second-highest average in PBA history for a single season — 228.34. Only Norm Duke's 2006–07 mark of 228.47 was higher at the time, though that has since been broken by Jason Belmonte's 228.81 in the 2012–13 season (which was surpassed by Belmonte himself in 2017 with a 229.49 average). Through the 2019 PBA50 season, he has bowled 110 career 300 games in PBA competition, second only to the 114 perfect games tallied by Parker Bohn III.
Upon winning the 2009 Motor City Open championship, Williams extended his record of winning at least one PBA Tour title per season to 17 consecutive seasons, two years more than Earl Anthony's 1970–84 run. Williams' streak ended when he failed to win a title in the 2010–11 season.
In August 2008, Williams joined Team USA to participate in that year's FIQ World Men's Championships in Thailand. For the first time, professionals were allowed to compete in this international event with over 330 participants from 56 countries. Williams was the most successful bowler in the championships, winning four medals: Gold in Masters, Gold in Singles, Gold in Team and a Bronze medal in Trios.
On March 17, 2021, Williams announced his retirement from the national PBA Tour after being eliminated from the Round of 8 in the final event of World Series of Bowling XII. He stated he would continue to bowl in PBA50 Tour and PBA Regional Tour events.
After turning 50, Williams announced that he would participate in the 2010 PBA Senior Tour (renamed the PBA50 Tour in 2013), but in limited events due to Team USA and other obligations.
Williams made his PBA Senior Tour debut on May 3, 2010, at the Miller High Life Classic in Mooresville, NC. He won the tournament three days later. On June 18, 2010, Williams had a chance to become just the second bowler to win the USBC Masters and USBC Senior Masters in a career (joining Dave Soutar), and the first to win both in the same year. Williams made the three-game final, but he was denied the title when he fell, 705-628, to fellow PBA Hall of Famer Wayne Webb. Williams did bowl enough on the Senior Tour to earn 2010 PBA Senior Rookie of the Year honour.
In the 2011 PBA Senior season, Williams again had a chance to match Soutar as the only bowler to win both the USBC Masters and Senior USBC Masters. He came in second, falling to Dale Traber in the finals, 707–695.
Williams won two Senior titles in 2012 and earned his first Senior PBA Player of the Year award.
Williams won three PBA50 titles in 2013 and earned his second PBA50 Player of the Year award.