A League of Ordinary Gentlemen is a documentary film about ten-pin bowling that was released on DVD on March 21, 2006. It was written and directed by Christopher Browne and stars PBA Tour players Pete Weber, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Chris Barnes, and Wayne Webb.

A League of Ordinary Gentlemen
Directed by	Christopher Browne and Alex Browne
Written by	Christopher Browne
Produced by	Christopher Browne
Starring	Wayne Webb Pete Weber Walter Ray Williams Jr. Chris Barnes Steve Miller
Cinematography	Ken Seng
Edited by	Kurt Engfehr David S. Tung
Music by	Gary Meister
Distributed by	Magnolia Home Entertainment
Release date	March 21, 2006
Running time	93 min.
Language	English

It was first televised nationally on the PBS series Independent Lens on April 25, 2006.[1][2]

Synopsis

The documentary follows four professional ten-pin bowlers at various stages of their careers[3] after the Professional Bowlers Association is purchased by a trio of Microsoft programmers, who then hire Steve Miller, a Nike marketing guru, to revitalize the sport.[4]

Cast

• Steve Miller[4]
• Wayne Webb, a 20-time champion and 1980 PBA Player of the Year who has fallen on hard times[3]
• Pete Weber, son of legendary bowler Dick Weber and renowned "bad boy" of the PBA who was serving a disciplinary suspension when the PBA Tour was purchased[3]
• Walter Ray Williams Jr., the dominant player on tour, with 36 PBA titles[3]
• Chris Barnes, a comparatively young pro trying to support his wife and newborn twins[3]

Soundtrack

The documentary features the song by comedian Stephen Lynch called "Bowling Song (Almighty Malachi, Professional Bowling God)." This track is featured on Lynch's second official album, Superhero, released in 2002.[5]

DVD features

• Deleted Scenes
• PBA TV Spots
• Skills Challenge Highlights
• PBA Event Clips
• Dexter Approach: Tips and Techniques (Hosted by 13-time PBA Tour titlist and current Fox Sports 1 (FS1) TV color-analyst Randy Pedersen.)
• Theatrical Trailer

Featured bowlers after the film

Wayne Webb never won another regular PBA Tour title after the completion of the film. He now runs Wayne Webb's Columbus Bowl in Columbus, Ohio, and has a karaoke business on the side. He later joined the PBA Senior Tour (for players age 50 and older, now named the PBA50 Tour), and made a splash by winning the 2008 Senior U.S. Open. In 2010, he was named PBA Senior Player of the Year.

Chris Barnes earned his first-ever PBA Player of the Year award in the 2007-08 season. He twice won what was (at the time) the biggest prize check in the history of televised bowling ($200,000) by winning the Motel 6 Roll to Riches events in 2005 and 2006. Barnes was inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame in 2018,[6] and won his 19th PBA Tour title later that year.

In September, 2006, Walter Ray Williams Jr. surpassed Earl Anthony on the PBA's All-Time titles list with his win over Pete Weber in the Dydo Japan Cup. Walter currently has 47 PBA Tour titles after winning the USBC Masters in February, 2010. He retired from the standard PBA Tour in 2021 at age 61, but still participates on the PBA50 Tour.[7]

As of 2021, Pete Weber is fourth on the PBA's all-time list with 37 titles, with his most recent title coming at age 50 in the PBA Tournament of Champions on March 31, 2013. At the time, that victory tied Weber with Earl Anthony for the most major championships in PBA Tour history (10). A year earlier (2012), Weber won his record fifth U.S. Open title.[8] Like Williams, Weber retired from the regular PBA Tour in 2021, but continues to compete in PBA50 Tour events.

Legacy

The seventh episode of the 2015 series of Documentary Now! (IFC), "Any Given Saturday Afternoon", is a mockumentary of A League of Ordinary Gentlemen.

References

External links

• A League of Ordinary Gentlemen at IMDb
• Official Website
• Official PBS website of first national showing
• Rotten Tomatoes list of reviews of the documentary