USBC Hall of Famer Ray Bluth dies at age 97
April 14, 2025
ARLINGTON, Texas – United States Bowling Congress Hall of Famer and 1959 USBC Masters champion Ray Bluth died Friday, April 11, at the age of 97 in St. Louis.
Bluth, who won two USBC Open Championships Eagles and earned three wins on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour, is a member of five halls of fame, including the USBC and PBA.
In addition to being a great champion, Bluth was known as a longtime bowling center proprietor in the St. Louis area and as one of the sport’s greatest ambassadors.
Bluth also was the last surviving member of the famed Budweiser team that consisted of fellow hall of famers Don Carter, Tom Hennessey, Pat Patterson and Dick Weber.
On March 12, 1958, the Budweisers rolled an American Bowling Congress record 3,858 three-game series in league play in north St. Louis. The mark was 61 pins better than the previous record of 3,797, which was shot in 1937 by another St. Louis team, the Hermann Undertakers.
The 3,858 total averaged out to more than 771 pins per man, or 257 per game for 15 games. Bluth, rolling 33 of a possible 36 strikes, shot games of 267, 267 and 300 to lead the way with an 834 series. It was a record that stood for 35 years and 11 months before it was broken.
Bluth’s two Eagles at the Open Championships were both Classic Team titles. The first came during the 1962 Open Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, and the second was at the 1974 event in Indianapolis.
After a second-place finish in 1956, Bluth won the 1959 Masters in his hometown of St. Louis. Bowling at the 138th Infantry Armory, Bluth bested Billy Golembiewski for the title. It would be the lone major championship of his career.
His Masters prowess extended to the 1962 event where he rolled the first 300 game in the history of the Masters finals. His 806 for the first three games of that series was a Masters record for 24 years.
Bluth, a charter member of the PBA, would go on to collect two more PBA titles. He won the 1964 Spokane (Wash.) Open when he finished the event by rolling 1,983 over this final eight-game block (247.87 average) to set a PBA record (since broken). That same year, Bluth won the tour’s George Young High Average award, posting a 210.51 mark.
His lone televised PBA Tour victory came at the 1969 Buckeye Open in Toledo, Ohio, where he defeated a pair of future PBA Hall of Famers on the way to the title. Bluth knocked off Teata Semiz in the semifinal match, 247-236, before defeating Nelson “Bo” Burton Jr., in the title match, 236-205.
Bluth was inducted into the USBC Hall of Fame in the Superior Performance category in 1973 and was honored in 1975 as part of the PBA’s inaugural hall of fame class in a Performance category that included legendary names such as Don Carter, Carmen Salvino, Harry Smith, Dick Weber and Billy Welu.
Bluth is survived by his beloved wife of 71 years, Carol L. (Roth) Bluth and children Michael (Melisa), Thomas (Linda), Pamela (David) Ellis, and Karen (David) Black along with eight grandchildren and five great grandchildren.
A Celebration of Life Mass will be held on Tuesday, May 6, at Ste. Genevieve Du Bois Parish, 1575 N. Woodlawn Avenue, Warson Woods, Mo. Visitation at the church will begin at 10 a.m. followed by Mass at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to a charity of your choice.
Bluth, who won two USBC Open Championships Eagles and earned three wins on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour, is a member of five halls of fame, including the USBC and PBA.
In addition to being a great champion, Bluth was known as a longtime bowling center proprietor in the St. Louis area and as one of the sport’s greatest ambassadors.
Bluth also was the last surviving member of the famed Budweiser team that consisted of fellow hall of famers Don Carter, Tom Hennessey, Pat Patterson and Dick Weber.
On March 12, 1958, the Budweisers rolled an American Bowling Congress record 3,858 three-game series in league play in north St. Louis. The mark was 61 pins better than the previous record of 3,797, which was shot in 1937 by another St. Louis team, the Hermann Undertakers.
The 3,858 total averaged out to more than 771 pins per man, or 257 per game for 15 games. Bluth, rolling 33 of a possible 36 strikes, shot games of 267, 267 and 300 to lead the way with an 834 series. It was a record that stood for 35 years and 11 months before it was broken.
Bluth’s two Eagles at the Open Championships were both Classic Team titles. The first came during the 1962 Open Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, and the second was at the 1974 event in Indianapolis.
After a second-place finish in 1956, Bluth won the 1959 Masters in his hometown of St. Louis. Bowling at the 138th Infantry Armory, Bluth bested Billy Golembiewski for the title. It would be the lone major championship of his career.
His Masters prowess extended to the 1962 event where he rolled the first 300 game in the history of the Masters finals. His 806 for the first three games of that series was a Masters record for 24 years.
Bluth, a charter member of the PBA, would go on to collect two more PBA titles. He won the 1964 Spokane (Wash.) Open when he finished the event by rolling 1,983 over this final eight-game block (247.87 average) to set a PBA record (since broken). That same year, Bluth won the tour’s George Young High Average award, posting a 210.51 mark.
His lone televised PBA Tour victory came at the 1969 Buckeye Open in Toledo, Ohio, where he defeated a pair of future PBA Hall of Famers on the way to the title. Bluth knocked off Teata Semiz in the semifinal match, 247-236, before defeating Nelson “Bo” Burton Jr., in the title match, 236-205.
Bluth was inducted into the USBC Hall of Fame in the Superior Performance category in 1973 and was honored in 1975 as part of the PBA’s inaugural hall of fame class in a Performance category that included legendary names such as Don Carter, Carmen Salvino, Harry Smith, Dick Weber and Billy Welu.
Bluth is survived by his beloved wife of 71 years, Carol L. (Roth) Bluth and children Michael (Melisa), Thomas (Linda), Pamela (David) Ellis, and Karen (David) Black along with eight grandchildren and five great grandchildren.
A Celebration of Life Mass will be held on Tuesday, May 6, at Ste. Genevieve Du Bois Parish, 1575 N. Woodlawn Avenue, Warson Woods, Mo. Visitation at the church will begin at 10 a.m. followed by Mass at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to a charity of your choice.