PBA Tour
Encyclopedia
The Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour is the major professional tour for ten-pin bowling
, operated by the Professional Bowlers Association
. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the PBA Tour consists of "exempt" bowlers who are a part of the almost 4,300 members worldwide. From September to April of each year, the PBA Tour puts on a series of events for exempt members, as well as other PBA members who are able to qualify for the remaining spots in a given event.
The events are held across the United States
. In addition, the PBA Tour co-hosts the Dydo Japan Cup
, along with the Japan Professional Bowling Association
(JPBA). And, select American members compete against their European counterparts in the Weber Cup
.
Under this new format, bona fide status as a touring professional was not a guarantee; it had to be earned. The 2005 H&R Block Tournament of Champions was pivotal, as Randy Pedersen
was facing the loss of his exempt status in the semi-final match against Norm Duke
. On his final shot, Pedersen left a ringing 10-pin and immediately singled out the sidelines, accusing a spectator of distracting him as he made his shot. From that point, Pedersen would have to bowl in the Tour Qualifying Round (TQR) in order to try making the initial field of 64.
Criticism of the format was brought forth by long-time PBA fans when popular 24-time winner Brian Voss
lost his tour exemption following the 2006-07 season. 19-time titleist Amleto Monacelli
also lost his exemption at the same time.
Depending on the season, a set number of bowlers (for example, 58 bowlers in the 2008-09 season) earned exemptions which automatically placed them in the starting field of 64 bowlers each week. The remaining spots needed to bring the field to 64 were awarded each week through the PBA Tour Qualifying Round (TQR), also called the "rabbit squad". PBA Commissioner Fred Schreyer
would often award one spot in the field to a former touring pro under the Commissioner's Exemption, meaning even fewer spots were available via the TQR. For example, PBA Hall of Famer and Medford, Oregon
resident Marshall Holman
competed on a Commissioner's Exemption at the Bayer
Earl Anthony
Medford Classic held in that city in January, 2009.
During the TQR, amateur and non-exempt PBA bowlers bowled 7 games of qualifying. The top amateur bowler advanced (no matter where he or she finished), along with the top-scoring PBA members needed to round out the field. In the 2007-08 PBA season
, rookie Rhino Page
made a remarkable five TV finals appearances (winning one title) despite having to bowl in the TQR every week.
At the 2006 Denny's PBA Tour Trials, Kelly Kulick
made history by becoming the first woman to ever gain a PBA exemption (she was exempt for the 2006-07 season). (Before it dissolved, Kulick was the 2001 Rookie of the Year on the PWBA
, won the 2003 U.S. Women's Open
, and was a three-time member of Team USA.) Kulick later earned a two-year exemption to the main PBA Tour with her victory in the 2010
Tournament of Champions; she had earned her spot in that event by winning the PBA Women's World Championship, the tour's first major championship in its Women's Series.
From 2009 to 2011, the Tour Trials were replaced by the PBA Regional Players Invitational (RPI). For the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons, the top eight finishers at the RPI were offered PBA Tour exemptions, though not all of them accepted. At the 2011 RPI, 58-year old Kerry Painter finished eighth and made history by becoming the oldest player to ever earn a PBA Tour exemption.
This change means that all events during the 2012-13 PBA national tour will be open to all players. (The one notable exception is the PBA Tournament of Champions, which requires participants to have won a title on the PBA Tour, PBA Regional Tour or PBA Senior Tour.)
While the "exempt player" designation was removed, the PBA announced that players will be able to earn "Touring 1" and "Touring 2" statuses, which will offer certain benefits and bonuses. "Touring 1" status will be awarded to all bowlers who enter at least 80 percent of a season's tournaments, including the World Series of Bowling, at least two majors, and at least three PBA Xtra Frame events. "Touring 2" status will be awarded for players entering at least 60 percent of a season's tournaments, including the World Series, at least one major, and at least one Xtra Frame event. To earn either status, players must also average 190 or higher in PBA Tour events.
While the PBA points list no longer affects exempt status, there will still be incentives for finishing high on the list -- such as qualifying for the season-ending Dick Weber
PBA Playoffs (begun in 2010-11) and entry into the exclusive 36-bowler field for the Pepsi
PBA Elite Players Championship (begun in 2011-12).
television in 1962, most tourneys bowled a set number of match-play games, with the champion crowned by final overall total pinfall.
Beginning in the 1960s through 1997 (with the exception of one year), televised events were done in a "stepladder" format. Four matches would be held, with the #5 and #4 seeds from the qualifying rounds meeting first. The winner of the first match would bowl the #3 seed, and likewise up to the top spot.
ABC experimented in 1993 with a King Of The Hill format. Under this arrangement, only the top four seeds made it to the television finals, instead of five, with the traditional stepladder format. The #4 and #3 seeds met first, with the winner facing the #2 seed, and that winner then facing the #1 seed. The winner of the tournament faced the current "King" for an additional cash prize. The winner of the King of the Hill match would then bowl the winner of the following week's tournament. The "King" could defend his title even when not competing in the event hosting it. The tour resumed its normal "stepladder" format the following year.
The bowler who won himself the most notoriety for winning "King" matches was Ron Williams, who won only four tourneys in his career, yet held the "King" spot for five consecutive weeks that year.
Special formats were also used on occasion in conjunction with Old Spice
deodorant, which sponsored a Winning Never Gets Old challenge annually in the mid 1990s. The winner of the championship would bowl a Seniors Tour bowler for the rights to an extra $10,000.
When the PBA moved to CBS in 1998, a two-match format was adopted. Again going to four bowlers, the #2, #3, and #4 players bowled in one "shootout" match, with the winner to face the tournament leader for the championship.
In January 2005, the PBA tournament format was modified because of the all exempt tour. Non-exempt bowlers bowled on the first day to determine the additional six (or more) bowlers who qualify for the tournament (on top of the exempt field). The second day consisted of 64 bowlers rolling 14 games (two 7-game blocks) to determine the 32 bowlers who made "match play" on the third day. Seeding of the top 32 was based on a rolling points list of the 20 previous events.
The third day featureed 32 bowlers competing in potentially 21 matches in a single day. It started with the first round in the morning, followed by the second round ("Round of 16") after lunch. That night, the quarterfinal ("Round of 8") matches were conducted. All matches were a best 4-of-7 format. The four quarterfinal winners made the field for the televised finals. Depending on the finals format, a fifth bowler could be added based on highest pinfall among the quarterfinal non-winners.
The championship round remained single head-to-head matches for semifinals and finals on the final day. Beginning in the 2009-10 season, a majority of the finals had returned to the stepladder format.
All match play rounds were on the second day of the tournament, and all were best 4-of-7 matches.
In May 2008, the PBA announced that it was revising its all-time records to include USBC
Masters and BPAA All-Star titles if they were bowled by a PBA member. American Bowling Congress (the merger took place in 2005) Masters titles prior to 1998 and BPAA All-Star (U.S. Open prior to 1971) titles were previously not counted as PBA titles. They are now counted as both a PBA title and a major title. The most significant impact of this change is that Dick Weber moves from a 9th place tie on the all-time titles list to 7th place (30 titles) while picking up four more majors (all BPAA All-Star events). Also, Earl Anthony is credited with two more major titles, both being USBC Masters, giving him a record ten majors among his 43 total titles; he had previously shared the record of eight major titles with Pete Weber.
and Mark Roth
. The two won 10 of the 11 P.O.Y. awards between 1974–84, and faced off in many memorable finals. In the 2007-08 season, a new Player of the Year system was instituted, where a points system only determines the winner. Chris Barnes became the first Player of the Year winner under this new system in 2008, edging out Walter Ray Williams Jr. by two points.
To put this theory to the test, the PBA held a special "Ultimate Scoring Championship" in the 2008-09 season, with pro bowlers competing on a typical league lane condition. The event took place November 9–11, 2008 in Taylor, Michigan
, prior to the PBA Chameleon Championship that took place in the same bowling center. The lane conditions indeed proved easier for the professionals, as 3 of the 4 finalists averaged better than 250 during match play.
Custom oil patterns are used for the four major tournaments. In addition, the PBA introduced the Dick Weber
pattern for two 2008-09 tournaments (including the Denny's
Dick Weber Open), plus a newly-designed "Earl" pattern for the Earl Anthony
Medford Classic.
Though most PBA pros tend to bowl their best on one or two of the PBA oil patterns, two players, Mika Koivuniemi
and Tommy Jones, have managed to win at least one title on all five standard patterns.
The USBC is also grasping the PBA lane conditions. Called the USBC PBA Experience, amateurs are able to experience and test their bowling skills against PBA-like conditions, by participating in a USBC sanctioned league style called Sport Bowling
.
) -- held in August and September 2009 in Allen Park, MI, near Detroit. All of the events ran in a split format: the early rounds of each tournament were held on consecutive days in August and September, and ESPN television taped the final rounds for the tournaments on Labor Day weekend (September 5–7). These were aired on seven Sundays, October 25 through December 6, 2009.
The final rounds for the Women's and Senior PBA World Championship were taped September 5 and were broadcast on October 25. The final round for the "open" PBA World Championship was broadcast live on December 13.
The Motor City Open and PBA World Championship were open to the entire PBA membership. The fields for the five exempt events were increased from 64 to 72, with the additional spots going to TQR qualifiers and the new "Golden Parachute" entry reserved for a formerly-exempt player. Under the Golden Parachute rule, any formerly exempt PBA member who lost his/her exemption during past four years was able to apply for this new exempt position. (It was awarded to 24-time PBA titleist Brian Voss
.) Following the 2009-10 season, the Golden Parachute exemption will come only from the previous year’s crop of players who lose their exemption due to points.
The exempt PBA Women's Series
fields were increased from 16 to 20. The Women's Series added qualifiers for the exempt events to fill two of the four additional spots.
The second half of the season, running January–April 2010, consisted of 11 traditional touring weekly tournaments, including the remaining three majors. Each event ended with the live ESPN television finals on Sundays. The second half also included three special (non-title) televised events: the Chris Paul
PBA Celebrity Invitational, the PBA Experience Showdown, and the PBA Women's Series Showdown.
. It consisted of five title events, qualifying for the PBA World Championship, and one non-title, made-for-TV event. Based on input from players, as well as corporate partner and ESPN television needs, there were some revisions to the series:
The format for the second half of the 2010-11 season included the remaining three majors (USBC Masters, Tournament of Champions and U.S. Open), as well as the first-ever Dick Weber
PBA Playoffs. The 2011 Tournament of Champions had the largest prize fund ($1 million U.S.) and largest first-place prize ($250,000 U.S.) in PBA history.
. It will include both the qualifying and final rounds of the PBA World Championship, the first major tournament of the season.
The second half of the PBA Tour season includes the three remaining majors (USBC Masters
, Lumber Liquidators U.S. Open
and Tournament of Champions), plus four additional title events.
NOTE: In May, 2008, the PBA announced that it was revising its all-time records to include ABC Masters titles prior to 1998 if the person who earned the title was a PBA member at the time.
The PBA National Championship was renamed the World Championship in 2002-03.
Only six bowlers in the history of the PBA have won all three jewels of the Triple Crown in their careers:
Despite 47 and 43 titles respectively, Walter Ray Williams and Earl Anthony are not Triple Crown winners. As mentioned, Anthony never won the U.S. Open, though he finished runner-up in the event three times. Williams has yet to win the Tournament of Champions.
, Norm Duke
and Billy Hardwick
are the only three of the five PBA "Triple Crown" winners who have also won the ABC/USBC Masters, thus giving them the unofficial "grand slam" of pro bowling.
Don Carter
is also noted for having won all four possible "majors" during his career (PBA National Championship, BPAA All-Star, World Invitational and ABC Masters), however some of these were not PBA events.
In its heyday, ABC's Professional Bowlers Tour outranked all sporting events on Saturdays with the exception of college football
telecasts.
The 1991 Tournament of Champions was delayed for over thirty minutes at the start due to a bomb threat being phoned in at Rivera Lanes in Fairlawn, Ohio
. The ABC telecast joined in during the evacuation's final stages and featured interviews with local officials, as well as classic clips from previous T of C telecasts.
Mark Roth
, whose first career title was captured at the 1975 King Louie Open in Kansas
by rolling a televised 299 game, gained immortality by becoming the first bowler to convert the almost-impossible "7-10 split" on national television in the first match of the ARC Alameda Open on January 5, 1980. In 1991, John Mazza
and Jess Stayrook
also accomplished this feat on television. During the 2005-06 season, Walter Ray Williams Jr. became the only bowler to convert the 4-6-7-10 "big four" combination on television.
In 2005, ESPN Classic
began televising old bowling broadcasts daily, including some of the more memorable ones in which bowlers shot perfect games or records were set. All of the telecasts originally aired on either ABC or ESPN since those are the tapes to which the network owns the rights.
Championship in Indianapolis
. Two of the eighteen perfect games (fifth and sixth overall) have been bowled in the final title match, first by Bob Benoit
at the 1988 Quaker State Open and then by Mike Aulby
at the 1993 Wichita Open.
There have also been two on Senior PBA Tour telecasts, by Gene Stus (1992) and Ron Winger (1993).
A most memorable televised 299 game occurred on April 4, 1970 when Don Johnson
defeated Dick Ritger
to win the 1970 Firestone Tournament of Champions. With 11 strikes already down, he threw his 12th ball, stepped back and dropped to the floor. The ball hit the pocket, but the 10-pin remained standing. Johnson, still on the floor, briefly lowered his face into his hands, then stood up to a thunderous ovation. Along with the trophy and $25,000 check from Firestone, Johnson also received the 10-pin that denied him both an extra $10,000 and a new Mercury Cougar automobile for a perfect game.
Ten-pin bowling
Ten-pin bowling is a competitive sport in which a player rolls a bowling ball down a wooden or synthetic lane with the objective of scoring points by knocking down as many pins as possible.-Summary:The lane is bordered along its length by semicylindrical channels Ten-pin bowling (commonly just...
, operated by the Professional Bowlers Association
Professional Bowlers Association
The Professional Bowlers Association is the major sanctioning body for the sport of professional ten-pin bowling in the United States. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the PBA membership consists of almost 4,300 members worldwide...
. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the PBA Tour consists of "exempt" bowlers who are a part of the almost 4,300 members worldwide. From September to April of each year, the PBA Tour puts on a series of events for exempt members, as well as other PBA members who are able to qualify for the remaining spots in a given event.
The events are held across the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In addition, the PBA Tour co-hosts the Dydo Japan Cup
Dydo Japan Cup
Dydo Japan Cup is an annual PBA and JPBA bowling event. The tournament typically featured the top 16 bowlers from each organization, and has been dominated by PBA Tour professionals since 1989. The last JPBA bowler to win the event was Takeo Sakai in 1988.The tournament celebrated its 25th...
, along with the Japan Professional Bowling Association
Japan Professional Bowling Association
The is the major sanctioning body for the sport of professional ten-pin bowling in Japan. The organization was founded by , and was established on January 27, 1967. The JPBA sanctions tournaments and other functions related to professional bowling for both men and women. Its headquarters are...
(JPBA). And, select American members compete against their European counterparts in the Weber Cup
Weber Cup
The Weber Cup, named after bowling legend Dick Weber, is the Ten-pin bowling equivalent of Golf's Ryder Cup. It consists of two teams, Team Europe and Team USA competing over three days in a series of singles, doubles and team matches....
.
Qualifying for the PBA Tour
From the PBA Tour's inception through the 2003-04 season, most national PBA Tour events were open to the entire PBA membership. The initial tournament squads typically included well over 100 bowlers, who would roll a set number of qualifying games to determine the "cut line" for additional qualifying and/or match play (typically 64 bowlers).The Exempt Tour (2004-05 through 2011-12)
Starting in October 2004, the PBA adopted an all-exempt national tour format. In this format, only 64 bowlers competed in most weekly events. Bowlers earned exemptions by winning a tournament during the previous season, winning one of the four major tournaments (thus gaining a multi-year exemption), placing among the top finishers in points, leading a region on the PBA Regional Tour (2005-2007), finishing in a high position at the PBA Tour Trials (2005-2008), or placing high enough at the PBA Regional Players Invitational Tournament (2008-2011).Under this new format, bona fide status as a touring professional was not a guarantee; it had to be earned. The 2005 H&R Block Tournament of Champions was pivotal, as Randy Pedersen
Randy Pedersen
Randy Pedersen is a professional bowler and color analyst for ESPN's coverage of the PBA Tour. He works alongside play-by-play commentator Rob Stone. Pedersen grew up in Southern California, but relocated to Clermont, Florida in the early 1990s, where he has resided ever since...
was facing the loss of his exempt status in the semi-final match against Norm Duke
Norm Duke
Norm Duke is an American professional bowler currently on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour. He has bowled 58 perfect 300 games in PBA competition, including the 15th televised 300 game in PBA Tour history on January 5, 2003....
. On his final shot, Pedersen left a ringing 10-pin and immediately singled out the sidelines, accusing a spectator of distracting him as he made his shot. From that point, Pedersen would have to bowl in the Tour Qualifying Round (TQR) in order to try making the initial field of 64.
Criticism of the format was brought forth by long-time PBA fans when popular 24-time winner Brian Voss
Brian Voss
Brian Voss of Kennesaw, GA, is a professional ten-pin bowler and member of the Professional Bowlers Association since 1982. The right-hander currently owns 25 PBA titles...
lost his tour exemption following the 2006-07 season. 19-time titleist Amleto Monacelli
Amleto Monacelli
Amleto Monacelli of Barquisimeto, Venezuela, is a renowned ten-pin bowler and winner of 19 titles on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour.-PBA career:...
also lost his exemption at the same time.
Depending on the season, a set number of bowlers (for example, 58 bowlers in the 2008-09 season) earned exemptions which automatically placed them in the starting field of 64 bowlers each week. The remaining spots needed to bring the field to 64 were awarded each week through the PBA Tour Qualifying Round (TQR), also called the "rabbit squad". PBA Commissioner Fred Schreyer
Fred Schreyer
Fred Schreyer is the CEO and Commissioner of the Professional Bowlers Association . Schreyer joined the PBA in October 2002, serving as the Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel. He later became the PBA Commissioner in 2003...
would often award one spot in the field to a former touring pro under the Commissioner's Exemption, meaning even fewer spots were available via the TQR. For example, PBA Hall of Famer and Medford, Oregon
Medford, Oregon
Medford is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2010 US Census, the city had a total population of 74,907 and a metropolitan area population of 207,010, making the Medford MSA the 4th largest metro area in Oregon...
resident Marshall Holman
Marshall Holman
Marshall Holman is an American professional bowler primarily known for his success on the PBA Tour throughout the 1970s and 1980s. He also served as a color analyst alongside Mike Durbin on several ESPN and ESPN2 bowling telecasts from 1996–2001...
competed on a Commissioner's Exemption at the Bayer
Bayer
Bayer AG is a chemical and pharmaceutical company founded in Barmen , Germany in 1863. It is headquartered in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and well known for its original brand of aspirin.-History:...
Earl Anthony
Earl Anthony
Earl Roderick Anthony was a left-handed American professional bowler who amassed records of 41 titles and six bowler of the year awards on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour. His title count was amended to 43 in 2008, when the PBA chose to include ABC Masters titles earned by a PBA member...
Medford Classic held in that city in January, 2009.
During the TQR, amateur and non-exempt PBA bowlers bowled 7 games of qualifying. The top amateur bowler advanced (no matter where he or she finished), along with the top-scoring PBA members needed to round out the field. In the 2007-08 PBA season
PBA Bowling Tour: 2007-08 season
This is the 2007-2008 season in review for the Professional Bowlers Association .-Season Highlights:* Chris Barnes made the final match in four tournaments, winning two titles en route to PBA Player of the Year honors...
, rookie Rhino Page
Rhino Page
Ryan "Rhino" Page is a left-handed bowler on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour, and was the 2008 PBA Rookie of the Year. He is also a former U.S. Amateur champion, winning the event in 2005. A San Diego, California native, Page now resides in Dade City, FL...
made a remarkable five TV finals appearances (winning one title) despite having to bowl in the TQR every week.
Qualifying Via PBA Tour Trials and RPI
From 2005 to 2008, the PBA held the PBA Tour Trials in late May/early June to determine the bowlers who would will fill the remaining open spots on the following season's exempt player list. The number of exemptions awarded at the PBA Tour Trials varied -- 10 spots were available in 2006-07, but only seven spots at the start of the 2007-08 and 2008-09 campaigns. That number could increase or decrease due to injury deferments for currently exempt bowlers. At the Tour Trials, non-exempt PBA and international bowlers bowled nine games each day for five straight days on the five primary PBA oil patterns. (See "PBA Tour lane preparation" later in this article.)At the 2006 Denny's PBA Tour Trials, Kelly Kulick
Kelly Kulick
Kelly Kulick is an American professional bowler from Union Township, New Jersey. She has won eight professional women's bowling titles and one PBA Tour title.-Bowling accomplishments:...
made history by becoming the first woman to ever gain a PBA exemption (she was exempt for the 2006-07 season). (Before it dissolved, Kulick was the 2001 Rookie of the Year on the PWBA
Professional Women's Bowling Association
The Professional Women's Bowling Association formed in 1960. After the organization struggled, a group of female professional bowlers left the PWBA to form the Ladies' Professional Bowlers Association in 1974. The two merged again in 1978, forming the Women's Professional Bowlers Association,...
, won the 2003 U.S. Women's Open
U.S. Women's Open (bowling)
The United States Women's Open, a.k.a. U.S. Women's Open, a.k.a. Women's U.S. Open, is an annual tournament for women, dedicated to ten-pin bowling in the United States. From its inception in 1949 until its cancellation in 2004 , the event was held every year except for 1953, 1997 and 2002...
, and was a three-time member of Team USA.) Kulick later earned a two-year exemption to the main PBA Tour with her victory in the 2010
PBA Bowling Tour: 2009-10 season
- Tournament Schedule and Recaps :In a cost-cutting move, the PBA held the first half of the 2009-10 season in Allen Park, MI under the name PBA World Series of Bowling. Preliminary rounds of the televised tournaments were held in August, with television tapings on Labor Day weekend...
Tournament of Champions; she had earned her spot in that event by winning the PBA Women's World Championship, the tour's first major championship in its Women's Series.
From 2009 to 2011, the Tour Trials were replaced by the PBA Regional Players Invitational (RPI). For the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons, the top eight finishers at the RPI were offered PBA Tour exemptions, though not all of them accepted. At the 2011 RPI, 58-year old Kerry Painter finished eighth and made history by becoming the oldest player to ever earn a PBA Tour exemption.
Exempt Tour Discontinued (2012-13 and beyond)
In November, 2011, the PBA announced that they will discontinue the exempt tour format for the 2012-13 PBA Tour season. Due to the changing climate of the Tour itself, the number of all-exempt events had been steadily declining in the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons, until there were only three exempt events for the 2011-12 season.This change means that all events during the 2012-13 PBA national tour will be open to all players. (The one notable exception is the PBA Tournament of Champions, which requires participants to have won a title on the PBA Tour, PBA Regional Tour or PBA Senior Tour.)
While the "exempt player" designation was removed, the PBA announced that players will be able to earn "Touring 1" and "Touring 2" statuses, which will offer certain benefits and bonuses. "Touring 1" status will be awarded to all bowlers who enter at least 80 percent of a season's tournaments, including the World Series of Bowling, at least two majors, and at least three PBA Xtra Frame events. "Touring 2" status will be awarded for players entering at least 60 percent of a season's tournaments, including the World Series, at least one major, and at least one Xtra Frame event. To earn either status, players must also average 190 or higher in PBA Tour events.
While the PBA points list no longer affects exempt status, there will still be incentives for finishing high on the list -- such as qualifying for the season-ending Dick Weber
Dick Weber
Dick Weber was a famous bowling professional and a founding member of the Professional Bowlers Association...
PBA Playoffs (begun in 2010-11) and entry into the exclusive 36-bowler field for the Pepsi
Pepsi
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo...
PBA Elite Players Championship (begun in 2011-12).
Finals formats
Prior to the debut of the PBA on ABCAmerican Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
television in 1962, most tourneys bowled a set number of match-play games, with the champion crowned by final overall total pinfall.
Beginning in the 1960s through 1997 (with the exception of one year), televised events were done in a "stepladder" format. Four matches would be held, with the #5 and #4 seeds from the qualifying rounds meeting first. The winner of the first match would bowl the #3 seed, and likewise up to the top spot.
ABC experimented in 1993 with a King Of The Hill format. Under this arrangement, only the top four seeds made it to the television finals, instead of five, with the traditional stepladder format. The #4 and #3 seeds met first, with the winner facing the #2 seed, and that winner then facing the #1 seed. The winner of the tournament faced the current "King" for an additional cash prize. The winner of the King of the Hill match would then bowl the winner of the following week's tournament. The "King" could defend his title even when not competing in the event hosting it. The tour resumed its normal "stepladder" format the following year.
The bowler who won himself the most notoriety for winning "King" matches was Ron Williams, who won only four tourneys in his career, yet held the "King" spot for five consecutive weeks that year.
Special formats were also used on occasion in conjunction with Old Spice
Old Spice
Old Spice is a prominent American brand of male grooming products. It is manufactured by Procter & Gamble, which acquired the brand in 1990 from the Shulton Company.-History:...
deodorant, which sponsored a Winning Never Gets Old challenge annually in the mid 1990s. The winner of the championship would bowl a Seniors Tour bowler for the rights to an extra $10,000.
When the PBA moved to CBS in 1998, a two-match format was adopted. Again going to four bowlers, the #2, #3, and #4 players bowled in one "shootout" match, with the winner to face the tournament leader for the championship.
The Road to the Finals
After the PBA's sale and move of broadcasts to ESPN, most tournaments used a "bracketed" format. Each bowler bowled nine qualifying games, with the top 64 by pinfall competing in best 4-of-7 head-to-head matches. The four remaining bowlers from match play competed in two semi-final matches, followed by a final match of the semi-final winners. A few tournaments still used the stepladder format for the finals.In January 2005, the PBA tournament format was modified because of the all exempt tour. Non-exempt bowlers bowled on the first day to determine the additional six (or more) bowlers who qualify for the tournament (on top of the exempt field). The second day consisted of 64 bowlers rolling 14 games (two 7-game blocks) to determine the 32 bowlers who made "match play" on the third day. Seeding of the top 32 was based on a rolling points list of the 20 previous events.
The third day featureed 32 bowlers competing in potentially 21 matches in a single day. It started with the first round in the morning, followed by the second round ("Round of 16") after lunch. That night, the quarterfinal ("Round of 8") matches were conducted. All matches were a best 4-of-7 format. The four quarterfinal winners made the field for the televised finals. Depending on the finals format, a fifth bowler could be added based on highest pinfall among the quarterfinal non-winners.
The championship round remained single head-to-head matches for semifinals and finals on the final day. Beginning in the 2009-10 season, a majority of the finals had returned to the stepladder format.
2009-10 Changes
For the first five exempt events of the 2009-10 season, the starting field consisted of 72 bowlers all rolling 14 games of qualifying in one day (two blocks of 7 games each) to determine the top 28. The top four bowlers by pinfall automatically earned a spot in the Round of 16 match play. The other 12 spots for the Round of 16 were determined in a separate match play round for the #5 through #28 seeds. The eight winners from the Round of 16 match play then bowled a final match play round to determine the four bowlers who advanced to the TV finals.All match play rounds were on the second day of the tournament, and all were best 4-of-7 matches.
Top 20 in PBA titles
The following are the top titles winners in PBA Tour history. The table lists the name and the number of titles; a check mark indicates that the player is still active.| Rank | Name | Titles | Active? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Walter Ray Williams Jr. Walter Ray Williams Walter Ray Williams, Jr. is one of the top-ranking professional ten-pin bowlers in history. He currently holds the record for all-time standard PBA Tour career titles and total PBA earnings... |
47 | |
| 2. | Earl Anthony Earl Anthony Earl Roderick Anthony was a left-handed American professional bowler who amassed records of 41 titles and six bowler of the year awards on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour. His title count was amended to 43 in 2008, when the PBA chose to include ABC Masters titles earned by a PBA member... |
43 | |
| 3. | Pete Weber Pete Weber Peter David "Pete" Weber, nicknamed “PDW”, , is a famous bowling professional on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour. Weber is one of the sport's most popular active players and is well known for his maverick, rebellious personality... |
35 | |
| 4. | Mark Roth Mark Roth Mark Roth is a former professional bowler. He was born in Brooklyn, New York City, New York. As a youth he resided in Meiers Corners, Staten Island, New York City, New York.-Bowling career:... |
34 | |
| Norm Duke Norm Duke Norm Duke is an American professional bowler currently on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour. He has bowled 58 perfect 300 games in PBA competition, including the 15th televised 300 game in PBA Tour history on January 5, 2003.... |
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| 6. | Parker Bohn III Parker Bohn III Parker Morse Bohn III is a left-handed American professional bowler and has been a member of the Professional Bowlers Association since 1984. He currently ranks sixth all-time with 32 career PBA titles, and has earned over $2.7 million in PBA events—good for fourth on the all-time list... |
32 | |
| 7. | Dick Weber Dick Weber Dick Weber was a famous bowling professional and a founding member of the Professional Bowlers Association... |
30 | |
| 8. | Mike Aulby Mike Aulby Mike Aulby is a left-handed bowler and former member of the Professional Bowlers Association . He is one of only three PBA bowlers to win both a Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year award... |
29 | |
| 9. | Don Johnson Don Johnson (bowler) Don Johnson was an American ten-pin bowler who spent many years on the Professional Bowlers Association tour.-PBA career:... |
26 | |
| 10. | Brian Voss Brian Voss Brian Voss of Kennesaw, GA, is a professional ten-pin bowler and member of the Professional Bowlers Association since 1982. The right-hander currently owns 25 PBA titles... |
25 | |
| 11. | Marshall Holman Marshall Holman Marshall Holman is an American professional bowler primarily known for his success on the PBA Tour throughout the 1970s and 1980s. He also served as a color analyst alongside Mike Durbin on several ESPN and ESPN2 bowling telecasts from 1996–2001... |
22 | |
| 12. | Dick Ritger Dick Ritger Dick Ritger , of River Falls, Wisconsin, was a dominating right-handed ten-pin bowler in the Professional Bowlers Association , and now runs Dick Ritger's Bowling Camp.-PBA career:... |
20 | |
| Wayne Webb Wayne Webb Wayne Webb is the son of a Ten-pin bowling alley operator from Rehoboth, Massachusetts, USA and was one of the world's best Ten-pin bowlers from the late 1970s to the end of the 1980s... |
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| 14. | Amleto Monacelli Amleto Monacelli Amleto Monacelli of Barquisimeto, Venezuela, is a renowned ten-pin bowler and winner of 19 titles on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour.-PBA career:... |
19 | |
| 15. | Nelson Burton Jr. Nelson Burton Jr. Nelson "Bo" Burton, Jr. is a professional ten-pin bowler and former longtime analyst for the Professional Bowlers Tour on ABC Television. He is the son of Nelson Burton, Sr., who himself was a successful bowler in his day, competing with the likes of Glenn Allison and Billy Welu... |
18 | |
| Dave Davis Dave Davis (bowler) Dave Davis was a successful professional ten-pin bowler and former member of the Professional Bowlers Association . He grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey, and now resides in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.... |
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| Billy Hardwick Billy Hardwick Billy Hardwick is a former right-handed ten-pin bowler and member of the Professional Bowlers Association. He currently hails from Florida.-PBA career:... |
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| Dave Soutar Dave Soutar David Soutar was a successful professional ten-pin bowler on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour. He won 18 times on the regular PBA Tour, and seven more times on the Senior PBA Tour... |
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| 19. | Carmen Salvino Carmen Salvino Carmen Salvino is a professional ten-pin bowler and a founding member of the Professional Bowlers Association . Salvino won 17 PBA Tour titles –- among them the 1962 PBA National Championship. He also won two PBA Senior Tour titles, including the 1984 Senior National Championship... |
17 | |
| 20. | Jason Couch Jason Couch Jason Couch is one of the top bowlers on the Professional Bowlers Association tour. A left-handed cranker, he currently resides in Clermont, Florida.-PBA career:... |
16 | |
In May 2008, the PBA announced that it was revising its all-time records to include USBC
United States Bowling Congress
The United States Bowling Congress is a sports membership organization dedicated to ten-pin bowling in the United States. It was formed in 2005 by a merger of the American Bowling Congress, Women's International Bowling Congress, Young American Bowling Alliance, and USA Bowling...
Masters and BPAA All-Star titles if they were bowled by a PBA member. American Bowling Congress (the merger took place in 2005) Masters titles prior to 1998 and BPAA All-Star (U.S. Open prior to 1971) titles were previously not counted as PBA titles. They are now counted as both a PBA title and a major title. The most significant impact of this change is that Dick Weber moves from a 9th place tie on the all-time titles list to 7th place (30 titles) while picking up four more majors (all BPAA All-Star events). Also, Earl Anthony is credited with two more major titles, both being USBC Masters, giving him a record ten majors among his 43 total titles; he had previously shared the record of eight major titles with Pete Weber.
Player of the year
The PBA Player of the Year began being officially recognized in 1963. It was awarded by The Sporting News from 1963–70, and by the PBA membership from 1971-2007. Some factors used in the voting process for a given season included major titles, total titles, Tour average ranking, points ranking, season earnings and TV finals appearances. The mid-70's to early-80's were dominated by Earl AnthonyEarl Anthony
Earl Roderick Anthony was a left-handed American professional bowler who amassed records of 41 titles and six bowler of the year awards on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour. His title count was amended to 43 in 2008, when the PBA chose to include ABC Masters titles earned by a PBA member...
and Mark Roth
Mark Roth
Mark Roth is a former professional bowler. He was born in Brooklyn, New York City, New York. As a youth he resided in Meiers Corners, Staten Island, New York City, New York.-Bowling career:...
. The two won 10 of the 11 P.O.Y. awards between 1974–84, and faced off in many memorable finals. In the 2007-08 season, a new Player of the Year system was instituted, where a points system only determines the winner. Chris Barnes became the first Player of the Year winner under this new system in 2008, edging out Walter Ray Williams Jr. by two points.
| Season | Winner | Season | Winner | Season | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | Billy Hardwick Billy Hardwick Billy Hardwick is a former right-handed ten-pin bowler and member of the Professional Bowlers Association. He currently hails from Florida.-PBA career:... |
1979 | Mark Roth Mark Roth Mark Roth is a former professional bowler. He was born in Brooklyn, New York City, New York. As a youth he resided in Meiers Corners, Staten Island, New York City, New York.-Bowling career:... |
1995 | Mike Aulby Mike Aulby Mike Aulby is a left-handed bowler and former member of the Professional Bowlers Association . He is one of only three PBA bowlers to win both a Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year award... |
| 1964 | Bob Strampe Sr. | 1980 | Wayne Webb Wayne Webb Wayne Webb is the son of a Ten-pin bowling alley operator from Rehoboth, Massachusetts, USA and was one of the world's best Ten-pin bowlers from the late 1970s to the end of the 1980s... |
1996 | Walter Ray Williams Jr. |
| 1965 | Dick Weber Dick Weber Dick Weber was a famous bowling professional and a founding member of the Professional Bowlers Association... |
1981 | Earl Anthony Earl Anthony Earl Roderick Anthony was a left-handed American professional bowler who amassed records of 41 titles and six bowler of the year awards on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour. His title count was amended to 43 in 2008, when the PBA chose to include ABC Masters titles earned by a PBA member... |
1997 | Walter Ray Williams Jr. |
| 1966 | Wayne Zahn | 1982 | Earl Anthony Earl Anthony Earl Roderick Anthony was a left-handed American professional bowler who amassed records of 41 titles and six bowler of the year awards on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour. His title count was amended to 43 in 2008, when the PBA chose to include ABC Masters titles earned by a PBA member... |
1998 | Walter Ray Williams Jr. |
| 1967 | Dave Davis Dave Davis (bowler) Dave Davis was a successful professional ten-pin bowler and former member of the Professional Bowlers Association . He grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey, and now resides in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.... |
1983 | Earl Anthony Earl Anthony Earl Roderick Anthony was a left-handed American professional bowler who amassed records of 41 titles and six bowler of the year awards on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour. His title count was amended to 43 in 2008, when the PBA chose to include ABC Masters titles earned by a PBA member... |
1999 | Parker Bohn III Parker Bohn III Parker Morse Bohn III is a left-handed American professional bowler and has been a member of the Professional Bowlers Association since 1984. He currently ranks sixth all-time with 32 career PBA titles, and has earned over $2.7 million in PBA events—good for fourth on the all-time list... |
| 1968 | Jim Stefanich | 1984 | Mark Roth Mark Roth Mark Roth is a former professional bowler. He was born in Brooklyn, New York City, New York. As a youth he resided in Meiers Corners, Staten Island, New York City, New York.-Bowling career:... |
2000 | Norm Duke Norm Duke Norm Duke is an American professional bowler currently on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour. He has bowled 58 perfect 300 games in PBA competition, including the 15th televised 300 game in PBA Tour history on January 5, 2003.... |
| 1969 | Billy Hardwick Billy Hardwick Billy Hardwick is a former right-handed ten-pin bowler and member of the Professional Bowlers Association. He currently hails from Florida.-PBA career:... |
1985 | Mike Aulby Mike Aulby Mike Aulby is a left-handed bowler and former member of the Professional Bowlers Association . He is one of only three PBA bowlers to win both a Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year award... |
2001-02 | Parker Bohn III Parker Bohn III Parker Morse Bohn III is a left-handed American professional bowler and has been a member of the Professional Bowlers Association since 1984. He currently ranks sixth all-time with 32 career PBA titles, and has earned over $2.7 million in PBA events—good for fourth on the all-time list... |
| 1970 | Nelson Burton Jr. Nelson Burton Jr. Nelson "Bo" Burton, Jr. is a professional ten-pin bowler and former longtime analyst for the Professional Bowlers Tour on ABC Television. He is the son of Nelson Burton, Sr., who himself was a successful bowler in his day, competing with the likes of Glenn Allison and Billy Welu... |
1986 | Walter Ray Williams Jr. | 2002-03 | Walter Ray Williams Jr. |
| 1971 | Don Johnson Don Johnson (bowler) Don Johnson was an American ten-pin bowler who spent many years on the Professional Bowlers Association tour.-PBA career:... |
1987 | Marshall Holman Marshall Holman Marshall Holman is an American professional bowler primarily known for his success on the PBA Tour throughout the 1970s and 1980s. He also served as a color analyst alongside Mike Durbin on several ESPN and ESPN2 bowling telecasts from 1996–2001... |
2003-04 | Mika Koivuniemi Mika Koivuniemi Mika Juhani Koivuniemi is a Finnish ten-pin bowler, currently on the Professional Bowlers Association tour in the United States, who has won bowling titles in 12 different countries in his career.... |
| 1972 | Don Johnson Don Johnson Donnie Wayne "Don" Johnson is an American actor known for his work in television and film. He played the lead role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s TV cop series, Miami Vice, which led him to huge success. He also played the lead role in the 1990s cop series, Nash Bridges... |
1988 | Brian Voss Brian Voss Brian Voss of Kennesaw, GA, is a professional ten-pin bowler and member of the Professional Bowlers Association since 1982. The right-hander currently owns 25 PBA titles... |
2004-05 | Patrick Allen Patrick Allen (bowler) Patrick Allen is one of the premiere left-handed ten-pin bowlers currently on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour. He has won 13 PBA titles, including two majors... |
| 1973 | Don McCune | 1989 | Amleto Monacelli Amleto Monacelli Amleto Monacelli of Barquisimeto, Venezuela, is a renowned ten-pin bowler and winner of 19 titles on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour.-PBA career:... |
2005-06 | Tommy Jones |
| 1974 | Earl Anthony Earl Anthony Earl Roderick Anthony was a left-handed American professional bowler who amassed records of 41 titles and six bowler of the year awards on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour. His title count was amended to 43 in 2008, when the PBA chose to include ABC Masters titles earned by a PBA member... |
1990 | Amleto Monacelli Amleto Monacelli Amleto Monacelli of Barquisimeto, Venezuela, is a renowned ten-pin bowler and winner of 19 titles on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour.-PBA career:... |
2006-07 | Doug Kent Doug Kent Doug Kent is a right-handed American professional ten-pin bowler and member of the Professional Bowlers Association . In the 2006-07 season, Kent became just the sixth bowler in PBA history to win two major championships in one tour year as he captured titles in the USBC Masters and Denny's PBA... |
| 1975 | Earl Anthony Earl Anthony Earl Roderick Anthony was a left-handed American professional bowler who amassed records of 41 titles and six bowler of the year awards on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour. His title count was amended to 43 in 2008, when the PBA chose to include ABC Masters titles earned by a PBA member... |
1991 | David Ozio David Ozio David Ozio of Beaumont, TX is a right-handed ten-pin bowler and member of the Professional Bowlers Association . He won 11 titles on the PBA Tour. He was the 2004 Senior PBA Rookie of the Year, winning the 2004 Senior U.S. Open. Through 2008, he has won five titles on the Senior and Generations... |
2007-08 | Chris Barnes |
| 1976 | Earl Anthony Earl Anthony Earl Roderick Anthony was a left-handed American professional bowler who amassed records of 41 titles and six bowler of the year awards on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour. His title count was amended to 43 in 2008, when the PBA chose to include ABC Masters titles earned by a PBA member... |
1992 | Dave Ferraro | 2008-09 | Wes Malott Wes Malott Wesley Clint "Big Nasty" Malott is an American professional ten-pin bowler who resides in Pflugerville, Texas. He has six titles in eight full seasons on the PBA tour, having won at least one title in four straight seasons . He also won the 2006–07 Showplace Lanes Megabucks Shootout, which is not... |
| 1977 | Mark Roth Mark Roth Mark Roth is a former professional bowler. He was born in Brooklyn, New York City, New York. As a youth he resided in Meiers Corners, Staten Island, New York City, New York.-Bowling career:... |
1993 | Walter Ray Williams Jr. | 2009-10 | Walter Ray Williams, Jr. |
| 1978 | Mark Roth Mark Roth Mark Roth is a former professional bowler. He was born in Brooklyn, New York City, New York. As a youth he resided in Meiers Corners, Staten Island, New York City, New York.-Bowling career:... |
1994 | Norm Duke Norm Duke Norm Duke is an American professional bowler currently on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour. He has bowled 58 perfect 300 games in PBA competition, including the 15th televised 300 game in PBA Tour history on January 5, 2003.... |
2010-11 | Mika Koivuniemi Mika Koivuniemi Mika Juhani Koivuniemi is a Finnish ten-pin bowler, currently on the Professional Bowlers Association tour in the United States, who has won bowling titles in 12 different countries in his career.... |
PBA Tour lane preparation
Unlike the typical "league condition" or "house shot", which facilitates a fairly consistent pattern and wider target area, the PBA rotates five challenging lane oil patterns throughout the season. The patterns — known as Cheetah, Viper, Scorpion, Shark and Chameleon — feature varying oil volumes and lengths that require pros to adjust ball angle, rotation and speed accordingly. On some patterns, certain "strike lines" (areas of the lane) are unplayable, and spare shooting becomes much more important. This means a 220 average on the PBA Tour would easily translate to 20-30 pins higher on a typical league shot.To put this theory to the test, the PBA held a special "Ultimate Scoring Championship" in the 2008-09 season, with pro bowlers competing on a typical league lane condition. The event took place November 9–11, 2008 in Taylor, Michigan
Taylor, Michigan
Taylor is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 63,131 at the 2010 census. Taylor was originally known as Taylor Township and residents of the township voted to incorporate as the City of Taylor in May 1968...
, prior to the PBA Chameleon Championship that took place in the same bowling center. The lane conditions indeed proved easier for the professionals, as 3 of the 4 finalists averaged better than 250 during match play.
Custom oil patterns are used for the four major tournaments. In addition, the PBA introduced the Dick Weber
Dick Weber
Dick Weber was a famous bowling professional and a founding member of the Professional Bowlers Association...
pattern for two 2008-09 tournaments (including the Denny's
Denny's
Denny's is a full-service coffee shop/family restaurant chain. It operates over 1,500 restaurants in the United States , Canada, Curaçao, Costa Rica, Honduras, Jamaica, Japan , Mexico, New Zealand, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.Denny's is known for always being...
Dick Weber Open), plus a newly-designed "Earl" pattern for the Earl Anthony
Earl Anthony
Earl Roderick Anthony was a left-handed American professional bowler who amassed records of 41 titles and six bowler of the year awards on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour. His title count was amended to 43 in 2008, when the PBA chose to include ABC Masters titles earned by a PBA member...
Medford Classic.
Though most PBA pros tend to bowl their best on one or two of the PBA oil patterns, two players, Mika Koivuniemi
Mika Koivuniemi
Mika Juhani Koivuniemi is a Finnish ten-pin bowler, currently on the Professional Bowlers Association tour in the United States, who has won bowling titles in 12 different countries in his career....
and Tommy Jones, have managed to win at least one title on all five standard patterns.
The USBC is also grasping the PBA lane conditions. Called the USBC PBA Experience, amateurs are able to experience and test their bowling skills against PBA-like conditions, by participating in a USBC sanctioned league style called Sport Bowling
Sport bowling
Sport Bowling, an alternative to traditional bowling leagues, offers players the opportunity to bowl on exactly the same lane conditions and oil patterns that professional bowlers face on the PBA Tour. Sport Bowling was created by the United States Bowling Congress, the governing body of the sport...
.
2009-10 World Series of Bowling
In a cost-cutting effort, the PBA split the 2009-10 season into two segments. The first, the 2009 World Series of Bowling, consisted of seven PBA Tour events—including one major tournament (PBA World ChampionshipPBA World Championship
The PBA World Championship is one of the four major PBA bowling events. Prior to 2002, the tournament was called the PBA National Championship. The PBA National Championship was first contested in 1960, then called the First Annual National Championship...
) -- held in August and September 2009 in Allen Park, MI, near Detroit. All of the events ran in a split format: the early rounds of each tournament were held on consecutive days in August and September, and ESPN television taped the final rounds for the tournaments on Labor Day weekend (September 5–7). These were aired on seven Sundays, October 25 through December 6, 2009.
The final rounds for the Women's and Senior PBA World Championship were taped September 5 and were broadcast on October 25. The final round for the "open" PBA World Championship was broadcast live on December 13.
The Motor City Open and PBA World Championship were open to the entire PBA membership. The fields for the five exempt events were increased from 64 to 72, with the additional spots going to TQR qualifiers and the new "Golden Parachute" entry reserved for a formerly-exempt player. Under the Golden Parachute rule, any formerly exempt PBA member who lost his/her exemption during past four years was able to apply for this new exempt position. (It was awarded to 24-time PBA titleist Brian Voss
Brian Voss
Brian Voss of Kennesaw, GA, is a professional ten-pin bowler and member of the Professional Bowlers Association since 1982. The right-hander currently owns 25 PBA titles...
.) Following the 2009-10 season, the Golden Parachute exemption will come only from the previous year’s crop of players who lose their exemption due to points.
The exempt PBA Women's Series
PBA Women's Series
The PBA Women's Series was a mini-tour for female professional bowlers. It was started in 2007 as a way to bring women's bowling back to television after the Professional Women's Bowling Association disbanded in 2003...
fields were increased from 16 to 20. The Women's Series added qualifiers for the exempt events to fill two of the four additional spots.
The second half of the season, running January–April 2010, consisted of 11 traditional touring weekly tournaments, including the remaining three majors. Each event ended with the live ESPN television finals on Sundays. The second half also included three special (non-title) televised events: the Chris Paul
Chris Paul
Christopher Emmanuel Paul is an American professional basketball point guard for the New Orleans Hornets.Paul was born and raised in North Carolina. Despite only playing two varsity basketball seasons in high school, he was a McDonald's All-American and accepted a scholarship with nearby Wake...
PBA Celebrity Invitational, the PBA Experience Showdown, and the PBA Women's Series Showdown.
2010-11 Season
The PBA announced in May, 2010 that it would again cover all of the Fall tournaments for the upcoming season at the World Series of Bowling. The second annual event was held October 24 through November 6, 2010 at South Point Hotel, Casino and Bowling Center in Las Vegas, NevadaLas Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
. It consisted of five title events, qualifying for the PBA World Championship, and one non-title, made-for-TV event. Based on input from players, as well as corporate partner and ESPN television needs, there were some revisions to the series:
- All events were "open," meaning any PBA member could enter the entire World Series of Bowling via $750 entry fee. There were no Tour Qualifying Rounds or "World Series Trials."
- Over the first five days (starting Oct. 25) all players bowled 12 games on each of the PBA's five "animal" oil patterns (Cheetah, Chameleon, Viper, Scorpion and Shark). The Top 16 qualifiers on each pattern advanced to a 9-game match play the following week. Top 5 qualifiers after the match play rounds in each event advanced to the televised stepladder finals, contested on November 5–6 and taped by ESPN for broadcasts on five consecutive Sundays, starting November 28.
- The standings after all 60 animal pattern qualifying games also determined the rankings for the PBA World Championship. The World Championship was again be the first major and first live ESPN broadcast of the season, but this time it featured the Top 8 qualifiers bowling over three consecutive days (January 14–16, 2011).
- The Top 6 U.S. qualifiers and Top 6 International qualifiers after the 60 animal pattern games competed in a special (non-title) televised event called "USA vs. The World," which was taped on November 6 for a January 9, 2011 broadcast.
The format for the second half of the 2010-11 season included the remaining three majors (USBC Masters, Tournament of Champions and U.S. Open), as well as the first-ever Dick Weber
Dick Weber
Dick Weber was a famous bowling professional and a founding member of the Professional Bowlers Association...
PBA Playoffs. The 2011 Tournament of Champions had the largest prize fund ($1 million U.S.) and largest first-place prize ($250,000 U.S.) in PBA history.
2011-12 Season
The PBA announced in June, 2011 that it will again cover all of the Fall tournaments for the upcoming season at the World Series of Bowling, and that the event would have a $1 million prize fund. The event will be held November 4–20, 2011 and returns to the South Point Hotel, Casino and Bowling Center in Las Vegas, NevadaLas Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
. It will include both the qualifying and final rounds of the PBA World Championship, the first major tournament of the season.
The second half of the PBA Tour season includes the three remaining majors (USBC Masters
USBC Masters
The USBC Masters is a championship ten pin bowling event conducted by the United States Bowling Congress. The Professional Bowlers Association began recognizing it as a title event in 1998, and it was designated one of the four majors in 2000....
, Lumber Liquidators U.S. Open
U.S. Open (bowling)
The U.S. Open is one of the four major tournaments in the Professional Bowlers Association. The first modern-day U.S. Open tournament in the PBA took place in 1971 and was won by Mike Limongello. With four victories, Pete Weber holds the most modern-day U.S. Open trophies.The U.S...
and Tournament of Champions), plus four additional title events.
PBA Tour Major Championships
The PBA Tour currently has four major championship events:- The USBC Masters;
- The Lumber Liquidators U.S. Open;
- The PBA World Championship;
- The H&R Block Tournament of Champions.
USBC Masters
Current Defending Champion: Tom HessTom Hess
Thomas "Tom" Hess was a professional baseball catcher who played one season in Major League Baseball. He made his major league debut on June 6, , and it would prove to be his last appearance as well...
- The USBC Masters became an officially sanctioned PBA event in 1998. (Prior to 2005, this event was known as the ABC Masters.)
NOTE: In May, 2008, the PBA announced that it was revising its all-time records to include ABC Masters titles prior to 1998 if the person who earned the title was a PBA member at the time.
- Winners of the USBC Masters now earn a two-year PBA Tour exemption, meaning that for the following two seasons they do not have to qualify for the Top 64 each week through the TQR.
- Walter Ray Williams Jr. won a memorable 2009-10 Masters at age 50, firing a 290 game in the final to defeat Chris Barnes.
The United States Open
Current Defending Champion: Norm DukeNorm Duke
Norm Duke is an American professional bowler currently on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour. He has bowled 58 perfect 300 games in PBA competition, including the 15th televised 300 game in PBA Tour history on January 5, 2003....
- The origins of the U.S. Open pre-date the PBA's founding by more than a decade, starting in the 1940s. Originally associated with the Bowling Proprietors Association of America (BPAA) it was known as the BPAA All Star from 1951 to 1970. It was renamed the BPAA United States Open in 1971, and shortened to U.S. Open thereafter. It has been held every year since, except for 1997.
- The U.S. Open is considered the most difficult of the tournaments to win today due to its demanding oil pattern, which differs from the five oil patterns the PBA generally employs. According to PBA.com, the U.S. Open uses a "flat" oil pattern, with equal amounts of oil being applied to every board. (Normal lane conditions feature a "crown" or larger amount of oil over the middle lane boards, to handle the heavier ball traffic.)
- Don CarterDon Carter (bowler)Don Carter was a right-handed American professional bowler. Learning the game while working a childhood job as a pinsetter, Carter went on to become one of the legends of ten-pin bowling and a founding member of the Professional Bowlers Association in 1958. He was 6-time bowler of the year...
dominated the early BPAA All-Star events, winning four times between 1952 and 1960. Dick WeberDick WeberDick Weber was a famous bowling professional and a founding member of the Professional Bowlers Association...
also won this tournament four times when it was the BPAA All-Star. - Mike Limongello won the first modern-day U.S. Open in 1971, defeating Teata Semiz.
- Marshall HolmanMarshall HolmanMarshall Holman is an American professional bowler primarily known for his success on the PBA Tour throughout the 1970s and 1980s. He also served as a color analyst alongside Mike Durbin on several ESPN and ESPN2 bowling telecasts from 1996–2001...
became the first multiple modern-day winner with victories in 1981 and 1985. - The purse for the 1987 event, sponsored by SeagramSeagramThe Seagram Company Ltd. was a large corporation headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada that was the largest distiller of alcoholic beverages in the world. Toward the end of its independent existence it also controlled various entertainment and other business ventures...
Wine Coolers, was a then-record $500,000, with $100,000 going to the eventual winner, Del Ballard Jr.Del Ballard Jr.Delmas Perry "Del" Ballard Jr. is a professional ten-pin bowler and member of the Professional Bowlers Association. He was a 2009 inductee into the PBA Hall of Fame, and a 2011 inductee into the USBC Hall of Fame. Del is the husband of top female bowler Carolyn Dorin-Ballard with whom he has one... - The 1995 event, at Joe Louis ArenaJoe Louis ArenaJoe Louis Arena, nicknamed The Joe and JLA is a hockey arena located at 600 Civic Center Drive in Detroit, Michigan. It is the home of the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League. Completed in 1979 at a cost of $57 million, Joe Louis Arena is named after boxer and former heavyweight...
in Detroit, set a bowling attendance record with 7,212 watching Dave HustedDave HustedDavid Husted , of Milwaukie, Oregon, was a right-handed professional ten-pin bowler and member of the Professional Bowlers Association . He was inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame in 1996....
notch the second of his three U.S. Open Crowns. - Pete WeberPete WeberPeter David "Pete" Weber, nicknamed “PDW”, , is a famous bowling professional on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour. Weber is one of the sport's most popular active players and is well known for his maverick, rebellious personality...
holds the record with four modern-day U.S. Open titles (1988, 1991, 2003–04, 2006–07). - Earl AnthonyEarl AnthonyEarl Roderick Anthony was a left-handed American professional bowler who amassed records of 41 titles and six bowler of the year awards on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour. His title count was amended to 43 in 2008, when the PBA chose to include ABC Masters titles earned by a PBA member...
never captured the U.S. Open, despite runner-up finishes in 1973, 1979 and 1980. - Norm DukeNorm DukeNorm Duke is an American professional bowler currently on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour. He has bowled 58 perfect 300 games in PBA competition, including the 15th televised 300 game in PBA Tour history on January 5, 2003....
became just the seventh bowler in PBA history to win two majors in one season when he captured the 2008 U.S. Open. The victory made him the fifth Triple Crown winner (and third "grand slam" winner) in PBA history.
The PBA National / PBA World Championship
Current Defending Champion: Chris Barnes- Don CarterDon Carter (bowler)Don Carter was a right-handed American professional bowler. Learning the game while working a childhood job as a pinsetter, Carter went on to become one of the legends of ten-pin bowling and a founding member of the Professional Bowlers Association in 1958. He was 6-time bowler of the year...
won the inaugural National Championship in 1960 in MemphisMemphis, TennesseeMemphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, TN, defeating Ronnie Gaudern. - Hall of Famer Wayne Zahn became the first bowler to win this event twice, defeating Nelson Burton Jr.Nelson Burton Jr.Nelson "Bo" Burton, Jr. is a professional ten-pin bowler and former longtime analyst for the Professional Bowlers Tour on ABC Television. He is the son of Nelson Burton, Sr., who himself was a successful bowler in his day, competing with the likes of Glenn Allison and Billy Welu...
both times. - Earl AnthonyEarl AnthonyEarl Roderick Anthony was a left-handed American professional bowler who amassed records of 41 titles and six bowler of the year awards on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour. His title count was amended to 43 in 2008, when the PBA chose to include ABC Masters titles earned by a PBA member...
staked his mastery in this event; twice capturing it three straight years (1973–75; 1981–83). His 1983 victory was his 41st title (under PBA rules at the time), a record that would stand until Walter Ray Williams Jr. broke it in 2006-07. - Fellow Hall of Famer Mike AulbyMike AulbyMike Aulby is a left-handed bowler and former member of the Professional Bowlers Association . He is one of only three PBA bowlers to win both a Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year award...
won this event in 1979, the first of his 29 PBA titles. Ironically, he had to defeat Anthony to win. - The following year, Johnny PetragliaJohnny PetragliaJohnny Petraglia was born in Brooklyn, New York, and now hails from Manalapan Township, New Jersey. He is best known as a left-handed bowler and member of the Professional Bowlers Association , where he won 14 tour titles. He has also won six Senior PBA Tour titles...
won the final of his 14 titles at the Sterling Heights, MI, event. Petraglia became the second bowler to win bowling's original "Triple Crown" with this victory (after Billy HardwickBilly HardwickBilly Hardwick is a former right-handed ten-pin bowler and member of the Professional Bowlers Association. He currently hails from Florida.-PBA career:...
). - A memorable 1994 PBA National featured brothers David Traber and Dale Traber squaring off in the final match, with David emerging victorious.
- With his runner-up finish in the February 2008 event, Ryan Shafer set a record with his fourth runner-up finish in a PBA major event without a victory. Overall, Shafer has made the TV finals in a PBA major event 10 times and has yet to win.
- The event moved from late season to become the season-opening tournament in 2008-09, meaning there were two World Championships during calendar year 2008.
- With his victory in the November 2008 World Championship, Norm Duke became the first PBA bowler to win three consecutive majors.
- The event was moved again for the 2009-10 season. In a split-format, the qualifying for the championship was held at the PBA World Series of Bowling in early September, 2009, and the TV finals aired live from Wichita, KS on December 13, 2009.
The PBA National Championship was renamed the World Championship in 2002-03.
The Tournament of Champions
Current Defending Champion: Mika KoivuniemiMika Koivuniemi
Mika Juhani Koivuniemi is a Finnish ten-pin bowler, currently on the Professional Bowlers Association tour in the United States, who has won bowling titles in 12 different countries in his career....
- The Tournament of Champions has had many sponsors over the years; namely the Firestone Tire and Rubber CompanyFirestone Tire and Rubber CompanyThe Firestone Tire and Rubber Company is an American tire company founded by Harvey Firestone in 1900 to supply pneumatic tires for wagons, buggies, and other forms of wheeled transportation common in the era. Firestone soon saw the huge potential for marketing tires for automobiles. The company...
from 1962 to 1993. - Hall of Famer Joe Joseph captured the first Tournament of Champions crown in 1962.
- Billy HardwickBilly HardwickBilly Hardwick is a former right-handed ten-pin bowler and member of the Professional Bowlers Association. He currently hails from Florida.-PBA career:...
won the Tournament of Champions in 1965, besting finalists Dick Weber and Joe Joseph in a two-game set, 484-468-404. This was the first tourney in PBA history to offer a six-figure prize fund. - Jack Biondolillo rolled the PBA's first-ever televised 300 game at the 1967 T of C.
- George PappasGeorge PappasGeorge Sotiros Pappas is a professor of philosophy at Ohio State University. Pappas specializes in epistemology, the history of early modern philosophy, philosophy of religion, and metaphysics...
became one of the first bowlers to lead a tournament wire-to-wire (from opening game of qualifying to championship match) when he won the 1979 event. - The 1981 edition saw the only double two-frame roll-off in championship round history, with Pete Couture finally emerging victorious over Earl Anthony in the second roll-off. Steve CookSteve Cook (bowler)Steve Cook , of Granite Bay, CA, was a prominent left-handed ten-pin bowler and member of the Professional Bowlers Association . He was known as the largest physical specimen on the PBA Tour, standing 2.06 meters and weighing in around 120 kg...
won the championship with a memorable 287 game over Couture, gaining the first ten strikes before leaving the 6-7 split. - Only two men have ever won the TOC three times: Mike DurbinMike DurbinMike Durbin is a former American professional bowler. He became a member of the PBA in 1967, a year in which he won two tournaments and was named PBA Rookie of the Year by Sporting News. He would go on to win a record three Tournament of Champions titles and 14 total PBA titles, amassing over...
and Jason CouchJason CouchJason Couch is one of the top bowlers on the Professional Bowlers Association tour. A left-handed cranker, he currently resides in Clermont, Florida.-PBA career:...
. Couch's wins came in consecutive seasons, a feat no other bowler has accomplished. - Kelly KulickKelly KulickKelly Kulick is an American professional bowler from Union Township, New Jersey. She has won eight professional women's bowling titles and one PBA Tour title.-Bowling accomplishments:...
's 2010 win made her the first woman ever to win any event on the PBA Tour that was also open to men. - The 2010-11 Tournament of Champions featured a $1 million purse and a $250,000 first prize, making it the richest PBA tournament ever. (See: PBA Bowling Tour: 2010-11 season.)
PBA Triple Crown
The three "original" major championships (PBA World Championship, Tournament of Champions and U.S. Open) make up the PBA's "Triple Crown."Only six bowlers in the history of the PBA have won all three jewels of the Triple Crown in their careers:
- Billy HardwickBilly HardwickBilly Hardwick is a former right-handed ten-pin bowler and member of the Professional Bowlers Association. He currently hails from Florida.-PBA career:...
- Johnny PetragliaJohnny PetragliaJohnny Petraglia was born in Brooklyn, New York, and now hails from Manalapan Township, New Jersey. He is best known as a left-handed bowler and member of the Professional Bowlers Association , where he won 14 tour titles. He has also won six Senior PBA Tour titles...
- Mike AulbyMike AulbyMike Aulby is a left-handed bowler and former member of the Professional Bowlers Association . He is one of only three PBA bowlers to win both a Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year award...
- Pete WeberPete WeberPeter David "Pete" Weber, nicknamed “PDW”, , is a famous bowling professional on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour. Weber is one of the sport's most popular active players and is well known for his maverick, rebellious personality...
- Norm DukeNorm DukeNorm Duke is an American professional bowler currently on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour. He has bowled 58 perfect 300 games in PBA competition, including the 15th televised 300 game in PBA Tour history on January 5, 2003....
- Chris Barnes
Despite 47 and 43 titles respectively, Walter Ray Williams and Earl Anthony are not Triple Crown winners. As mentioned, Anthony never won the U.S. Open, though he finished runner-up in the event three times. Williams has yet to win the Tournament of Champions.
PBA Grand Slam
Mike AulbyMike Aulby
Mike Aulby is a left-handed bowler and former member of the Professional Bowlers Association . He is one of only three PBA bowlers to win both a Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year award...
, Norm Duke
Norm Duke
Norm Duke is an American professional bowler currently on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour. He has bowled 58 perfect 300 games in PBA competition, including the 15th televised 300 game in PBA Tour history on January 5, 2003....
and Billy Hardwick
Billy Hardwick
Billy Hardwick is a former right-handed ten-pin bowler and member of the Professional Bowlers Association. He currently hails from Florida.-PBA career:...
are the only three of the five PBA "Triple Crown" winners who have also won the ABC/USBC Masters, thus giving them the unofficial "grand slam" of pro bowling.
Don Carter
Don Carter (bowler)
Don Carter was a right-handed American professional bowler. Learning the game while working a childhood job as a pinsetter, Carter went on to become one of the legends of ten-pin bowling and a founding member of the Professional Bowlers Association in 1958. He was 6-time bowler of the year...
is also noted for having won all four possible "majors" during his career (PBA National Championship, BPAA All-Star, World Invitational and ABC Masters), however some of these were not PBA events.
PBA Tour in the media
The PBA provided its first televised event in 1962, and became a Saturday afternoon staple on the ABC schedule from 1965.| Years | Network | Play-By-Play | Color Commentary | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962–1974 | ABC | Chris Schenkel Chris Schenkel Christopher Eugene "Chris" Schenkel was an American sportscaster. Over the course of five decades he called play-by-play for numerous sports on television and radio, becoming known for his smooth delivery and baritone voice.-Early life and career:Schenkel began his broadcasting career at radio... |
Billy Welu Billy Welu Billy Welu was a famous professional bowler, executive for the Professional Bowlers Association , bowling broadcaster, and a great ambassador for the sport. A founding member of the PBA, he won four PBA titles, including two ABC Masters championships... |
Various announcers filled in whenever Schenkel was on assignment. Keith Jackson Keith Jackson Keith Jackson is an American sportscaster, known for his long career with ABC Sports , his coverage of college football , his style of folksy, down-to-earth commentary, and his distinctive voice, with its deep cadence, and operatic tone considered "like Edward R... did play by play for the second televised 300 game in 1969, while Bud Palmer did the same for a 300 in 1974. |
| 1974-75 | ABC | Chris Schenkel | Dave Davis Dave Davis (bowler) Dave Davis was a successful professional ten-pin bowler and former member of the Professional Bowlers Association . He grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey, and now resides in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.... , Dick Weber Dick Weber Dick Weber was a famous bowling professional and a founding member of the Professional Bowlers Association... |
Davis and Weber alternated on telecasts after Welu's death in 1974. |
| 1975–1997 | ABC | Chris Schenkel | Nelson Burton Jr. Nelson Burton Jr. Nelson "Bo" Burton, Jr. is a professional ten-pin bowler and former longtime analyst for the Professional Bowlers Tour on ABC Television. He is the son of Nelson Burton, Sr., who himself was a successful bowler in his day, competing with the likes of Glenn Allison and Billy Welu... |
Dave Diles was Schenkel's fill-in while on assignment. Dick Weber filled in for Burton in the 1970s-1980s when Burton was competing. Johnny Petraglia filled in from that time. |
| Late 1970s | HBO | Various | Various | Among the first sports broadcasts on HBO. |
| Late 1970s | CBS CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of... |
Frank Glieber | Dave Davis | Part of the CBS Sports Spectacular summer series.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lM3Y01iKaYQ&feature=channel |
| 1981–1982 | USA Network USA Network USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various... |
Al Trautwig Al Trautwig Al Trautwig is a commentator with the MSG Network, NBC, Versus, and USA Network. He does the pre-game and post-game shows for the New York Knicks and New York Rangers, as well as fill-in play-by-play for both teams.-Early life:... |
Mike Durbin Mike Durbin Mike Durbin is a former American professional bowler. He became a member of the PBA in 1967, a year in which he won two tournaments and was named PBA Rookie of the Year by Sporting News. He would go on to win a record three Tournament of Champions titles and 14 total PBA titles, amassing over... |
Spring and Summer tour events. |
| 1984–1991 | NBC NBC The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago... |
Jay Randolph | Earl Anthony Earl Anthony Earl Roderick Anthony was a left-handed American professional bowler who amassed records of 41 titles and six bowler of the year awards on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour. His title count was amended to 43 in 2008, when the PBA chose to include ABC Masters titles earned by a PBA member... |
Fall Tour Stops. |
| Early 1990s | ESPN ESPN Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming.... |
Denny Schreiner | Mike Durbin Mike Durbin Mike Durbin is a former American professional bowler. He became a member of the PBA in 1967, a year in which he won two tournaments and was named PBA Rookie of the Year by Sporting News. He would go on to win a record three Tournament of Champions titles and 14 total PBA titles, amassing over... |
ESPN's first venture into bowling. Marshall Holman filled in for Durbin on occasion. |
| 1998–2001 | CBS | Gary Seidel | Marshall Holman Marshall Holman Marshall Holman is an American professional bowler primarily known for his success on the PBA Tour throughout the 1970s and 1980s. He also served as a color analyst alongside Mike Durbin on several ESPN and ESPN2 bowling telecasts from 1996–2001... |
The "golden pin" era of the PBA. Chris Schenkel expressed interest in moving to CBS, but was passed over. |
| 2002–2007 | ESPN ESPN Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming.... |
Dave Ryan | Randy Pedersen Randy Pedersen Randy Pedersen is a professional bowler and color analyst for ESPN's coverage of the PBA Tour. He works alongside play-by-play commentator Rob Stone. Pedersen grew up in Southern California, but relocated to Clermont, Florida in the early 1990s, where he has resided ever since... |
Chris Barnes and Norm Duke would fill in as extra commentators during select telecasts. |
| 2007–present | ESPN ESPN Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming.... |
Rob Stone Rob Stone Rob Stone is a sports commentator for ESPN. He has covered various sports including Major League Soccer, NCAA and NFL football, and is now the play-by-play announcer for PBA Tournament Bowling alongside color commentator and 13-time PBA titleist Randy Pedersen.-Early life and career:A native of... |
Randy Pedersen | Current announcing team. Laneside reporters (Cathy Dorin-Lizzi or Carolyn Dorin-Ballard Carolyn Dorin-Ballard Carolyn Dorin-Ballard is one of the top female ten-pin bowlers in the World. She was a member of the PWBA and has bowled in PBA Tournaments as well. She was an exempt competitor in the 2008-09 and 2009-10 PBA Women's Series seasons, which were sponsored by the United States Bowling Congress... ) have sometimes been added when a PBA Women's Series event was included in the telecast. |
In its heyday, ABC's Professional Bowlers Tour outranked all sporting events on Saturdays with the exception of college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
telecasts.
The 1991 Tournament of Champions was delayed for over thirty minutes at the start due to a bomb threat being phoned in at Rivera Lanes in Fairlawn, Ohio
Fairlawn, Ohio
Fairlawn is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States. A suburb of Akron, its population was 7,307 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Akron Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Fairlawn is located at ....
. The ABC telecast joined in during the evacuation's final stages and featured interviews with local officials, as well as classic clips from previous T of C telecasts.
Mark Roth
Mark Roth
Mark Roth is a former professional bowler. He was born in Brooklyn, New York City, New York. As a youth he resided in Meiers Corners, Staten Island, New York City, New York.-Bowling career:...
, whose first career title was captured at the 1975 King Louie Open in Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
by rolling a televised 299 game, gained immortality by becoming the first bowler to convert the almost-impossible "7-10 split" on national television in the first match of the ARC Alameda Open on January 5, 1980. In 1991, John Mazza
John Mazza
John Mazza is a left-handed ten-pin bowler and former touring player for the Professional Bowlers Association . Mazza won eight titles on the PBA Tour and collected over $850,000 in earnings. He also won 11 PBA Regional titles....
and Jess Stayrook
Jess Stayrook
Jess Stayrook is an American professional bowler. He is mainly known for being the third and last bowler to convert the 7-10 split on television after John Mazza and Mark Roth...
also accomplished this feat on television. During the 2005-06 season, Walter Ray Williams Jr. became the only bowler to convert the 4-6-7-10 "big four" combination on television.
In 2005, ESPN Classic
ESPN Classic
ESPN Classic is a sports channel that features reruns of famous sporting events, sports documentaries, and sports themed movies. Such programs includes biographies of famous sports figures or a rerun of a famous World Series or Super Bowl, often with added commentary on the event...
began televising old bowling broadcasts daily, including some of the more memorable ones in which bowlers shot perfect games or records were set. All of the telecasts originally aired on either ABC or ESPN since those are the tapes to which the network owns the rights.
Perfect and near-perfect televised games
There have been 18 perfect games bowled on the nationally-televised final day of regular PBA tournaments. Jack Biondolillo rolled the first one at the 1967 Tournament of Champions, and Ryan Shafer bowled the most recent one on March 18, 2007, at the semifinals of the 2007 PepsiPepsi
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo...
Championship in Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
. Two of the eighteen perfect games (fifth and sixth overall) have been bowled in the final title match, first by Bob Benoit
Bob Benoit
This article is about the professional bowler. For the racing executive, see Bob Benoit .Bob Benoit was a professional bowler in the Professional Bowlers Association in the 80s and 90s. Over the course of his career, Benoit won 4 PBA titles...
at the 1988 Quaker State Open and then by Mike Aulby
Mike Aulby
Mike Aulby is a left-handed bowler and former member of the Professional Bowlers Association . He is one of only three PBA bowlers to win both a Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year award...
at the 1993 Wichita Open.
There have also been two on Senior PBA Tour telecasts, by Gene Stus (1992) and Ron Winger (1993).
A most memorable televised 299 game occurred on April 4, 1970 when Don Johnson
Don Johnson (bowler)
Don Johnson was an American ten-pin bowler who spent many years on the Professional Bowlers Association tour.-PBA career:...
defeated Dick Ritger
Dick Ritger
Dick Ritger , of River Falls, Wisconsin, was a dominating right-handed ten-pin bowler in the Professional Bowlers Association , and now runs Dick Ritger's Bowling Camp.-PBA career:...
to win the 1970 Firestone Tournament of Champions. With 11 strikes already down, he threw his 12th ball, stepped back and dropped to the floor. The ball hit the pocket, but the 10-pin remained standing. Johnson, still on the floor, briefly lowered his face into his hands, then stood up to a thunderous ovation. Along with the trophy and $25,000 check from Firestone, Johnson also received the 10-pin that denied him both an extra $10,000 and a new Mercury Cougar automobile for a perfect game.
See also
- Professional Bowlers Tour - ABC telecast aired from 1961 to 1997.
- PBA Regional TourPBA Regional TourThe PBA Regional Tour is a series of "mini tours", run by the Professional Bowlers Association, spanning across seven regions within the United States. The Tour allows exempt and non-exempt members, and amateurs to compete in weekend events...
- PBA Women's SeriesPBA Women's SeriesThe PBA Women's Series was a mini-tour for female professional bowlers. It was started in 2007 as a way to bring women's bowling back to television after the Professional Women's Bowling Association disbanded in 2003...
- PBA Senior Tour