Tom Smallwood
Encyclopedia
Thomas Smallwood is a ten-pin bowler
currently competing on the PBA Tour
. On December 13, 2009, the right-hander won his first PBA Tour title and first major in the PBA World Championship
, defeating 2008-09 PBA Player of the Year Wes Malott
in the final match, 244-228. (See PBA Bowling Tour: 2009-10 season
for more information.)
Smallwood, who resides in Saginaw, MI, attended the PBA Tour Trials in May, 2009, only because he had been laid off from his auto plant job in December, 2008. He had been an excellent bowler in classic leagues in and around Saginaw, and supplemented his income by competing in local tournaments and a few open PBA events. After scraping together $1500 to qualify for the PBA, he finished third in the Tour Trials, easily making the Top 8 who gained PBA exemptions for the 2009-10 season. "I always felt I could compete out there [on the Tour], but I was also content with working and staying with my family," Smallwood said in an interview with USA Today
just prior to the PBA World Championship finals.
With the major tournament win at the PBA World Championship, Smallwood earned a PBA Tour exemption through the 2011-12 season. In his first full season on the PBA Tour, he made 15 cuts and eight match-play rounds in 18 events, while appearing in three televised finals.
On January 22, 2011, Smallwood, who had qualified as the #1 seed, finished second to Mika Koivuniemi
in the PBA Tournament of Champions, taking home $100,000. He made four TV finals overall in 2010-11, but did not win a title. In his brief PBA career, he has five perfect 300 games and has collected almost $225,000 in tour earnings.
Ironically, he was offered a chance to go back to work at General Motors
, when a representative from that company's job bank called him just days before the World Championship finals. Smallwood had to decline, telling the rep that he was a full-time bowler now and would in fact be on ESPN
television that Sunday.
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...
currently competing on the PBA Tour
PBA Tour
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...
. On December 13, 2009, the right-hander won his first PBA Tour title and first major in the PBA World Championship
PBA 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...
, defeating 2008-09 PBA Player of the Year 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...
in the final match, 244-228. (See PBA Bowling Tour: 2009-10 season
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...
for more information.)
Smallwood, who resides in Saginaw, MI, attended the PBA Tour Trials in May, 2009, only because he had been laid off from his auto plant job in December, 2008. He had been an excellent bowler in classic leagues in and around Saginaw, and supplemented his income by competing in local tournaments and a few open PBA events. After scraping together $1500 to qualify for the PBA, he finished third in the Tour Trials, easily making the Top 8 who gained PBA exemptions for the 2009-10 season. "I always felt I could compete out there [on the Tour], but I was also content with working and staying with my family," Smallwood said in an interview with USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
just prior to the PBA World Championship finals.
With the major tournament win at the PBA World Championship, Smallwood earned a PBA Tour exemption through the 2011-12 season. In his first full season on the PBA Tour, he made 15 cuts and eight match-play rounds in 18 events, while appearing in three televised finals.
On January 22, 2011, Smallwood, who had qualified as the #1 seed, finished second to 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....
in the PBA Tournament of Champions, taking home $100,000. He made four TV finals overall in 2010-11, but did not win a title. In his brief PBA career, he has five perfect 300 games and has collected almost $225,000 in tour earnings.
Personal
Smallwood has a wife (Jennifer) and one daughter (Hannah Rose), and is a native of Flushing, MI.Ironically, he was offered a chance to go back to work at General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
, when a representative from that company's job bank called him just days before the World Championship finals. Smallwood had to decline, telling the rep that he was a full-time bowler now and would in fact be on 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....
television that Sunday.