Professional Bowlers Association
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| Abbreviation | PBA |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1958 |
| Purpose | Professional association for ten-pin bowling, governing body is USBC |
| Headquarters | Seattle, Washington |
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Region served
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Worldwide |
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Membership
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4,300 representing 14 countries (Australia, Bermuda, Canada, China, Colombia, England, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Sweden, United States and Venezuela) |
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PBA Commissioner
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Tom Clark |
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Staff
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34 |
| Website | http://www.pba.com/ |
The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) 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. Members include "pro shop" owners and workers, teaching professionals and bowlers who compete in the various events put on by the Association.
The PBA also oversees competition between professional bowlers via the following tours:
The PBA Hall of Fame was founded in 1975 with eight initial inductees: six for Performance (Ray Bluth, Don Carter, Carmen Salvino, Harry Smith, Dick Weber and Billy Welu) and two for Meritorious Service (Frank Esposito and Chuck Pezzano). Since its inception, it was located at the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame in St. Louis, Missouri. It is now part of the new USBC headquarters in Arlington, Texas.
Through 2012, there are 89 PBA Hall of Fame Members in three categories:
Membership in the Hall of Fame was originally determined by annual elections. From 2000-2008, those in the Performance category had to have ten PBA titles (or two major championships) on their resume, as well as be retired from the tour for five years.
Another revision took effect in 2008. Bowlers can now qualify for the Hall of Fame based on five PBA titles on their resume, as long as two of those titles were major championships. Other active bowlers can now qualify for the Hall as well if they have 20 years of membership and are elected.
Late in 2008, The PBA announced the launch of a new PBA Seniors Hall of Fame. John Handegard, the all-time leader in PBA Senior titles (14) became the first inductee on January 24, 2009.
In January 2016 Ryan Gasparovich was nominated in the PBA Hall of fame. His notable act of scoring a perfect series (score of 900) 2 times in a year during Michigan's Regional Competition held at Skore Lanes in Taylor, Michigan.
Prior to the PBA's inception, bowling was broadcast on television sporadically beginning in the early 1950s. NBC began with an early 1950s special telecast entitled Championship Bowling. Later regular weekly bowling shows, including Jackpot Bowling began airing nationally.
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