1996 pba tour season

PBA tour return is highlight of old and new year

• PHIL GULICK

Looking back on the events of 1996 that touched so many bowlers in the Tampa Bay area, one is struck by their scope and variety.

Perhaps at the top of the wish list for the New Year was the return of the PBA tour, with the $320,000 Comfort Inn Classic scheduled at Tampa's Crown and Regal lanes in April. It has been 28 years since the pros touched down north of the Sunshine Skyway bridge.

The fourth and fifth renewals, respectively, of the Brunswick World Team Challenge and the PBA Senior tour at Seminole Lanes in Pinellas County continued to bring big-time luster to area bowling circles. The return to competition of the legendary Earl Anthony and his appearance at the senior stop added even more prestige.

The Brunswick men's team from Pittsburgh, won the BWTC men's title and Chicago's Windy City Omegas won the women's crown, contested for the first time in the county. Jim Brenner of LeClaire, Iowa, won the $100,000 St. Petersburg-Clearwater PBA Senior Open.

St. Petersburg's Tom Zachrich and Largo's Ray Hidalgo won class handicap titles as the American Wheelchair Bowling Association brought its national tournament to the area for the fourth time. Largo's Jim Sullivan followed that with his 12th annual Wheelchair Awareness Bowl-A-Thon, aimed at showing stand-up bowlers just how good real wheelchair athletes are.

Johnny Petraglia, recently elected to an unprecedented third term as PBA president, visited the area for a clinic and exhibition at Bowlers Warehouse in Clearwater.

Darold Dobs, executive director of the ABC, also was in town to watch the BWTC and meet with local bowling officials. "Bowling has a real communications problem," Dobs said. "We in the industry are missing hundreds of marketing opportunities which can bring bowling more into the public eye and make it a more viable sport." He did say that Florida and the Tampa Bay area are true hotbeds of the sport.

The ABC raised its sanctioning dues nationwide, and the St. Petersburg Men's Association followed suit, which has not affected membership all that much.

Steve Hoskins of Tarpon Springs won his fourth career PBA title at the Comfort Inn Classic and just missed a larger payday. Dunedin's Bob Belmont, in his first full year on tour, was fifth in the ABC Bud Light Masters tournament.

Largo's Adam Lester, St. Petersburg Ken Levin and Lakeland's Pam Sprow got richer, thanks to the Style Master 300 tournament. Lester won $10,000, Levin and Sprow $20,000 each.

Sprow beat the best in the county by winning the Pinellas County Match-Play Championship, while Brandon's Tom Daugherty stopped Largo's John Hendry for the men's crown. After her victory, Sprow declared her game persona non grata and threatened to quit _ then won the $20,000.

Bowling is uniquely adaptable and good friends and relatives used it to stage benefits for a number of causes. Twedt's Lanes held one for Keri Nordwall, 19, victim of a gunshot wound, and Liberty Lanes staged another for Robby Graham, 4, a cancer victim. Ten Pin Lanes also held a benefit for cancer victim Greg Dean.

Folks really got "lit up" at Sunrise Lanes when owner Jerry Krauss introduced Galactic Bowl, with flashing strobe lights, mind-rocking music, scented smoke and a plethora of glow balls, shirts, ties, bracelets, etc.

Young competitors from Seminole, Dixie Hollins and Northeast high schools dominated the Florida State High School Championships at Seminole Lanes, winning six of eight divisional titles. The high school league then proceeded into its 22nd season, traveling county lanes in search of more titles.

And, speaking of youth, Clearwater's Chris Mesagno and Brian Korcak might not have been on the same page when it came to college selection, but they were as one on the lanes. Each rolled a 300 at the same time on the same pair of lanes at AMF Clearwater Lanes.

St. Petersburg's Tony Russo, 13, fired his second career 300 game after becoming the youngest Pinellas County bowler to record a perfect game a year before.

Hudson's Ken Frymoyer was more surprised by his state-record 878 scratch series than he would admit. "I was hoping for another 300 game, but I rolled only a 299," he said. Frymoyer cracked the old mark of 877 shared by a pair of Florida bowlers, rolling games of 279, 300 and 299.

Larry and Debbie Roesler of Clearwater revived the National Amateur Bowlers Inc. club, expunging the sour taste left by its previous proprietors. Women immediately jumped on the new bandwagon, winning five of the first six events.

Clermont's Jason Couch won the PBA Southern Regional at Southland Lanes, but amid some sad news. Southern regional director Walt Harmon retired after that event because of poor health, ending more than 26 years of service to the PBA.

Rainbow Lanes proprietor Bill Petty jumped onto the World Wide Web with his own home page as the sport launched itself into a new and promising public relations tool.

Bradenton's Lisa Wagner, a frequent visitor to Pinellas County and winner of 29 LPBT championships in her 18-year career, was named Bowler of the Decade for the 1980s. She also accepted a marriage proposal on the lanes after winning the Queens tourney.

Clearwater's Patricia Fernandez won the singles and all-events titles in the 37th annual St. Petersburg Women's City Tournament while the Baldetti Bowlers, headed by Sharon Baldetti, captured the team title.

On a wider scale, and perhaps as a sign of the times, the BPAA U.S. Open staged both the men's and women's opens concurrently at the same site.

The new year opens with a bang with the return of the BWTC to Seminole Lanes and Sunshine Bowl on Saturday and Jan. 5. Another record men's field is anticipated,but the women's division is lagging.

AROUND THE LANES: Larry Morrison rolled a 299-665 at Skyway Lanes. Most area centers plan New Year's Day celebrations, some more elaborate and expensive than others, but all promising a raucous entry into the new year.

_ Phil Gulick can be reached by e-mail at Xerxes6juno.com, Xerxes6aol.com and HSQV12Aprodigy.com

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1996 PBA season

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The 1996 PBA season was the 22nd season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

Season highlights [ ]

• The league's broadcast partner, Vintage Sports, switched networks from People's Television to Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation. They also changed their primary language from English to Tagalog.
• Crowd-favorite Ginebra San Miguel return to their winning ways after years of being a doormat with the entry of top draft pick, 6-9 Marlou Aquino, the Ginebras advances in the semifinals for the first time in three years during the All-Filipino Cup, their season was highlighted by a finals trip in the third conference, losing to grandslam champions Alaska Milkmen.
• The Pepsi Mega Bottlers sold their franchise to PILTEL and was renamed Mobiline Cellulars at the start of the Commissioner's Cup.
• The Alaska Milkmen became the fourth team to win the PBA Grand slam by sweeping all three conferences of the season, joining the 1976 and 1983 Crispa Redmanizers and the 1989 San Miguel Beermen.
• Johnny Abarrientos became the first pure guard to win the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award since Ricardo Brown in 1985.

Champions [ ]

• All-Filipino Cup: Alaska Milkmen
• Commissioner's Cup: Alaska Milkmen
• Governor's Cup: Alaska Milkmen
• Team with best win-loss percentage: Alaska Milkmen (51-21, .708)
• Best Team of the Year: Alaska Milkmen (1st)

Individual awards [ ]

• Most Valuable Player: Johnny Abarrientos (Alaska)
• Rookie of the Year: Marlou Aquino (Ginebra)
• Sportsmanship Award: Jerry Codiñera (Purefoods)
• Most Improved Player: Edward "Poch" Juinio (Alaska)
• Defensive Player of the Year: Marlou Aquino (Ginebra)
• Mythical Five:
• Mythical Second Team:
• All Defensive Team:
• 1 List of NBA champions
• 2 North Carolina State Wolfpack

PBA Bowling Tour: 1986 Season

This is a recap of the 1986 season for the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. It was the tour's 28th season, and consisted of 32 events. Walter Ray Williams, Jr. won his first three PBA titles on the season, and also won the player vote for the PBA Player of the Year award. This despite the fact that Steve Cook won four titles, including a major at the BPAA U.S. Open . Newcomer Tom Crites took the title at the Toledo Trust PBA National Championship .

Tournament schedule

External links.

In winning his second career Firestone Tournament of Champions ten years after his first, Marshall Holman won the highest single prize check in PBA history to date ($50,000) and also became just the third player to top the $1 million mark in career earnings (joining Earl Anthony and Mark Roth ). The win also gave Holman his fourth career major among his 20 total titles.

Late in the season at the Brunswick Memorial World Open, George Branham III made history by becoming the first African American to win a national PBA Tour title.

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Norm Duke is an American professional bowler currently competing on the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour and the PBA50 Tour. He has won 40 titles on the PBA Tour, including seven major championships, and another six titles on the PBA50 Tour. A member of both the PBA and USBC Halls of Fame, Duke is one of only three players in history to reach 40 career PBA Tour titles. He has bowled 73 perfect 300 games in PBA competition, including the 16th televised 300 game in PBA Tour history on January 5, 2003. Duke is a member of the Storm pro staff.

The PBA Tour is the major professional tour for ten-pin bowling, operated by the Professional Bowlers Association. Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, over 3,000 members worldwide make up the PBA. While most of the PBA members are Regional professionals, a small percentage of the bowling membership competes at the national and international level, forming the PBA Tour. Founded in 1958, the PBA Tour has been in continuous operation since the inaugural 1959 season.

Marshall Holman is an American sports broadcaster and retired professional ten-pin bowler. He was known for his flamboyant, fiery demeanor and his success on the PBA Tour from the mid-1970s to the end of the 1980s. He is one of only 16 players in history to reach at least 20 career PBA Tour titles. Holman was sponsored by Columbia 300 and Nike.

John Petraglia Sr. is an American professional bowler. He is a member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA), where he won 14 PBA Tour titles. He has also won eight PBA Senior Tour titles. He is a member of both the PBA and USBC Halls of Fame.

Mike Aulby is a left-handed bowler and former member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA). He is one of only five PBA bowlers to win both a Rookie and Player of the Year award. He is also the one of two players in history to complete a career "Super Slam", in which a bowler wins all five PBA Tour major tournaments at least once. Aulby owns 29 career PBA Tour titles, currently 9th place all-time. He is a member of both the PBA and USBC Halls of Fame.

William Bruce Hardwick was a right-handed ten-pin bowler and member of the Professional Bowlers Association.

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This is a recap of the 1974 season for the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. It was the tour's 16th season, and consisted of 31 events. Earl Anthony won back-to-back majors among his six victories during the year, easily winning PBA Player of the Year honors. Anthony also joined Mike McGrath as the only PBA players to successfully defend a PBA National Championship.

This is a recap of the 1975 season for the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. It was the tour's 17th season, and consisted of 34 events. Earl Anthony became the first PBA player to win seven titles in a season since Dick Weber (1961), while also gaining an unprecedented "three-peat" in the Brunswick PBA National Championship. As he did in 1974, Anthony easily won the player vote for the PBA Player of the Year award. In another historic "first," Anthony earned $107,585 in 1975 to become the first bowler to collect over $100,000 in a single season.

This is a recap of the 1976 season for the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. It was the tour's 18th season, and consisted of 35 events. Earl Anthony added another "first" to his résumé, becoming the first player to win three PBA Player of the Year awards. Anthony again dominated the tour with six victories and topped the $100,000 season earnings mark for the second straight year.

This is a recap of the 1979 season for the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. It was the tour's 21st season, and consisted of 34 events. Following up on his eight titles a season ago, Mark Roth captured another six titles in the 1979 season, winning his third straight PBA Player of the Year award to match Earl Anthony's record of three POY crowns. Roth also averaged 221.699 during the 1979 season, to date the highest tour average in PBA history.

This is a recap of the 1980 season for the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. It was the tour's 22nd season, and consisted of 34 events. Wayne Webb broke the six-season Earl Anthony-Mark Roth stranglehold on PBA Player of the Year awards, as he achieved the honor on the strength of three titles, including the Firestone Tournament of Champions major. Webb was also the Tour's leading money winner on the season.

This is a recap of the 1981 season for the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. It was the tour's 23rd season, and consisted of 33 events. 1981 was a season of "fours" for Earl Anthony. He won an unprecedented fourth PBA Player of the Year award, and captured his fourth PBA National Championship among his four titles on the season.

This is a recap of the 1984 season for the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. It was the tour's 26th season, and consisted of 34 events. With Earl Anthony now retired, it was the bowler with the second-highest career wins, Mark Roth, who stepped up to take his fourth PBA Player of the Year honor. Roth won four titles in 1984, upping his career title count to 31, and won his first major title at the BPAA U.S. Open. Roth had previously qualified for the TV finals in ten major championships without winning. Adding to his accolades, Roth also became the PBA's second career millionaire when he took the title at the Greater Detroit Open, and he capped the season by winning the Angle Touring Players Championship.

This is a recap of the 1985 season for the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. It was the tour's 27th season, and consisted of 34 events. Mike Aulby had to defeat his brother-in-law, Steve Cook, in the final match to take the title in the Toledo Trust PBA National Championship. This was just one of six titles that Aulby won on the season, earning him 1985 PBA Player of the Year honors. Aulby also became the first PBA Player to ever cash more than $200,000 in season earnings, as he took home $201,200 on the year.

This is a recap of the 1987 season for the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. It was the tour's 29th season, and consisted of 33 events.

This is a recap of the 1993 season for the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. It was the tour's 35th season, and consisted of 35 events.

This is a recap of the 1996 season for the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. It was the tour's 38th season, and consisted of 29 events.

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• ↑ "1986 Lite Beer Open" . PBA.
• ↑ "1986 Toledo Trust PBA National Championship" . PBA.
• ↑ "1986 Firestone Tournament of Champions" . PBA.
• ↑ "1986 Brunswick Memorial World Open" . PBA.
• 1986 Season Schedule

PBA Bowling Tour: 1992 Season

This is a recap of the 1992 season for the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. It was the tour's 34th season, and consisted of 35 events.

The 1992 season featured 12 first-time winners, including a stretch of five straight weeks in January–February where previous non-winners took home all of the titles.

Eric Forkel, who won his first PBA title earlier in the season, won his second at the Bud Light PBA National Championship . Robert Lawrence was victorious at the BPAA U.S. Open , while PBA President Marc McDowell captured the Firestone Tournament of Champions .

Though he won only two titles on the year and was shut out in majors, Dave Ferraro made numerous TV finals and finished high on the points, average and earnings lists, all of which helped him garner PBA Player of the Year honors.

Jim Pencak, who had gone undefeated in his first 15 career televised matches (a PBA record), ran his streak to 16 in the semi-final of the ABC West Lanes Open before losing in the final match to Bob Vespi.

Tournament schedule

• Professional Bowlers Association seasons
• 1992 in bowling

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