- H&R Block Tournament of Champions
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The H&R Block Tournament of Champions is one of the four major PBA (Professional Bowlers Association) bowling events. The inaugural event, held by the PBA in 1962, was won by PBA Hall of Famer Joe Joseph.[2] From 1962 to 1993, Firestone Tire sponsored the Tournament of Champions. From 1965 until 1994, the tournament was contested at Riviera Lanes (now AMF Riviera Lanes) in Fairlawn, Ohio near the long-time Firestone World Headquarters in Akron, Ohio. In a notable semi-final match at the 1967 Tournament of Champions, Jack Biondolillo rolled the first-ever nationally televised 300 game.[1]
Since 1994, the Tournament of Champions (or "TOC") has had a variety of sponsors, including General Tire, Brunswick, Dexter and most recently H&R Block. From 2002 to 2007, the Tournament of Champions was contested in an arena setting at Mohegan Sun Arena, in Uncasville, Connecticut.[2] The event was moved to Las Vegas, NV for the 2007-08 season, and has been contested there ever since.
Prior to 2007-08, a bowler qualified for the Tournament of Champions by being one of the 32 most recent title winners on the regular PBA Tour. The list was expanded in 2008 to include some past winners of the TOC itself, even if they were no longer in the Top 32 most recent PBA winners. The 2009-10 TOC saw its first-ever female competitor, as a spot in the 2010 tournament was given to Kelly Kulick, winner of the inaugural PBA Women's World Championship in 2009.[3] Kulick made sports history on January 24, 2010 as she defeated Mika Koivuniemi and Chris Barnes to become the first woman to win a title against men on the PBA Tour.
The winner of the Tournament of Champions currently earns a two-year PBA Tour exemption, which means they do not have to go through the Tour Qualifying Round (TQR) to make match play each week during the following two seasons.
The TOC is the only PBA major that all-time titles leader Walter Ray Williams Jr. has never won.
The 2010-11 Tournament of Champions took place January 16–22, 2011, and featured a $1 million purse and $250,000 first prize, making it the richest PBA tournament ever.[4] The tournament had an all-new format that included a "Champions Field" and an "Elite Field." The Champions Field (maximum of 180 bowlers) included any past PBA champions with four or fewer titles, plus titleists on the PBA Regional Tour, PBA Women's Series tour, PBA Senior Tour and PBA Senior Regional Tour who were PBA members at the time of the titles. The Top 90 finishers after 14 qualifying games advanced to bowl against the Elite Field. The Elite Field included all 2010-11 exempt PBA players, any PBA Hall of Famer, any player listed in 2008 as one of the "50 Greatest PBA Players of the Last 50 Years," any PBA player with five or more PBA Tour titles or at least one PBA major title, plus the winners of the 2010 USBC Senior Masters, 2010 PBA Senior U.S. Open, 2010 Regional Players Invitational and 2010 Regional Players Championship. All entrants had to be full-fledged PBA members as of October 1, 2010.[5]
Those who earned entry into the Elite Field bowled 20 games of qualifying to determine the Top 53, who along with the defending champion all cashed a minimum of $2,500. After 16 more games in the Cashers' Round, the Top 24 (based on 36 total games) made the round-robin match play. The Top 4 match play qualifiers then made the live televised finals. Payouts for the TV finals were $250,000 for first, $100,000 for second, $50,000 for third and $40,000 for fourth. (See also: PBA Bowling Tour: 2010-11 season.)
Contents
Previous PBA Tournament of Champions Winners
Year Winner Runner-up Final score (championship match) 1965 Billy Hardwick Dick Weber 484-468 1966 Wayne Zahn Dick Weber 203-170 1967 Jim Stefanich Don Johnson 227-227 (43-36 in two frame roll-off) 1968 Dave Davis Don Johnson 213-205 1969 Jim Godman Jim Stefanich 266-228 1970 Don Johnson Dick Ritger 299-268 1971 Johnny Petraglia Don Johnson 246-169 1972 Mike Durbin Timmy Harahan 258-187 1973 Jim Godman Barry Asher 224-200 1974 Earl Anthony Johnny Petraglia 216-213 1975 Dave Davis Barry Asher 201-195 1976 Marshall Holman Billy Hardwick 203-198 1977 Mike Berlin Mike Durbin 221-205 1978 Earl Anthony Teata Semiz 237-192 1979 George Pappas Dick Ritger 224-195 1980 Wayne Webb Gary Dickinson 219-194 1981 Steve Cook Pete Couture 287-183 1982 Mike Durbin Steve Cook 233-203 1983 Joe Berardi Henry Gonzalez 186-179 1984 Mike Durbin Mike Aulby 246-163 1985 Mark Williams Bob Handley 191-140 1986 Marshall Holman Mark Baker 233-211 1987 Pete Weber Jim Murtishaw 222-190 1988 Mark Williams Tony Westlake 237-214 1989 Del Ballard Jr. Walter Ray Williams Jr. 254-218 1990 Dave Ferraro Tony Westlake 226-203 1991 David Ozio Amleto Monacelli 236-203 1992 Marc McDowell Don Genalo 223-193 1993 George Branham III Parker Bohn III 227-214 1994 Norm Duke Eric Forkel 217-194 1995 Mike Aulby Bob Spaulding 237-232 1996 Dave D'Entremont Dave Arnold 215-202 1997 John Gant Mike Aulby 208-187 1998 Bryan Goebel Steve Hoskins 245-235 1999 Jason Couch Chris Barnes 197-193 2000 Jason Couch Ryan Shafer 198-166 2001 Tournament not held in 2001 2002 Jason Couch Ryan Shafer 266-224 2003 Patrick Healey, Jr Randy Pedersen 222-188 2004 Tournament not held in 2004 2005 Steve Jaros Norm Duke 248-242 2006 Chris Barnes Steve Jaros 234-227 2007 Tommy Jones Tony Reyes 257-222 2008 Michael Haugen Jr. Chris Barnes 215-214 2009 Patrick Allen Rhino Page 267-263 2010 Kelly Kulick Chris Barnes 265-195 2011 Mika Koivuniemi Tom Smallwood 269-207 Jason Thomas' Top 10 Moments in T of C History
In 2010, PBA.com writer Jason Thomas listed his Top 10 moments in the 48-year history of the Tournament of Champions.[6]
#10 - Marshall Holman's Million-Dollar Win. Hall of Famer Marshall Holman became the third player in PBA history to top the $1 million mark in career earnings by winning the 1986 event.
#9 - George Branham III Wins Last Firestone. In 1993, George Branham III became the first (and so far only) African American winner in this tournament, as well as the last to win the tournament while it was sponsored by Firestone.
#8 - Weber Becomes Youngest to 10 Titles. With his win in the 1987 T of C, 24-year old Pete Weber became the youngest PBA player ever to reach the 10-title plateau.
#7 - Earl Gets Title #30. Hall of Fame left-hander Earl Anthony became the first PBA player to reach 30 career titles with his win in the 1978 event. The legendary Dick Weber, who was in the ABC broadcast booth with Chris Schenkel because analyst Nelson Burton Jr. had made the TV finals, proclaimed Anthony the "undisputed King of Bowling" after the victory.
#6 - Bomb Scare. In 1991, the tournament was delayed 40 minutes due to a bomb threat. David Ozio eventually won the title on his way to 1991 Player of the Year honors.
#5 - Rhino's 4-Count. Rhino Page, needing only a 9-spare to defeat Patrick Allen after striking on the first ball in the 10th frame in the 2009 event, threw an inexplicable 4-count. Missing wide of target, the left-hander's shot cut between the 1 and 4 pins, taking out only the 2, 5, 6 and 8 pins, giving Allen a 267-263 victory.
#4 - Michael Haugen Jr.'s Comeback. Having just qualified for the 2008 T of C earlier that season, Michael Haugen Jr. trailed Chris Barnes by 53 pins in the 5th frame of the final match, and was still down 41 pins entering the 9th frame. When Barnes missed a 10-pin in the 9th frame, Haugen responded with a strike in the 9th and two strikes plus nine pins in the 10th. Barnes rolled a spare in the 10th, and needed a strike on the fill ball to force extra frames. But Barnes left a 4-pin, giving Haugen a narrow 215-214 victory.
#3 - Couch's Three-Peat. In 2002, Jason Couch became just the second PBA Player to win the T of C three times (joining Mike Durbin) and the only one to do so in consecutive seasons.
#2 - Don Johnson's 299 Game. In perhaps the most iconic moment of the PBA's first 50 years, Hall of Famer Don Johnson had struck on the first nine balls of the final 1970 T of C match, but still needed a mark in the 10th frame to top Dick Ritger's 268 score. With millions watching on TV, Johnson coolly rolled the first two strikes in the 10th to lock up the title. With an additional $10,000 and a Mercury Cougar automobile on the line for a 300 game, Johnson packed his 12th shot but left a ringing 10-pin for a 299 game. The shot of Johnson lying face-down on the approach in disbelief has been replayed dozens of times on PBA telecasts.
#1 - Kelly Kulick's Historic Win. Up against enormous odds to become the first woman ever to win a standard PBA Tour event, it is hard to argue the historic value of Kelly Kulick's 2010 T of C win. Said Thomas, "her inspiring come-from-behind run on Friday evening to qualify for the telecast in second place was probably special enough to make this list. But her performance on Sunday, defeating Mika Koivuniemi and then Chris Barnes with a convincing 265 game in the final with millions watching (the telecast was the PBA's highest-rated show for the year), is a feat that will be remembered for as long as bowling is broadcast on TV."
References
- ^ "PBA turns attention to 'Roll to Riches' event," article at www.detroitnews.com, April 4, 2007 (paragraph 5).
- ^ "PBA turns attention to 'Roll to Riches' event," article at www.detroitnews.com, April 4, 2007 (paragraph 4).
- ^ "Kulick Wins PBA Women's World Championship, Sullins Takes Senior Title." Article at www.pba.com, October 25, 2009.
- ^ Schneider, Jerry. "Williams Record Seventh PBA Player of the Year Honor 'Unimaginable.'" Article at www.pba.com on April 5, 2010.
- ^ Vint, Bill, "PBA Unveils Plans for 2011 Tournament of Champions." Article at www.pba.com on August 13, 2010.
- ^ Thomas, Jason. "Top 10 Moments in T of C History." Article at www.pba.com on August 16, 2010.[1]
Sources
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