Earl Anthony

Earl Roderick Anthony (April 27 1938 - August 14 2001) was a left-handed American professional bowler. He amassed a total of 43 titles on the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour, a record that was broken by Walter Ray Williams in 2008. His ten professional major titles (six PBA National Championships, two Firestone Tournament of Champions titles, and two ABC Masters titles) are the most by any bowler. Anthony also won seven PBA Senior Tour titles for 50 total PBA Tour titles.

Never brash or flashy in a crew-cut and plastic-frame "marshwood" style eyewear (which he abandoned for more modern frames later in his career), Anthony was dubbed "Square Earl" by fellow pro bowlers. He was also known by the nickname "The Machine," due to his robot-like consistency and accuracy.

PBA career

Anthony was a six-time PBA Player of the year. The late bowling legend Dick Weber said Anthony had the greatest speed control of any bowler to ever play the game. [Earl Anthony biography at sports.jrank.org] He was the first bowler in history to earn over $100,000 in a single season and the first to eclipse $1 million in career earnings.

Earl Anthony's final PBA title was a major — the 1983 Toledo Trust PBA National Championship. In fact, he twice achieved an improbable "three-peat" in the PBA National Championship: 1973-75 and 1981-83.

After a nine-month layoff, he came out of retirement and won the 1984 ABC Masters, which at the time was not part of the regular PBA tour.

After retiring he spent many years in the broadcast booth as a color commentator for ESPN and NBC Sports.

In 1981 he was voted into the PBA Hall of Fame. In 1986 he was voted into the ABC Hall of Fame. In 2000 he was voted "Bowler of the 20th Century" by a wide margin in a nationwide vote. In a Sports Illustrated Magazine National Vote he was named the 2nd Greatest Athlete in the History of Washington State (behind only former NBA star John Stockton).

Personal

Anthony was born in Tacoma, Washington. He was a minor league baseball pitcher before his days as a professional bowler. He was also an excellent golfer, achieving a near-scratch handicap at the age of 60. He once set the course record at Crow Canyon Country Club in Danville, California with a scratch score of 64.

The Earl Anthony Memorial Scholarship Fund was established through funding by the ABC Championship Tournament (now USBC), in order to provide scholarships to young bowlers. It is administrated by the Young American Bowling Alliance.

Earl Anthony died in 2001, succumbing to head injuries suffered after falling down a flight of stairs at a friend's home in New Berlin, Wisconsin.

In January 2002, the PBA began the year with a tournament named after Anthony, "The Earl Anthony Memorial Classic." It was first held in Kirkland, Washington, and later moved to Medford, Oregon. It was later re-titled as "The Earl Anthony Medford Classic."

Awards and recognition

* Six-time PBA Player of the Year winner (1974-76 and 1981-83)
* Five-time George Young High Average award winner (1973-75, 1980, 1983)
* Established a record for most consecutive PBA seasons winning at least one tournament (14), which stood until 2007 when it was broken by Walter Ray Williams Jr.
* Holds PBA record of 15 televised finals appearances in one season (1975, 1981)
* Holds the PBA and Professional Bowling record with 10 major tournament titles.
* Inducted into PBA Hall of Fame, 1981
* Inducted into ABC (now USBC) Hall of Fame, 1986

References

*PBA.com, official site of the Professional Bowlers Association

External links

[http://www.usatoday.com/sports/bowling/2001-08-15-anthony-obit.htm USA Today obituary]