Friday, October 17, 2008

PBA 50th Anniversary Season

To help commemorate its 50th anniversary season, the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA), today announced a 2008-09 PBA Tour schedule that includes the naming of tournaments in honor of more former legends of the game and to recognize its sponsors.
The new event names include: Pepsi Viper Championship, Carmen Salvino Scorpion Championship, Lumber Liquidators Shark Championship, Don and Paula Carter Mixed Doubles Championship, Denny's Dick Weber Open, GEICO Plastic Ball Championship, Etonic Marathon Championship and the Lumber Liquidators 66th U.S. Open.
The Carmen Salvino Scorpion Championship in Vernon Hills, Ill., and the Don and Paula Carter Mixed Doubles Championship in Reno, Nev., have been renamed in recognition of the accomplishments and contributions to the PBA by these all-time greats.
Carmen Salvino and Don and Paula Carter join legends like Dick Weber, Earl Anthony and Don Johnson to have PBA tournaments named after them.
Salvino, one of the original seven founding charter members, won 17 PBA Tour titles as a professional, including the 1962 PBA National Championship. He also served the PBA in various capacities for the past 57 years.
Don Carter, a charter member of the PBA and one of the 50 Greatest, won two titles in 1960, including the PBA National Championship, as well as four titles in 1962. He also won the 1961 USBC Masters and the BPAA All-Star in 1953-54 and 1957-58. He was named six-time Bowler of the Year and was voted Greatest Bowler of All-Time in 1970.
Carter's wife, Paula, was women's bowling most marketable player in the 1970s and 80s. She was named Bowling Writers Association of America Bowler of the Year in 1971, named to the Florida Bowler Hall of Fame, twice winning the U.S. Open in 1971 and 1975 and the Florida Bowling Queens Tournament. She also won the 1990 Women's International Bowling Congress National Singles Championship. She was inducted into the WIBC Hall of Fame in 1994.
The 2008-09 Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour, which features the best bowlers in the world, kicks off on ESPN on Oct. 19 with the Chris Paul PBA Charity Invitational presented by the brands of Ebonite International. Live coverage of the 2008-09 Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour begins Oct. 26 with the PBA World Championship, in Wichita, Kan.

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