HALL OF FAMER PASSES

Professional Bowlers Association Hall of Famer Ted Hoffman Dies

DUBLIN, Calif. (May 31, 2016) - Professional Bowlers Association Hall of Famer Ted Hoffman Jr., who served the PBA in a number of capacities for more than 50 years, died Monday following a lengthy illness. He was 76.

The son of a bowling proprietor, Hoffman was a star bowler in suburban Philadelphia in his teens. In 1964 he was selected as Pennsylvania "Bowler-of-the-Year" by the Philadelphia Sportswriters Association and was a winner of the famed Newsday Long Island Open Tournament. It was then that he decided to test the waters of the PBA National Tour where he qualified for the match play finals in his first national PBA tournament.

During a competition career that included more than 100 PBA Tour events (including four second place finishes and two regional titles), Hoffman managed a group of players sponsored by Smallcomb Enterprises, and his organizational and leadership skills led to his election to the PBA Executive Board and Investment Advisory Committee. He also served a brief tenure as PBA’s Assistant Tournament Director.

In 1968, Hoffman organized the PBA West Region and served as the West Region’s Director until 2000. In 1984, he and the late Hall of Famer Earl Anthony purchased the bowling center in Dublin that bears Anthony’s name. Over the ensuing years, Earl Anthony’s Dublin Bowl has hosted numerous national and regional tournaments including the Earl Anthony Memorial PBA Regional tournament which Hoffman ran as a tribute to his late partner beginning in 2002.

The 1972, he won the PBA West Region’s first Pat Patterson Award for outstanding contributions to the PBA Regional Program. His active involvement with the Bowling Proprietor’s Association of America, both the local and national level, included a term as president of the Northern California Bowling Proprietors.

Hoffman was inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame for meritorious service in 1985, one of eight halls of fame to honor him. He was named recipient of BPAA’s 2010 Victor Lerner Memorial Medal, BPAA's highest honor and honored for his years of industry activity by Kegel with its 2003 John Davis Award.

Hoffman is survived by his wife, Marilyn. Details regarding services were not immediately available.