Don Carter (bowler)

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Don Carter (born July 29, 1926 in St. Louis, MO, USA) was a right-handed American professional bowler. Picking up the game while working a childhood job as a pinsetter,[1] Carter went on to become one of the legends of ten-pin bowling. He was 6-time bowler of the year (1953-54-57-58-60-61) and was voted the Greatest Bowler of All-Time in a 1970 Bowling Magazine poll. He currently resides in Miami, FL.

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[edit] Bowling Career

Prior to the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) being formed, Don Carter was known as the most dominant bowler of the 1950's. In eight prestigious BPAA All-Star tournaments between 1952 and 1960 (he withdrew one year due to injury), Carter won four times and never finished lower than fourth. He won five World Invitational events in a six-year span, finishing second the only year he didn't win. He also won one ABC Masters title.

Carter was part of the legendary "Budweisers" Bowling Team of 1958 that broke the ABC league series record for a five-man team. Ray Bluth, Dick Weber, Tom Hennessey and Pat Patterson were also on that 1958 team.

Unlike most bowlers, who keep their arm straight on the backswing as they are about to release the ball, Carter kept his elbow bent, never straightening his arm.

Although the PBA was not formed until Carter was 32 years old, he still won 6 PBA titles, including the inaugural PBA National Championship in 1960. He won four titles and $49,000 in prize money in 1962 alone. He was the PBA's first president, and served four years overall in that capacity. A bad knee forced him into an early retirement.

[edit] Milestones and Recognition

  • Inducted into ABC Hall of Fame, 1970
  • Inducted into PBA Hall of Fame, 1975
  • In 1958, he wrote a book called 10 Secrets of Bowling with the help of illustrator Anthony Ravielli.

Carter is known for a number of bowling "firsts":

  • First bowler to win every possible major tournament in a career (All-Star, World Invitational, PBA National and ABC Masters)
  • First president of the PBA
  • First bowler to have a professional tournament named after him
  • First athlete to sign a $1 million endorsement contract, inking a multi-year deal with Ebonite International in 1964

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Today in History, July 29" at The Library of Congress website.

[edit] Sources

  • www.doncarter.com, official website of Don Carter
  • www.pba.com, official website of the Professional Bowlers Association and the Denny's PBA Tour