Plaque

Object/Artifact

-

Shanaman Sports Museum

Name/Title

Plaque

Entry/Object ID

0196

Description

The City of Tacoma presented professional bowler and Kent native Earl Anthony with this plaque Dec. 13, 1975. Anthony was regarded as the best bowler in his era, winning 43 Professional Bowling Association (PBA) tour titles which ranks him second behind Walter Ray Williams Jr. Anthony held the record for more than 30 years until it was broken by Williams. Anthony won 10 Major titles including three-straight PBA National Championships from 1973-75 and 1981-83. He was the first player to earn $100,000 in a season and earned over $1.4 million in his career. Anthony was inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame in 1981. Before becoming a professional bowler, Anthony played baseball in the Air Force then earned a tryout with the Baltimore Orioles’ farm team in Vancouver of the Pacific Coast League. He injured his ankle covering first base and after receiving a reduced offer decided to go home. Anthony was driving a fork lift at a supermarket in Tacoma when friends asked him to join a bowling league after work. He soon hit a 185 average and then topped 200. He bowled locally before joining the PBA briefly in 1963 and again in 1969. He won at Seattle in 1970 and in New York the following year and stuck with the tour.

Lexicon

Search Terms

Bowling, Professional/Semi-Pro, Recreational, High School, Ceremonial Artifact

Relationships

Related Person or Organization

Person or Organization

Anthony, Earl

Person or Organization

Tacoma

Person or Organization

Flint, Michigan

Person or Organization

Professional Bowling Association

Person or Organization

Williams Jr., Walter Ray

Person or Organization

PBA National Championships

Person or Organization

PBA Hall of Fame

Person or Organization

baseball

Person or Organization

Baltimore Orioles

Person or Organization

Vancouver

Person or Organization

Pacific Coast League

Person or Organization

Air Force

Person or Organization

Tacoma

Person or Organization

Seattle

Person or Organization

New York