Tom Baker (bowler)

Last updated
Tom Baker
Personal information
Born (1954-09-12) September 12, 1954 (age 70)
Height5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Bowling Information
Affiliation PBA
Rookie year1976
Dominant handRight
Wins10 PBA Tour (1 major)
12 PBA50 Tour (4 majors)
1 PBA60 Tour
16 PBA Regional Tour
22 PBA50 Regional Tour
300-games 65
Sponsors Roto Grip

Tom Baker (born September 12, 1954, Buffalo, New York) is a professional bowler in the Professional Bowlers Association and a member of the PBA and USBC Halls of Fame. He has won 10 titles on the regular PBA Tour (including one major), and 12 more on the PBA50 Tour (formerly PBA Senior Tour). He currently resides in King, North Carolina. [1]

Contents

PBA career

After winning his first title in 1980, Baker had an outstanding 1981 season, winning three titles and over $103,000 that year. [1] By 1986, he had won 7 PBA titles before going on a 10-year winless streak, partially due to recurring wrist injuries. [2] [3] In 1996, he returned to the winner's circle at the AC-Delco Classic, [4] and won again in 1997 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. [5] After another 7-year drought, he shocked the bowling world by winning the 2004 PBA World Championship at age 49. At the time, Baker was the oldest player to win a PBA major, though that mark has since been surpassed by Walter Ray Williams Jr. and Pete Weber, both of whom won majors at age 50. The event's final round was held at the EMU Convocation Center in Ypsilanti, Michigan, and paid a first prize of $120,000 more than Baker had ever won in an entire season previously. [6] The win also earned Baker a five-year PBA Tour exemption, lasting through the 2008-09 season. [7]

Baker was a standout on the PBA50 Tour after joining in 2005, winning four PBA50 major titles and eight PBA50 standard tournaments, while continuing to compete on the regular tour through 2009. His 12 total PBA50 titles rank tied for third all-time, behind Walter Ray Williams Jr. (16), John Handegard (14) and Pete Weber (14). [8] He is one of only five bowlers in history (with Walter Ray Williams Jr., Pete Weber, Amleto Monacelli and Parker Bohn III) to have won at least 10 titles on both the standard PBA Tour and the PBA50 Tour. [9] [8] Baker was named Senior Rookie of the Year and Senior Player of the Year in 2005, becoming the first player to earn both honors in a single season. Since then, Norm Duke and Tom Hess have matched Baker's feat. [10] He won Senior Player of the Year honors again in 2006 and 2007, an unprecedented streak in the history of the PBA Senior Tour. [10]

Baker also owns 16 PBA Regional Tour titles and 22 PBA50 Regional titles. [11]

Baker was ranked #40 (tied with Joe Berardi) on the PBA's 2008 list of "50 Greatest Players of the Last 50 Years." [12] [13]

PBA Tour titles

Major championships in bold type.

  1. 1980 Northern California Open (Fremont, California)
  2. 1981 Pennzoil Open (Torrance, California)
  3. 1981 Showboat Doubles Classic w/Joe Hutchinson (Las Vegas, Nevada)
  4. 1981 Denver Open (Denver, Colorado)
  5. 1982 AMF Grand Prix (Paris, France)
  6. 1985 Budweiser Classic (Columbus, Ohio)
  7. 1986 Kodak Invitational (Rochester, New York)
  8. 1996 AC-Delco Classic (Lakewood, California)
  9. 1997 Harrisburg Open (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania)
  10. 2004 PBA World Championship (Taylor, Michigan)

Senior PBA titles

Major championships in bold type.

  1. 2005 PBA Senior U.S. Open (Sterling Heights, Michigan)
  2. 2006 Senior Chillicothe Open (Chillicothe, Ohio)
  3. 2006 PBA Senior Tucson Open (Tucson, Arizona)
  4. 2006 PBA Senior U.S. Open (Las Vegas, Nevada)
  5. 2006 USBC Senior Masters (Reno, Nevada)
  6. 2007 PBA Senior Northern California Classic (Brentwood, California)
  7. 2007 USBC Senior Masters (Reno, Nevada)
  8. 2007 PBA Senior Dick Weber Invitational (Ballwin, Missouri)
  9. 2010 PBA Senior Pepsi Open (Decatur, Illinois)
  10. 2013 PBA50 Greater Birmingham Open (Birmingham, Alabama)
  11. 2014 PBA50 Greater Northern California Open (Brentwood, California)
  12. 2014 PBA50 Dayton Classic (Dayton, Ohio)
  13. 2017 PBA60 Killer B Open (New Port Richey, Florida)

Honors

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Tom Baker Bio". pba.com. Professional Bowlers Association . Retrieved 8 May 2025.
  2. Orr, Conor (23 Feb 2012). "PBA bowlers face the danger of injuries thanks to grueling competitive schedule". nj.com. The Newark Star-Ledger.
  3. Northrop, Milt (21 Apr 2017). "Bowling: Tom Baker still at it – and winning". buffalonews.com. The Buffalo News.
  4. Thomas, Pete (10 Mar 1996). "Unfazed by New Ball, Baker Is Nearly Perfect in Final". latimes.com. Los Angeles Times.
  5. Gulick, Phil (5 Jun 1997). "Counting payoffs at ABC". tampabay.com. Tampa Bay Times.
  6. "Baker wins PBA World Championship". The Oakland Press. March 22, 2004. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  7. Gulick, Phil (8 April 2004). "Spare gives 49-year-old his first major PBA title". tampabay.com. Tampa Bay Times.
  8. 1 2 "All-Time PBA50/Senior Tour Titles". pba.com. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
  9. "All-Time PBA Tour Champions". pba.com. Professional Bowlers Association . Retrieved 8 May 2025.
  10. 1 2 3 Goodger, Jef (10 Dec 2021). "Tom Hess Earns 2021 PBA50 Bowler of the Year and Rookie of the Year Awards". pba.com. Professional Bowlers Association.
  11. "All Time PBA Regional Tour Champions". pba.com. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  12. "Anthony Takes Top Honors Among PBA's Greatest". North American Bowling News. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  13. "2008 Pepsi Viper Championship Finals". YouTube.com. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
  14. "Tom Baker - Hall of Fame Bio". bowl.com. United States Bowling Congress . Retrieved 8 May 2025.
  15. "Tom Baker - Class of 1999". buffalosportshallfame.com. Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
  16. "Steve Nagy Sportsmanship Award". pba.com. Professional Bowlers Association . Retrieved 8 May 2025.
  17. UPI (7 July 1981). "Baker and Weber Bowl A Record 300-300 Tie". nytimes.com. United Press International.
  18. "PBA Tour Records". pba.com. Professional Bowlers Association . Retrieved 8 May 2025.