Favorite Pros, Past and Present

[J Daisy]

My favorite bowling pro would have to be Earl Anthony. Who are yours? Why?

[boatman37]

Back in the day I liked Brian Voss but after getting to know Mark Roth and working with him for awhile (early 2000's) he took the top spot. More recently I like Sean Rash, Rhino Page and Bill O'Neil. Then there are the guys you just want to see do good like Norm Duke and (at least me) PDW

[classygranny]

Hard hard question. I loved watching Marshall Holman on TV as I loved his passion. Big favorite has been Brian Voss as I took lessons from him right before or just when he joined the PBA. Then there are the die hard favorite women, like Liz Johnson, Stephanie, Shannon - watching the women seems to be more interesting for me than watching the men lately. Of course, the older bowlers like Earl, Mark Roth, Duke have always kept this game interesting.

I like watching the matches that have some of the older veterans as well as the younger players. Such differences in attitude, passion, and yet the same game.

Ok....I can't pick just ONE. But if I had to - I'm going with Marshall. My idol from long ago with his passion and exuberance.

[J Anderson]

My favorite bowling pro would have to be Earl Anthony. Who are yours? Why?

Going way way back, my favorite was Dick Weber. Runner up from that era would be Carmen Salvino, one of the first bowlers to embrace entertaining the viewers.

At one point Walter Ray, when he he would lead the tournament, leave a ringing ten pin in the ninth, and finish second, was the guy I most often rooting for. Now my favorite from that era is Brian Voss, with his friend Norm Duke a close second, again for being excellent bowlers who were (are) very entertaining.

I’m not sure who my favorite bowler is right now. Obviously I still root for Norm and the other “experienced” players when they make the finals. I’ve met a few of the current pros, like Rhino Page and Anthony Pepe and root for them.

I am, for the sake of this thread, going to choose a young pro to root for, and hope that I don’t jinx him. That bowler is Packy Hanrahan. If you are a regular viewer of Brad & Kyle’s Youtube channel you may have seen Packy or heard his name mentioned. My reason for picking him is that I’ve known him since he was in High School, and was briefly part of our youth league, and competed in the local sport league as well.

[Phonetek]

So many favs, I've gotten to meet many of them when they came to town, bowled with a handful of them when I was 14. I'm pretty sure I got 80% of their autographs in the book they passed out. Bob Handley was and is my all time favorite. Not because he was the best or most popular because he wasn't either. I liked him because he was fun to watch. He has a unique style that you just couldn't ignore. Nobody in that era got a plastic ball what he got it to do back then. When he was locked in just forget it. I bowled with him and he was one of the nicest guys and offered me several tips. I always looked up to him. I wish he made it on TV more than he did. He's officially retired now from bowling but as it turns out I'll be meeting him again very soon! My new boss is best friends with him and he's already agreed to come meet up with me for a rematch in spite of being retired. Now that's a class act right there!

I also agree with J about Brian Voss and Norm Duke. I met Brian back then but didn't bowl with him. I remember talking his ears off and he just sat there gabbing with me. He was a rookie in those days and my sister had a crush on him probably because of his David Hasslehoff hair. LOL Brian and Norm seem like the kind of guys I'd love to chill and have a beer with. Chances are something interesting will happen in the process.

Then again, my favorite pro should be the one I'm about to start working for since it will be his autograph on my paycheck every week. Hmmm....sorry Bob Handley I think you just got beat out, wanna write me some checks to get back in first place??

[MajorPhoenix]

Current bowler- Belmo is fun to watch, but when it breaks bad for him, it breaks BAD. Same with Butturff. Probably an unpopular opinion, but i'm not a big fan of ole Pete Weber. Anthony Simonsen is a favorite as well.

[Phonetek]

I forgot the current pros. Mike Fagan, he throws a mean ball. Very smooth and graceful and makes it look easy. The other current pros have to go to the ladies. Liz Johnson and Daria Pajak both have mad skills and I love watching them. My two favs on the ladies.

[J Daisy]

Wow, you guys all have a lot of great answers. I must admit, perhaps I've been under a bit of a rock, because I have only heard of about half of these people. It gives me a lot of great bowlers to look up videos of. Thank you for the enthusiastic responses!

[J Anderson]

Probably an unpopular opinion, but i'm not a big fan of ole Pete Weber.

PDW is a polarizing figure. If you liked his dad, you probably don’t like Pete. I never cared for his antics on TV, but having met him, I like him better than I did. In my opinion he is the most graceful right handers ever on the tour.

[J Anderson]

I forgot the current pros. Mike Fagan, he throws a mean ball. Very smooth and graceful and makes it look easy. The other current pros have to go to the ladies. Liz Johnson and Daria Pajak both have mad skills and I love watching them. My two favs on the ladies.

I don’t think Fagan counts as current. He is not listed on the PBA website as being on the tour this year. I think that he went back to school to get an MBA.

[Phonetek]

I don’t think Fagan counts as current. He is not listed on the PBA website as being on the tour this year. I think that he went back to school to get an MBA.

Ah, did not know that. Well I figure... once a pro always a pro, it's better than I've ever done. Hopefully he'll be back someday.

[boatman37]

PDW is definitely polarizing but he gets the fans involved whether good or bad. Anybody that follows NASCAR will know that a few drivers have said they don't care if the crowd cheers for them or boos for them. Either way they are paying attention to them. PDW gets a reaction from the fans either good or bad and I think that is good for the sport. Alot of people hate Kyle Busch but people talk about him and tune in to see what he will say next.

[boatman37]

Having sat out of bowling for about 16 years (2002-2018) I am not familiar with many of the names mentioned, which is why in my earlier post I only mentioned bowlers from the 80's and 90's and current bowlers. Any that were good or popular during my absence that have since left the game I wouldn't be familiar with them.

I do like Anthony Simonson too even though he is a 2 hander. Nothing against 2 handers but it isn't my style and I tend to gravitate to those similar to me. Just seems like Anthony is a nice guy. I like the old schoolers like Duke and PDW because I'm a lower rev bowler with similar motion on my ball. I have watched a few Duke matches lately and mine looks very similar except mine is on the left side. Just wish I had the consistency and control he does...lol

[skfboiler]

Since he is my pro shop guy, I better say Eugene McCune. He is doing pretty well in the PBA50 circuit.

[djp1080]

My favorite pro bowler of the past is Steve Nagy. He was a showman on the lanes and I think he may have been the first to bowl a 300 game on TV. I always enjoyed watching him bowl.
My favorite pro bowler these days is Kris Prather. He about as smooth a bowler as there is on the tour. He appears to be a gentleman on the lanes and dedicated to this sport.

[MajorPhoenix]

Oh I agree. Skill-wise he’s amazing to watch, but he just has that “better than you” demeanor that kinda bugs me. But that might just be a show.


PDW is a polarizing figure. If you liked his dad, you probably don’t like Pete. I never cared for his antics on TV, but having met him, I like him better than I did. In my opinion he is the most graceful right handers ever on the tour.