Good Morning Obots!
Today’s featured Ten-Pinner is George Branham III
George Branham III (born November 21, 1962 in Detroit, MI) is a professional ten-pin bowler and former member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA). He began his career in 1984 and retired at the end of the 2003 season. His career is most noted because he was the first African American to win a PBA tour title as well as win the Tournament of Champions.
Branham started bowling at the young age of six when his father introduced the sport to him. His first real accomplishment as a bowler came when he won the Southern California Junior Bowler of the year tournament in 1983. The following year in 1984 Branham joined the PBA tour where he was runner-up in rookie of the year voting. His first success came in 1986 during the Brunswick Memorial World open in Chicago, IL. He Defeated Mark Roth 195-191 and earned a purse of $33,260. Branham set a PBA record by winning his first eight TV finals matches, which still stands today.
After a four-year stretch of little success, Branham found himself in the final match at the 1991 ABC Masters, where he faced Doug Kent. The match ended in a 236-236 tie, sending it to a 9th/10th frame roll-off. Branham managed just 28 pins in the roll-off, to Kent’s 50 pins, and had to settle for second place.
George would redeem himself at the 29th annual Firestone Tournament of Champions in Fairlawn, OH. His victory at the Baltimore Open in 1993 qualified him to participate in this annual tournament, the most prestigious out of all PBA events because it only includes title winners. Branham’s victory over Parker Bohn III with a score of 227-214 came with a check for $60,000. This helped Branham reach a career high $107,000 in earnings that season. Not only was this the last time the tournament would be sponsored by Firestone, but George Branham III became the first and only (as of 2012) African American to win the Tournament of Champions.
Following this tournament, Branham would only win one more title in 1996 , the Cleveland Open which was his last major PBA victory. He continued to compete professionally until his retirement in 2003. Over his eighteen year career George Branham won five major PBA titles and scored 23,300 game points making him one of the most successful bowlers in modern history. He finished his career with five titles in the PBA. His total PBA Tour earnings topped out at $747,138. Throughout his career Branham would record a total of 23 perfect 300 games in PBA events.
Read more on George Branham III Biography – Began Bowling as a Young Boy, Became First Black to Win PBA Title