Professional Bowlers Tour
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (March 2016) |
| Professional Bowlers Tour | |
|---|---|
Sports, bowling | |
| Presented by | Chris Schenkel (1961–1997) Billy Welu (1961–1974) Nelson Burton Jr. (1975–1997) others... |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Original release | |
| Network |
|
| Release | January 27, 1962 – present |
The Professional Bowlers Tour,[1][2] also known as Pro Bowlers Tour, is a broadcast of the Professional Bowlers Association that aired on ABC from 1962 to 1997. In the telecasts, sportscaster Chris Schenkel and the graphics displayed during the show would refer to the show as "The Professional Bowlers Tour", possibly to disambiguate from the NFL's use of the term "pro bowler" when referring to players who were selected for the Pro Bowl—an event also televised on ABC for many years.
History
Prior to the debut of the PBA on ABC television in 1962, most tournaments were organized where, once the cut was established after qualifying rounds, a set number of match-play games were bowled, and bonus pins were given to the winner of each match. The champion was then decided based on the final overall total pinfall.
From 1962 to 1965, ABC started televising the PBA Tour, starting with a limited number of tournaments on ABC's
The first-ever telecast was actually taped and aired at a later date. The original commentators were Chris Schenkel and then-active bowling star Billy Welu. On May 16, 1974 Welu died suddenly of a heart attack.
For the remainder of the 1974 season, bowling legends Dick Weber and Dave Davis filled Welu's analyst spot, but it was the young Nelson Burton Jr. who was ultimately selected for the full-time analyst job in 1975. With Burton Jr. still an active player, Weber or Davis would fill in as analyst for tournaments where Nelson made the televised finals. Burton Jr. remained Schenkel's broadcasting partner until the end of the series.
Popularity
On the telecasts, Burton would host taped segments in which he would give tips or interesting facts about bowling.
Decline
Although the series maintained high ratings throughout most of its years, ABC (which was transitioning to new management after being purchased by The Walt Disney Company in 1996) opted against renewing its contract with the PBA, primarily due to the overall decline of bowling's popularity in the late 1980s and 1990s. This was partially attributed to the explosion of sports viewing choices in the 1990s, especially on cable television, the lack of any one bowling star to follow, and an aging audience for televised bowling. (Research in 1997 showed that 67% of the viewing audience for network TV bowling was at least 50 years old.)[4]
Former PBA Commissioner Mark Gerberich, who presided over the PBA in the 1990s, summed up the decline in ABC viewership and related licensing contracts, stating, "In 1991, we got $200,000 a show which went into the prize funds. A year later, we got $50,000. In 1997, we were paying $150,000 to stay on TV."[5]
End of ABC's broadcasts aftermath
The final PBT broadcast aired on June 21, 1997 at the St. Clair Classic in Fairview Heights, Ill. that was won by
Footage of the series' final broadcast in 1997 is featured in the 2006 DVD documentary A League of Ordinary Gentlemen.
A member of the Weber family threw the first (Dick) and last (Pete) balls on the series, demonstrating how both the father and son each dominated their own eras of the sport.
It was reported in newspapers that Chris Schenkel did not intend to retire after the series ended, even though he was in his seventies by 1997, as he wanted to earn more money to pay for his grandchildren to go to college. When CBS picked up the PBA Tour in 1998, there was talk of Schenkel moving to that network, but it never materialized. Gary Seibel (play-by-play) and Marshall Holman (color) got the jobs instead.
Bo Burton has been the analyst on several bowling telecasts since his days on PBT. He analyzed PBA events for ESPN during the 1998 season. He also did color commentary for the 1998 Women's College Bowling Championship on
Return of bowling on ABC
The PBA, through its renewed contract with ESPN, returned to ABC for the first time in over thirteen years, as it televised the
PBA on Fox
In March 2018, the PBA announced a multi-year agreement with Fox Sports to begin in 2019 and carry through at least the end of the 2022 season. Most events have been carried on Fox Sports 1, but the deal has provisions to carry some events on the Fox broadcast network.[6]
Commentators
- (1961–1974) Chris Schenkel, Billy Welu
- (1974–1975) Chris Schenkel, various guest commentators
- (1975–1997) Chris Schenkel, Nelson Burton Jr.
Other commentators
On some broadcasts, either Schenkel or Burton were on assignment so other commentators filled in.
- Verne Lundquist
- Al Michaels
- Dick Weber
- Johnny Petraglia
- Dave Diles
- Tim Brant
- Bud Palmer
- Keith Jackson
Mike Aulby and John Mazza, among other pros who were not competing on the telecasts, served as a lane-level reporters for PBT and would interview bowlers competing on the show.
It became somewhat of a
As his career progressed, he began covering bowling almost exclusively and thus saw most of the PBA's great moments toward the latter part of the series. Schenkel would be in the booth for five more televised 300 games, as well as one of the only other two televised 7–10 split conversions during the Professional Bowlers Tour series, by John Mazza.
References
- ^ Billy Welu Scholarship
- ^ The PBT on The New York Times
- ^ Vint, Bill. "PBA Spare Shots: Historic Redwood Lanes May Soon Close." Article at pba.com on June 27, 2012. [1]
- ^ Callahan, Gerry. "The Last Frame." Article in Sports Illustrated on June 30, 1997. [2]
- ^ "Mark Gerberich, Three Former PBA Stars Inducted into PBA Hall of Fame". pba.com. February 13, 2017. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
- ^ "Professional Bowling Rolls to Fox Sports". 20 March 2018.
