Tom Baker (bowler)
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Tom Baker (born September 12, 1954, Buffalo, New York) is a professional bowler on the PBA Tour. He has won 10 titles on the regular PBA Tour, and 9 more on the PBA Senior Tour. He currently resides in King, North Carolina.
Baker had his best pro season in 1981, winning three titles and over $100,000 that season. By 1986, he had won 7 PBA titles before going on a 10-year winless streak, partially due to recurring wrist injuries. In 1996, he returned to the winner's circle at the AC-Delco Classic, and won again in 1997 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. After another 7-year drought, he shocked the bowling world by winning the 2004 PBA World Championship at age 49.
Baker has dominated the PBA Senior Tour since joining in 2005, winning 4 Senior major titles and 5 Senior standard tournaments, while continuing to compete on the regular tour. Baker was named Senior Rookie of the Year and Senior Player of the Year in 2005, becoming the only senior player to earn both honors in a single season. He won Senior Player of the Year honors again in 2006 and 2007, an unprecedented streak in the history of the PBA Senior Tour.
In the 2008-09 season, Baker was the oldest player in the "exempt" field on the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour. He earned an exemption through that season with his 2004 World Championship victory, but generally split his time between regular and senior tour events. He did not qualify nor attempt to regain his exemption for the 2009-10 regular tour.
Baker was ranked #42 on the PBA's 2008 list of "50 Greatest Players of the Last 50 Years."
Honors
- Inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame in 1999 and the USBC Hall of Fame in 2012.[1]
- Voted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame the same year.
- Won the Steve Nagy Sportsmanship Award in the 1980 and 1981 seasons.
- Has earned over $1.7 million as a PBA professional (over $1.45 million on the regular PBA tour)
- Has rolled 65 career perfect 300 games in PBA competition. Was part of a 300-300 match play tie with Pete Weber in 1981.
- Holds the record for most events bowled on the PBA Tour in a career, with 831.[2]
Personal
- Has a daughter named Miranda Baker, and she currently remains with her mother in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Sources
www.pba.com, official site of the Professional Bowlers Association and the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour