Johnny Petraglia

John Petraglia Sr. (born March 3, 1947) is an American professional bowler. He is a member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA), where he won 14 PBA Tour titles. He has also won eight PBA Senior Tour titles. He is a member of both the PBA and USBC Halls of Fame.[1]

Johnny Petraglia
Personal information
Birth nameJohn Petraglia
Born (1947-03-03) March 3, 1947
Brooklyn, New York City
Years active1965-1966,
1969-present
Height5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Sport
CountryUnited States
SportTen-pin bowling
LeaguePBA
Turned pro1965
Achievements and titles
National finals14 PBA Tour (3 majors)
8 PBA50 Tour

Bowling career

Petraglia joined the PBA in 1965, and won his first tour title at Fort Smith, Arkansas in 1966 when he was just 19 years old. A week later, Petraglia left the PBA Tour to join the United States Army during the Vietnam War. He served as an Army Specialist 5 in Long Binh and Bien Hoa from 1967-68.[2]

His best season as a pro came in 1971, when he won five titles in all. That year included consecutive wins in the last three tournaments of the season—culminated by a major championship in the Firestone Tournament of Champions. Petraglia remains the only PBA bowler to win three consecutive televised tournaments. Petraglia would win two more majors: the 1977 BPAA U.S. Open and 1980 PBA National Championship, making him one of only seven players to earn the PBA career "Triple Crown." (Billy Hardwick, Mike Aulby, Pete Weber, Norm Duke, Chris Barnes and Jason Belmonte are the others.) The 1980 event featured one of the more dramatic final matches in major tournament history, as Petraglia rolled four consecutive strikes in the 9th and 10th frames to secure the victory.

In 1994, after many figured his regular tour career was over, the 47-year-old Petraglia rolled the PBA's seventh televised perfect 300 game to defeat Walter Ray Williams Jr., 300-194. He did not, however, go on to win the title match that followed.

Petraglia is one of only two bowlers (joining Dick Weber) to win at least one regular or Senior PBA Tour title in six different decades.[3] However, Weber's final title was in a PBA Regional event. After his victory in the PBA Senior Dayton Classic on May 17, 2012, Petraglia is the only bowler in history to win a national PBA Tour title in six different decades.[4]

Born in Brooklyn, New York, he now hails from Jackson Township, New Jersey.[5] Starting in 1980, Petraglia had been a resident of Manalapan Township, New Jersey for more than three decades.[6]

In the qualifying rounds of the 2018 PBA Tournament of Champions, Petraglia announced his retirement from the PBA Tour.[7][8] However, he is still a brand ambassador for Brunswick and occasionally competes in the PBA50 Tour (formerly PBA Senior Tour).

In the media

In a sport where most bowlers frequently change equipment affiliations, Petraglia has remained associated with Brunswick Corporation since 1971. Numerous Brunswick bowling balls and other products have borne his name over the years, including the popular "Johnny Petraglia LT-48" ball from the late 1970s and 1980s that was brought back in a reactive form in recent years.[9] There was also a recent PBA Tour stop named after him—The Johnny Petraglia Open in North Brunswick, NJ.

Awards and recognition
  • Inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame in 1982
  • Inducted into USBC Hall of Fame in May 2009
  • Served three terms as PBA President (1979–80, 1989–90 and 1997–98)
  • Was ranked #16 on the PBA's 2008 list of "50 Greatest Players of the Last 50 Years"

Oil Pattern

The PBA introduced an oil pattern, "The Johnny Petraglia 46[10]'" named after the bowler. The pattern is 46' in length.

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References
  1. Vint, Bill. "Roth, Petraglia, Macpherson elected to USBC Hall of Fame."
  2. Article: "Bowling Hall-of-Famer and Vietnam Vet Johnny Petraglia Joins Bowlers to Veterans Link," The Bowlers to Veterans Link, www.bowlforveterans.org
  3. Vint, Bill. "Johnny Petraglia wins PBA East Senior Regional, Joins Dick Weber with PBA Titles in Six Decades." Article at www.pba.com on September 13, 2010.
  4. Schneider, Jerry. "Johnny Petraglia Wins PBA Senior Dayton Classic Achieving Milestone of Winning PBA Titles in Six Decades." Article at www.pba.com on May 17, 2012.
  5. Staff. "Hurd and Petraglia the team to beat in Reno", Professional Bowlers Association. January 13, 1999. Accessed November 15, 2008.
  6. Orr, Conor. "PBA legend Johnny Petraglia never forgets his roots as a soldier", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, February 24, 2012. Accessed July 5, 2018. "A Manalapan Township resident for the past 32 years, he was molded by his experiences as a soldier and when he came back from Vietnam, he went on a tear that placed him among the top tier of bowlers of all time."
  7. PBABowling (2018-02-08), Johnny Petraglia Throws His Final PBA Tour Shot to Close Tournament of Champions Qualifying, retrieved 2019-03-16
  8. "Johnny Petraglia calls it a career on the PBA". www.ballreviews.com. Retrieved 2019-03-16.
  9. "LT-48 ball review". bowlwithbrunswick.com. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  10. "PBA Oil Patterns (AKA Lane Conditions)". PBA.com. Retrieved 2020-01-14.
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