Glenn Allison
Glenn Richard Allison (born May 22, 1930) is an American professional ten-pin bowler and a founding member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA). He was born in Whittier, California, to Leo Allison, a car salesman, and Stella Bradford. He won 5 PBA titles and one Senior PBA title, and was inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame (Veterans/Special Category) in 1984.[1] He is also a member of the USBC Hall of Fame (inducted 1979), having won four titles in the ABC Tournament's Classic Division: he won in doubles in 1962, his "Eagles" team won in 1964 and 1966, and he claimed a singles title in 1970.
Allison is most known, however, for being the first American ten-pin bowler to roll a perfect 900 series (three perfect 300 games over a three-game series) in sanctioned competition. He rolled the series on July 1, 1982, but the then-American Bowling Congress (ABC) did not approve his award application, citing non-complying lane conditions. The decision sparked considerable controversy, as the ABC had sanctioned a 299 and 300 at that bowling center (La Habra Bowl in La Habra, CA) earlier in the season, and no other scores that night were unusually high — even on the pair of lanes on which Allison bowled.[2] But the ABC (now USBC) has never relented and still has not officially recognized the score as of 2017,[3] citing that it would call into question all other rejected honor scores from that era.[4]
In the 1970s, Allison was the proprietor of Glenn Allison Lanes located at the corner of Aviation Blvd. and Century Blvd. in Los Angeles near Los Angeles International Airport. The building burned down and was converted into a strip club.
Personal
Allison was honored at the 2011 USBC Open Championships in Reno, Nevada, for making his 60th lifetime appearance in the tournament. That same year, Allison became one of only 13 bowlers in history to reach a lifetime total of more than 100,000 pins in this tournament.[5] Glenn Allison recently worked at La Habra 300 Bowl as a deskman and bowled the Frank's Gold Cup league on Thursday nights. He averaged 210+ at the age of 84.
In December of 2017, Glenn was involved in a automobile accident. In addition to totalling his vehicle he suffered from a fractured sternum and two areas in his back were affected. As of January 2018, Glenn was undergoing rehabilitation and getting stronger everyday. The number one thing on his mind, bowling.
Retirement
In December 2016, Glenn retired from work at La Habra 300 Bowl. Many people were wondering if he would stop bowling now that he's in his late 80s, but according to Glenn, he has no desire to slow down. To this day he still averages over 200 a game.
References
- Hall of Fame bios at www.pba.com
- SI Vault at SportsIllustrated.com, retrieved 26 November 2014
- The 11th Frame: USBC won’t budge on any recognition for Glenn Allison’s 900 Richgels, Jeff on 22 November 2014. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
- USBC concludes re-evaluation of Glenn Allison 900 series Bigham, Terry on 22 November 2014. Retrieved 27 November 2014
- Cannizzaro, Matt and Williams Jr., Emil. "Hall of Famer Glenn Allison reaches 60 years at USBC Open Championships." Article at www.bowl.com on March 20, 2011.