The Greatest Bowler of All Time Has Finally Been Revealed

Throughout the 2008-2009 bowling season, the PBA celebrated its 50^th anniversary by counting down the 50 greatest bowlers of all time. Week after week, PBA greats, such as Carmen Salvino and Dick Weber, and current stars, such as Chris Barnes and Parker Bohn III, were announced as being members of the prestigious list. Finally, after many weeks of speculation and anticipation, the question on every bowling enthusiasts mind has finally been answered: Who is the greatest bowler of all time? Everyone knew it was down to Walter Ray Williams Jr. and Earl Anthony, and an argument could be made for each of them as to why they should be number one. The achievements, titles, and statistics of both these players are remarkable, but who came out on top?

Despite his record setting 45 career titles, Walter Ray finished runner up to the late, great Earl Anthony. To some, it may be hard to believe, since Walter Ray has had an outstanding and remarkable career, amassing a huge list of achievements to his name. He was the first bowler to both $3,000,000 and $4,000,000 in earnings, holds the record for most money earned in a single season with $419,700, was named Player of the Year six times, earned the PBA high average seven times, and led the tour in points seven times, just to name a few. He is also right handed, and with the majority of bowlers on the PBA tour being right handed, it makes it much more difficult for him to succeed each and every week.

Now when comparing Walter Ray's career to that of Earl Anthony's, you will notice that Walter Ray has actually been slightly more successful. Anthony was the previous record holder for most career titles with 43, but Walter Ray was able to break that record in 2007. He also won six PBA Player of the Year Awards, just as Walter Ray did, and he was also the first bowler to reach $1 million in earnings. Now although his earnings were much less than Walter Ray's, you have to figure that Anthony was bowling at a time when the prize pools were much less than they are today, so the amount of money he earned during his time period was actually quite a bit. He was also left handed, which gave him an advantage because there was less traffic on his side of the lane, allowing him to repeat shot after shot.

After crunching the numbers, it would seem apparent that Walter Ray outperformed Earl Anthony, but there is one statistic that put Anthony over the top: Majors. Although setting the record for career titles, Walter Ray only won seven majors, to Anthony's remarkable ten. Major titles are much more challenging to win, making them more highly regarded and prestigious when compared to regular tour titles. If Anthony and Walter Ray won the same number of majors in their careers, I believe Walter Ray would have been named the "Greatest Bowler of All Time", but since Anthony has him in that category, he truly does deserve the title of being the best bowler to ever grace the lanes.

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"Earl Anthony." Wikipedia