Dave Husted, Amleto Monacelli, Tom Baker and Dede Davidson have been elected to the United States Bowling Congress Hall of Fame in the Superior Performance category.
The four players join wheelchair bowler Al Uttecht (Pioneer), Lennie Boresch Jr. and Gary Daroszewski (Outstanding USBC Performance), and Joan Feinblum and the late Kerm Helmer (Meritorious Service), who were elected in November by the USBC Hall of Fame Committee.
The induction ceremony will take place April 26 at the USBC Convention in Arlington.
Husted (pictured right), 51, of Milwaukee, Ore., won 14 Professional Bowlers Association Tour titles between 1982 and 2000. He won three U.S. Open titles (1982, 1995, 1996), the Showboat Invitational twice (1990, 1995), and the Brunswick Memorial World Open in 1993.
He was the first player in PBA history to win back-to-back U.S. Open titles, and he was ranked No. 23 on the list of the 50 Greatest Players in PBA History in 2008.
“I am of an age where the history of the game means a lot to me,” Husted said. “I have a lot of respect for the Bill Lillards and all those greats. So to be able to say that I am in the PBA Hall of Fame and the USBC Hall of Fame is pretty strong and very humbling.”
Husted, who owns 26 PBA regional titles and was the ninth player to reach $1 million in career earnings, was inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame in 1996. He earned back-to-back Steve Nagy Sportsmanship awards in 1988 and 1989, and was a four-time Bowling Magazine first-team All-American. He is a member of the Portland BA and Oregon BA Halls of Fame.
Monacelli (left), 50, of Venezuela, won 19 PBA Tour titles from 1987-2005. In addition to the Touring Players Championship title in 1989, he won the Japan Cup twice (1987, 1995). He is among the 50 Greatest Players in PBA History (No. 21) and was elected to the PBA Hall of Fame in 1997.
“This definitely is something I wanted to achieve at some point in my career,” Monacelli said. “Now my dream is to win the USBC Masters in the same year as my USBC Hall of Fame induction.”
Monacelli won back-to-back PBA Player of the Year awards in 1989 and 1990, and has totaled more than $2 million in PBA earnings. In 1999, he was ranked fourth among Venezuela’s top athletes of the century.
Baker (right), 57, of King, N.C., won 10 PBA Tour titles between 1980 and 2004, including the PBA World Championship in 2004. On the PBA Senior Tour, he has won nine titles, including four majors. He won back-to-back Senior U.S. Open titles in 2005 and 2006 and back-to-back USBC Senior Masters titles in 2006 and 2007.
“I’ve done a lot in my career, but this is one thing I was really hoping to get,” Baker said. “I’ve been doing this for so long, so to be recognized by my peers as one of the best just feels great.”
Baker, who was voted the 40th Greatest Player in PBA History in 2008, was the PBA Senior Tour Rookie of the Year in 2005. He won four consecutive PBA Senior Tour Player of the Year awards from 2005-2008. He is a member of the Buffalo (N.Y.) BA Hall of Fame as well as the Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame.
Davidson (left), 45, of Buellton, Calif., won nine Ladies Pro Bowlers Tour/Professional Women’s Bowling Association titles from 1988-2003, including the 1991 USBC Queens, the 1993 U.S. Women’s Open, and the Sam’s Town Invitational in 2000. Her Sam’s Town Invitational title completed the PWBA’s “Triple Crown” of major victories. She was named PWBA Rookie of the Year in 1985.
“I am really touched by this,” Davidson said. “Throughout my whole career as a pro, this is where I wanted to end up. Knowing you’re in the Hall of Fame for the rest of your life is just amazing. So I am extremely excited and happy.”
Davidson has six top-10 finishes at the USBC Women’s Championships, where she won the 2011 Scratch All-Events title. She is the only woman to shoot both an 800 series and a 300 game at the Women’s Championships. She is a member of the Southern California BA Hall of Fame.
The USBC Hall of Fame was created in 2005 by merging the former ABC and WIBC Halls of Fame. With the nine new inductees, there will be 394 members of the USBC Hall of Fame – 262 in Performance, 114 in Meritorious Service and 20 Pioneers.
As posted on digitalbowling.com
