Steve Cook of Granite Bay, Calif., and Doug Kent of Newark, N.Y., have been elected to the United States Bowling Congress Hall of Fame in the Superior Performance category.
The two were among six bowlers on the men’s national ballot this year, and though they fell short of the required 70 percent of the votes cast by a USBC panel of veteran bowling writers, hall of famers and board members needed for election, they were given the nod by the USBC Hall of Fame Committee.
Also on the Superior Performance ballot this year were David Ozio of Beaumont, Texas, Danny Wiseman of Baltimore, Larry Laub, Lincoln, Calif., and Randy Pedersen of Clermont, Fla. There were no candidates on the women’s side.
Cook and Kent will join three other inductees, who were elected in November by the USBC Hall of Fame Committee. John Gaines of Orlando, Fla., and Dale Traber of Cedarburg, Wis., were elected in the Outstanding USBC Performance category, and the late Woody Woodruff of Long Island, N.Y., a longtime executive at AMF, was elected posthumously for Meritorious Service.
Cook (pictured left), 56, was a dominant southpaw on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour during the 1980s, collecting 15 PBA titles from 1979-1992. His success included three major victories – the PBA Tournament of Champions (1981), PBA Touring Players Championship (1983) and Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America U.S. Open (1986).
His efforts earned him election into the PBA Hall of Fame in 1993 and the 25th spot on the PBA’s 2008 list of the 50 Greatest Players in PBA History. Cook finished ninth at the 1981 USBC Masters and was a first-team USBC All-American in 1986 and second-team selection in 1981 and ’83.
Kent had a career year on the PBA Tour during the 2006-07 season. He earned his second USBC Masters title (pictured right) and took home the PBA Player of the Year award.
The 46-year-old right-hander owns 10 PBA titles, including four majors – the USBC Masters (1991 and 2006) and PBA World Championship (2002 and 2007). His success helped him to the No. 43 spot among the 50 Greatest Players in PBA History and into the PBA Hall of Fame in 2013.
A first-team USBC All-American in 2002 and 2006 and a second-team selection in 1997 and 2000, Kent is a member of the Canandaigua, N.Y., and Lake Ontario, N.Y., Halls of Fame and the Rochester, N.Y., Walk of Fame.
The USBC Hall of Fame was created in 2005 by merging the former ABC and WIBC Halls of Fame. With the five new inductees, there will be 407 members of the USBC Hall of Fame – 271 in Performance, 116 in Meritorious Service and 20 Pioneers.
The induction ceremony will take place April 24 at the 2014 USBC Convention in Reno, Nev.
As posted on digitalbowling.com
