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While Milton at times has questioned whether he could have done a bit more rehab to prolong his national tour career, he is at ease that he ultimately made the right decision given the rigors and demands placed on a national touring pro bowler. While the best aspects of tour life were the level of competition, the benefits of extensive travel to places one might not see otherwise, the time away from family and friends, especially Darlene, his wife, made it all the more difficult to remain on tour, thus making it a much easier transition to move on with life after the tour. Tom utilized his overall bowling knowledge and experience to operate his own Pro Shop for a time period, then ultimately managing several local bowling centers for many years. Milton still participates in local leagues and tournaments as well as participating each year in the USBC National Open Championships. Tom's has averaged as high as 240 in local leagues, and has won a variety of local tournament sweeper events as well as typically cashing in the USBC National Championships. One distinct post tour advantage was the birth of Tom and Darlene's daughter, Katie, born in May, 1991.
While Milton at times has questioned whether he could have done a bit more rehab to prolong his national tour career, he is at ease that he ultimately made the right decision given the rigors and demands placed on a national touring pro bowler. While the best aspects of tour life were the level of competition, the benefits of extensive travel to places one might not see otherwise, the time away from family and friends, especially Darlene, his wife, made it all the more difficult to remain on tour, thus making it a much easier transition to move on with life after the tour. Tom utilized his overall bowling knowledge and experience to operate his own Pro Shop for a time period, then ultimately managing several local bowling centers for many years. Milton still participates in local leagues and tournaments as well as participating each year in the USBC National Open Championships. Tom's has averaged as high as 240 in local leagues, and has won a variety of local tournament sweeper events as well as typically cashing in the USBC National Championships. One distinct post tour advantage was the birth of Tom and Darlene's daughter, Katie, born in May, 1991.


==Awards and Recognition==
==Bowling Awards and Recognition==
* First Team All-American (1983)
* First Team All-American (1983)
* Runnerup to Pete Weber for PBA National Tour Rookie of the Year (1983)
* Runnerup to Pete Weber for PBA National Tour Rookie of the Year (1983)
* 1983 PBA 3rd Leading Money Winner - Just shy of magic $100,000 threshold
* Second Team All American (1987)
* Second Team All American (1987)
* 2nd Place - ABC (American Bowling Congress) National Classic Division Doubles with Pete Brown (1979)
* 2nd Place - ABC (American Bowling Congress) National Classic Division Doubles with Pete Brown (1979)
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* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O99zu3S_wZQ
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O99zu3S_wZQ
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPjyc7zVMRU
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPjyc7zVMRU
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fp77ebGggJA

* Personal Interview between Tom Milton and Bobby Salerno on Tuesday, June 21, 2016, St. Petersburg, FL
* Personal Interview between Tom Milton and Bobby Salerno on Tuesday, June 21, 2016, St. Petersburg, FL


Revision as of 16:51, 12 July 2016

Tom Milton
Born
Tom Milton

(1956-01-11)January 11, 1956
St. Petersburg, Florida
OccupationRetired PBA Ten Pin Bowler,
Years active1979–88
SpouseDarlene (Harter) Milton (1983-Present)

Tom Milton (January 11, 1956) is a right-handed American professional bowler who amassed 5 National and 6 Regional titles on the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tours.

Personal Life and Early Bowling Career

Milton was born and raised in St. Petersburg, Florida to parents Sam (d. 2009) and Tam (d. 2008) Milton, and has two older twin sisters. Tom graduated from Lakewood High School and participated in organized baseball and basketball leagues. He initially took an interest in bowling at age 11, joining a Saturday morning YABA (Young America Bowling Alliance) junior league at Skyway Lanes upon being encouraged by Arlene Levine, the desk manager, who was also a certified coach/instructor. Tom continued to develop and hone his bowling skills under Arlene's tutelage, garnishing many YABA awards throughout his junior career, after which he joined the American Bowling Congress adult division(ABC, now the USBC - United States Bowling Congress). It is worth noting that Arlene continue to serve as one of Tom's key coaches/mentors throughout his bowling career. Two other bowlers that also had an influence on Milton as he developed his game were Earl Ratliff, a local standout at Skyway lanes for his steadiness, and PBA Hall of Famer and one of the all-time great bowlers, Earl Anthony, for his command of the game through the smooth delivery and efficiency with which he executed each shot. Ironically Tom would ultimately defeat "Earl the Pearl" in a PBA finals match on national television some years later when he claimed his 2nd national title.

In addition to many local bowling accomplishments, prior to his joining the PBA, Milton went on to capture the high conference bowling average while a member of the Hillsborough Community College bowling team. In addition, and more notably, teamed with Pete Brown, also of St. Petersburg to take 2nd place in the ABC National Classic Championships held in Tampa in 1979, only surpassed by the well known professional Burton brothers tandem (Nelson "Bo" Jr. and Neil). Tom's first thoughts of pursuing a career in professional bowling were the result of having cashed as an amateur in several PBA southern regional tournaments.

PBA career

Milton's first formal PBA tournament as an official PBA cardholder was the AMF Magicscore Open held in Kissimmee, Florida in February, 1978. He secured his first national title in January, 1983 at the Showboat Invitational. Throughout the 1980's Tom was a force to be reckoned with on the lanes, as evidenced by his 5 national titles among 16 top 5 finishes before injuries forced a premature retirement at the conclusion of the 1988 season. Lending greatly to his PBA successes, Tom had the advantage of a strong "support team" back home anchored by his wife Darlene, his parents, Arlene Levine, his longtime coach/mentor, and George Litts, who served as his sponsor for many years. This support afforded Tom the ability to concentrate on the business at hand without the other worries and distractions that could ultimately take away from the confidence he had going into each tournament. The 1988 season proved to be an emotional one as it marked Milton's return to the tour after taking some time to recover from a nagging injury, culminating in his capturing his 5th and final national title at the Miller Lite Classic tournament held in Miami in February, 1988. Contributing to making it an emotional and most memorable event was that Tom's mother, Tam, was able to attend her first PBA tournament, cheering him onto victory. Unfortunately Tom's wife, Darlene, had to remain at home in St. Petersburg as she was coordinating a local bowling tournament as a memorial tribute to George Litts, Milton's longtime sponsor who had died in 1986. Also unbeknownst to Tom at the time was that George's wife had revealed to Darlene that it was George's wish that Tom was now in a position to no longer need to split his winnings with his sponsor. Accordingly, although Tom's PBA career was cut short prematurely, the 1988 season was the pinnacle of a highlight reel of memories of a most distinguished tour career.

Tom was the first bowler from the Tampa Bay area to win a PBA national bowling title, after which several other notable Tampa Bay bowlers matched his feat, including Steve Hoskins, Tom Crites, and Tom Daugherty, thereby solidifying the Tampa Bay areas reputation for churning out top caliber bowlers. In addition to his national accomplishments, Milton also has 6 PBA regional titles to his credit, the most recent as of 2008 as a Senior PBA member.

PBA National Tournament Individual Titles

Event Opponent City Dates Winner
Showboat Invitational Don Genalo Las Vegas, Nevada Jan 29, 1983 Tom Milton (1)
Greater Hartford Open Earl Anthony Windsor Locks, Connecticut Apr 9, 1983 Tom Milton (2)
Denver Open Steve Cook Denver, Colorado May 28, 1983 Tom Milton (3)
Lite Beer Championship Randy Lightfoot Milwaukee, Wisconsin Mar 7, 1987 Tom Milton (4)
Miller Lite Classic Rick Steelsmith Miami, Florida Feb 13, 1988 Tom Milton (5)

PBA National Tournament 2nd Place Finishes

Event Winner City Dates 2nd Place
Cleveland Open Norm Duke North Olmstead, Ohio Mar 5, 1983 Tom Milton
Greater Hartford Open Jimmie Pritts Jr. Windsor Locks, Connecticut Apr 14, 1984 Tom Milton
Showboat PBA Doubles Classic Mike Aulby/Steve Cook Las Vegas, Nevada Jul 1, 1985 Tom Milton/Jeff Bellinger
Molson Golden Bowling Challenge Don Genalo Windsor, Ontario, Canada Jul 30, 1986 Tom Milton

Post Tour Life

While Milton at times has questioned whether he could have done a bit more rehab to prolong his national tour career, he is at ease that he ultimately made the right decision given the rigors and demands placed on a national touring pro bowler. While the best aspects of tour life were the level of competition, the benefits of extensive travel to places one might not see otherwise, the time away from family and friends, especially Darlene, his wife, made it all the more difficult to remain on tour, thus making it a much easier transition to move on with life after the tour. Tom utilized his overall bowling knowledge and experience to operate his own Pro Shop for a time period, then ultimately managing several local bowling centers for many years. Milton still participates in local leagues and tournaments as well as participating each year in the USBC National Open Championships. Tom's has averaged as high as 240 in local leagues, and has won a variety of local tournament sweeper events as well as typically cashing in the USBC National Championships. One distinct post tour advantage was the birth of Tom and Darlene's daughter, Katie, born in May, 1991.

Bowling Awards and Recognition

  • First Team All-American (1983)
  • Runnerup to Pete Weber for PBA National Tour Rookie of the Year (1983)
  • 1983 PBA 3rd Leading Money Winner - Just shy of magic $100,000 threshold
  • Second Team All American (1987)
  • 2nd Place - ABC (American Bowling Congress) National Classic Division Doubles with Pete Brown (1979)
  • 4th Place - USBC (United States Bowling Conference) Open Doubles with Dave Taylor (2010)
  • Gulf Coast/St. Petersburg USBC Hall of Fame (1983)
  • Florida State Bowling Associate Hall of Fame (2012)
  • 1st Sanctioned 800 Series recorded in St. Petersburg Bowling Association and Tampa Bay area (November, 1978)
  • Member of Several Successful Winning Area World Team Challenges, Participated in Grand World Team Championships

See also

References

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