Earl Anthony

He became a commentator on televised bowling events and a representative of the makers of Ebonite bowling balls. He joined the PBA Seniors Tour in 1990 but, wracked by arthritis, he retired from that a year later. When alternative medical treatments relieved the arthritis substantially, Anthony returned to the Seniors in 1996. The public loved having him back, enthusiastically cheering every strike and moaning every pin left standing. "Such respect is saved for the few great athletes who have transcended their sports. Anthony is one," wrote the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Paul Drzewiecki. He retired from bowling for the final time at the end of the 1997 season.

Earl Anthony died in August 2001 after falling down the stairs at a friend's home in New Berlin Wisconsin. The official cause of death was head trauma. He was survived by his wife, Susie, his son, Mike, and his daughters Tracy Nelson and Jeri.

With his thick glasses and deadpan expression, Earl Anthony looked like the most improbable of athletic champions. His record though speaks for itself. He was the only pro bowler to win at least one title fourteen years in a row—despite his mid-career heart attack. He rolled more than 600 perfect games in his career. He was named to the Professional Bowlers Association Hall of Fame in 1981 and the American Bowling Congress Hall of Fame in 1986. What's more, bowlers loved him. In 1985 the readers of Bowling Magazine voted him the greatest bowler of all time, an honor that was reiterated in 1995 when American Bowling Congress members voted him the "best bowler ever," giving him well-over three times the number of votes garnered by the runnerup, Dick Weber. It is unlikely Bowling will ever see the likes of Earl Anthony again.