USBC Hall of Famer Pete Tountas dies at age 86
Dave Schroeder
April 03, 2025
Story And Photo From Bowl.com.
ARLINGTON, Texas – The United States Bowling Congress recently learned of the death of USBC Hall of Famer Pete Tountas, of Tucson, Arizona, at the age of 86. According to the Arizona Daily Star, Tountas passed away on Feb. 27.
Tountas was born on Aug. 8, 1938, in a small mountain village in Greece. He immigrated to the United States at the age of 12 and lived with his uncle and their family in Hammond, Indiana.
Tountas would turn a passion for the sport of bowling into a hall of fame career. He started as a pin boy and ended up a multi-time titlist and major champion on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour. He also was an Eagle winner at the USBC Open Championships and was inducted into the USBC Hall of Fame in 1989 in the Veterans category.
Tountas’ first title on the PBA Tour came at the 1964 Bertrand PBA Open in Waukegan, Illinois. He bested Jack Biondolillo by nine pins in the 40-game, total-pinfall event. His next tour victory would come in the televised stepladder finals of the 1967 Buckeye Open in Toledo, Ohio. Tountas knocked off Dave Davis, Bill Tucker and Gene Rhoda on the way to his second career title.
His final pro victory would be a major. After finishing fourth in both the 1963 and 1964 USBC Masters events and second in another major, the 1967 PBA National Championship, Tountas collected the title in the 1968 Masters in Cincinnati.
It was during Masters competition that Tountas earned a share of one of bowling's greatest records at the time when he put together a string of 21 four-game series above 800, ending with a 794 block in the 1968 finals.
Tountas also shined in Open Championships competition. He was a member of the Andy’s Pro Shop team that took home the Eagle at the 1976 event in Oklahoma City. He also took great pride in a top-10 doubles finish (ninth place) with his son Michael at the 1988 USBC Open Championships in Jacksonville, Florida.
It was during his time on tour that he met and fell in love with his wife, Sandy. They settled in Tucson, where he became general manager of Golden Pin Lanes, which hosted numerous PBA Tour events. To many bowlers and fans of the PBA Tour, Tountas was just as well known for his work as a tournament host as he was for his days as a competitor on tour.
In addition to bowling, Tountas enjoyed golf and was an active member of the Greek Orthodox Church. He is survived by his two children, Michael and Michelle, and many grandchildren.
************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
GCU Bowling News - Courtesy Of GCU.
Rockford, IL. - - - The Lopes wrapped up the 24-25 season this past weekend at the Collegiate Club National Championships in Rockford, IL.
The Men won their pool for the 2nd time in program history, but fell to the contenders bracket earlier than we hoped. Both squads battled hard and ended with T-7th (Men) and T-9th (Women) finishes.
We are grateful for the opportunity to compete at events of this magnitude and appreciate the support of everyone who helped us through another successful season. Each year poses it's unique challenges and our coaching staff is very proud and thankful for the hard work and dedication each of our student-athletes dedicates to our program!
Big shout to our sponsors Ramsey Auto Center, Glenfair Lanes, Hammer Bowling, and Virtue Bowling Supply, for their continued support of our team. Stay tuned over the next few weeks as we wrap up the 12th season in our programs history.
LOPES UP!
************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
King Of The Hill News - Courtesy Of Mark Kerr.
Tucson - - - Bowlers from Tucson and across Arizona took part in the King of the Hill Tournament, sponsored by Phillips Eye Care, taking place at Bowlero Tucson.
The five finalists were: Keith Dommer, Rich Miller, Dylan Donohue, Luis Lugo Jr., and Rene Canez III. It was a high scoring finals which Rene Canez III won the stepladder final. Congratulations RCIII!
Mark your calendars for the next King of the Hill Tournament, taking place Saturday, April 26, 10 am at Bowlero Tucson, located at 114 S. Camino Seco in Tucson. This tournament will be a doubles tournament and the flyer will be posted soon.
************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Mesa Metro Looking For Association Manager. From Mesa Metro.
Mesa - - - Mesa Metropolitan USBC Association is currently taking applications for the Office Manager position. Please feel free to send a copy of your resume to the following email address:
Please put your name and position in the subject line.
Serious inquiries apply.
************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Thompson Tournament News - From Kristi Smith - Thompson.
Chandler - - - Congratulations to our March Bakers winners!
We had 75 entries. 34 in the 370 & 41 in the 430 cap
18 teams made cashing rounds. We paid out $4350 in prize money, and $1218 in side pots
We raised $150 for Mesa Strikers Youth
Our 300 pot was will roll over with $412
The 12 strike pot was not won and remains capped at $2000
11 strikes was not hit and will be worth $294 at our next event. Remember a tie will split, but if more than 2 wins it will roll over.
370 Division:
- Finals came down to Dion Lockett/Lena Riley vs Andrew Locke/Ari Rath. Andrew & Ari pulled off the win 188-168
- High Games paid out $58 to each team: Lockett/Riley 246, Smed/Billeter 223 & 258, Cook/Regnell 233, Locke/Rath 257 and Almy/Foos 268
- High Series paid $174: Call/Finn 1216
430 Division:
- Finals were Chris Stewart/Dan Quilt vs Mike Curran/Jeff Bordwell with Chris & Dan taking the win 198-179
- High Games paid out $78 each team: Marema/Braverman 263 & 255, Patterson/Feber 277, Ellis/Grant 267, Boothe/Harris 299 and Kaku/Potter 279
- High Series paid $228: Stewart/Quilt 1393
Complete standings including side pots and brackets can be found on Tournamentbowl.com. We're listed under 2025 TBT 3-29-25 Bakers Doubles.
Upcoming Event:
TBT 9 Pin No Tap. This one's going to be a little different. We are doing a 4 game drop the HIGH instead of low. There will be no scratch division. This will be a test run for this format, please come out and give it a try. Registration is officially open: comment, dm or email me.
************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Still Time To Enter AZ State Women's Tournament - From AZ State USBC.
There's still some spots available for the AZ State USBC Women's Championship.
Team Event
April 5, 9:00 AM - 5 spots available
April 6, 1:00 PM - 10 spots available
April 12, 9:00 AM - 22 spots available
April 13, 1:00 PM - 1 spot available
Doubles/Singles
April 13, 8:30 AM - 20 spots available
Registration forms are online at AZ State USBC.org.
************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************