Bob Benoit

Bob Benoit (born July 21, 1954, in Topeka, Kansas) is a retired professional bowler in the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA), who was active in the 1980s and 1990s. Over the course of his career, Benoit won four PBA Tour titles, all between 1988 and 1993.[1]

This article is about the professional bowler. For the racing executive, see Bob Benoit (horse racing).

PBA career

Benoit is mostly known for being the first bowler to ever roll a perfect game in a televised title match,[2] as well as the fifth PBA bowler to throw a televised perfect game overall. He did this against Mark Roth, beating him 300–255, at the Quaker State Open on January 23, 1988. The victory was in front of his home crowd at the Forum Bowl in Grand Prairie, Texas, a place where Benoit bowled league during the eleven years in which he lived in Dallas. Only two other players have scored 300 in a televised title match since Benoit's feat: Mike Aulby in 1993 and Tommy Jones in 2020.[3]

This was Benoit's first ever title, as well as his first appearance in a telecast, making him the first bowler in history to score 300 in their very first TV appearance. This distinction stood until 2016, when François Lavoie scored a 300 game in his first TV appearance, in the semifinal round of the 2016 U.S. Open. In that match, Lavoie defeated Shawn Maldonado, 300–211.

Benoit would later be on the other end of a televised 300 game, losing 300–236 to Butch Soper in a stepladder match of the Hilton Hotels Classic in July, 1994.

Benoit had 28 career top-five finishes and made it to the final match on eight occasions[4] (wins in bold type):

Personal

Bob has a brother, Rick Benoit, who is still involved in the bowling business, formerly as a tour consultant for Brunswick,[5] and currently coaches both PBA and PWBA bowlers. Rick has also founded and developed a bowling educational program known as BowlU.

Bob currently is a coach at Seaman High School, near Meriden, Kansas.

References
  1. PBA.com - Official site of the Professional Bowlers Association Archived December 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  2. Bob Benoit bowls 1st 300-pt game in a televised title match January 23 in History
  3. Schneider, Jerry (January 19, 2020). "Jones Caps Huge Week with PBA Classic WIn". recordonline.com. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  4. "Bob Benoit (career stats)". mcubed.net. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  5. "BowlingFans.com: Rick Benoit's Expert Bowling Tips". Archived from the original on 2017-11-28. Retrieved 2008-01-09.
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