Good Morning Obots! This week we take a look at the world of the ten-pinners!
Louise Fulton
Louise Fulton was a giant among bowlers who defined the sport’s best qualities and broke down social barriers as she advanced.
The first African-American woman to win a professional bowling championship, Fulton was posthumously elected to the International Women’s Bowling Congress Hall of Fame in 2000. She was the first African-American to receive the honor and one of only six to be inducted.
A native of Kingstree, South Carolina, Fulton didn’t take up bowling until well into her adult life in Pennsylvania. She joined the Professional Women’s Bowling Association in the 1960s after its inception.
A bowling pioneer, Louise Fulton was a member of the women’s professional bowling tour in the 1960s and 1970s. Fulton was one of the first African-American bowlers to compete on the women’s pro tour. She was the first African-American to capture a professional bowling title, when she won the 1964 Princeton Open. Although this was her only tour win, she managed a career high average of 194 with a personal best game of 279 and high series of 741.
Off the lanes, Fulton was a bowling proprietor, a member of the Board of Directors of the Pittsburgh Women’s Bowling Association, a director of the Pennsylvania State Women’s Bowling Association, and a delegate to the Annual Meeting for nearly 30 years. She was elected to two terms as president of the Greater Pittsburgh Bowling Proprietors Association. Fulton was the first African-American bowler inducted into the Hall of Fame. She also was awarded the Joyce Deitch Trailblazer Award in 1999. Fulton was inducted into the National Bowling Association Hall of Fame, the Pennsylvania State Women’s Bowling Hall of Fame and the Western Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.
