Norm Duke (Dynasty) will join bowling’s elite as he will be inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame during the PBA 50th Anniversary Gala at Red Rock Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nev. on January 24, 2009. The induction marks the first time since 2000 that the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour will add new inductees into the Performance Category of the PBA Hall of Fame.
Norm Duke of Clermont, Fla. currently owns 30 career PBA Tour titles, including six career Majors, recently becoming the first player in PBA history to win three consecutive Majors as he captured the PBA World Championships in Wichita, Kan. earlier this season. Duke started his career on the right path becoming the youngest player in PBA history to win a PBA Tour title at the young age of 18, when he captured the 1983 Cleveland Open. Duke, who is a two-time PBA Player of the Year (1994, 2000), also has been in the top 20 of both earnings and average every year since 1991, winning the George Young High Average Award four times (1991, 1994, ‘2005-06, ‘2006-07). Duke is currently sixth on the all-time TV appearances list with 100 singles appearances and ranks fourth on the all-time career money leaders list.
“To be inducted into the Hall of Fame, it’s a requirement that you be a top notch bowler for a number of years,” Duke said. “In my mind I look back at all the years that I struggled in my career and it was a learning process … that’s really what I’m getting credit for.”
“This induction is so special,” Duke added. “About 30 years ago I was bowling as a teen with Del Ballard Jr. and to be inducted alongside him is really something special. It will be something I will never forget.”
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