Johnson, Laub to join USBC Hall of Fame in 2015
December 23, 2014
ARLINGTON, Texas - Liz Johnson of Cheektowaga, New York, and Larry Laub of Lincoln, California, have been elected to the United States Bowling Congress Hall of Fame in the Superior Performance category.
The two were among seven bowlers on the national ballot (six on the men's ballot and one on the women's) and were elected to the 2015 USBC Hall of Fame class by a USBC panel of veteran bowling writers, hall of famers and board members.
Johnson and Laub will join the three inductees elected into the Outstanding USBC Performance category in November by the USBC Hall of Fame Committee.
The trio includes four-time USBC Open Championships titlist Gus Yannaras of Waukesha, Wisconsin, two-time champion Sam Lantto of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, and the late Fritzie Rahn of Chicago, an eight-time winner at the USBC Women's Championships, who was elected posthumously.
The induction ceremony will take place April 29 at the 2015 USBC Convention in Omaha, Nebraska.
Johnson, 40, wasted no time making a name for herself on the professional scene, earning Professional Women's Bowling Association Rookie of the Year honors in 1996, the same year she won the first of her three U.S. Women's Open titles.
She then proved to be a trailblazer with her success alongside the men in the Professional Bowlers Association, where she became the first woman to make a PBA telecast (2005 PBA Banquet Open) and later became the first woman to win a PBA regional title.
The 10-time Team USA member owns 16 professional titles, including five majors - the U.S. Women's Open in 1996, 2007 and 2013, Hammer Players Championship in 2001 and the USBC Queens in 2009.
Her resume also includes five wins at the USBC Women's Championships and more than two dozen medals in international competition.
Laub was a standout on the PBA Tour in the 1970s, collecting 12 titles, including one major, the 1974 U.S. Open. He also owns 12 PBA regional titles, five PBA50 Tour victories and was named PBA50 Rookie of the Year in 1994.
The 71-year-old right-hander was inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame in 1985 and earned the No. 37 spot among the 50 Greatest Players in PBA History, announced in 2009.
Laub also has a fifth-place finish at the USBC Masters (1995), three top-10 efforts at the USBC Senior Masters (1996, 1997 and 2003) and one top-10 performance at the USBC Open Championships (10th in Regular All-Events in 1998).
Also on the Superior Performance ballot this year were David Ozio and Mark Williams, Beaumont, Texas; Randy Pedersen, Clermont, Florida; Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas; and Danny Wiseman, Baltimore.
Through 2014, there are 407 members of the USBC Hall of Fame - 271 in Performance, 116 in Meritorious Service and 20 Pioneers.
The USBC Hall of Fame was created in 2005 by merging the former American Bowling Congress and Women's International Bowling Congress Halls of Fame.
The two were among seven bowlers on the national ballot (six on the men's ballot and one on the women's) and were elected to the 2015 USBC Hall of Fame class by a USBC panel of veteran bowling writers, hall of famers and board members.
Johnson and Laub will join the three inductees elected into the Outstanding USBC Performance category in November by the USBC Hall of Fame Committee.
The trio includes four-time USBC Open Championships titlist Gus Yannaras of Waukesha, Wisconsin, two-time champion Sam Lantto of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, and the late Fritzie Rahn of Chicago, an eight-time winner at the USBC Women's Championships, who was elected posthumously.
The induction ceremony will take place April 29 at the 2015 USBC Convention in Omaha, Nebraska.
Johnson, 40, wasted no time making a name for herself on the professional scene, earning Professional Women's Bowling Association Rookie of the Year honors in 1996, the same year she won the first of her three U.S. Women's Open titles.She then proved to be a trailblazer with her success alongside the men in the Professional Bowlers Association, where she became the first woman to make a PBA telecast (2005 PBA Banquet Open) and later became the first woman to win a PBA regional title.
The 10-time Team USA member owns 16 professional titles, including five majors - the U.S. Women's Open in 1996, 2007 and 2013, Hammer Players Championship in 2001 and the USBC Queens in 2009.
Her resume also includes five wins at the USBC Women's Championships and more than two dozen medals in international competition.
Laub was a standout on the PBA Tour in the 1970s, collecting 12 titles, including one major, the 1974 U.S. Open. He also owns 12 PBA regional titles, five PBA50 Tour victories and was named PBA50 Rookie of the Year in 1994.
The 71-year-old right-hander was inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame in 1985 and earned the No. 37 spot among the 50 Greatest Players in PBA History, announced in 2009.
Laub also has a fifth-place finish at the USBC Masters (1995), three top-10 efforts at the USBC Senior Masters (1996, 1997 and 2003) and one top-10 performance at the USBC Open Championships (10th in Regular All-Events in 1998).
Also on the Superior Performance ballot this year were David Ozio and Mark Williams, Beaumont, Texas; Randy Pedersen, Clermont, Florida; Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas; and Danny Wiseman, Baltimore.
Through 2014, there are 407 members of the USBC Hall of Fame - 271 in Performance, 116 in Meritorious Service and 20 Pioneers.
The USBC Hall of Fame was created in 2005 by merging the former American Bowling Congress and Women's International Bowling Congress Halls of Fame.