This is a recap of the 1986 season for the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. It was the tour's 28th season, and consisted of 32 events. Walter Ray Williams, Jr. won his first three PBA titles on the season, and also won the player vote for the PBA Player of the Year award. This despite the fact that Steve Cook won four titles, including a major at the BPAA U.S. Open. Newcomer Tom Crites took the title at the Toledo Trust PBA National Championship.

PBA Bowling Tour: 1986 Season
LeagueProfessional Bowlers Association
SportTen-pin bowling
DurationJanuary 6 – December 6, 1986
PBA Tour
Season MVPWalter Ray Williams, Jr.
PBA Tour seasons

In winning his second career Firestone Tournament of Champions ten years after his first, Marshall Holman won the highest single prize check in PBA history to date ($50,000) and also became just the third player to top the $1 million mark in career earnings (joining Earl Anthony and Mark Roth). The win also gave Holman his fourth career major among his 20 total titles.

Late in the season at the Brunswick Memorial World Open, George Branham III made history by becoming the first African American to win a national PBA Tour title.

Tournament schedule

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Event Bowling center City Dates Winner Report
AC-Delco Classic Union Square Lanes Union City, California Jan 6–11 Randy Pedersen (1)
Greater Los Angeles Open Gable House Bowl Torrance, California Jan 13–18 Del Warren (1)
Showboat Invitational Showboat Bowling Center Las Vegas, Nevada Jan 19–25 Gary Skidmore (6)
Quaker State Open Forum Bowling Lanes Grand Prairie, Texas Jan 25 – Feb 1 Jon O'Drobinak (1)
Lite Beer Classic Don Carter's Kendall Lanes Miami, Florida Feb 3–8 David Ozio (3)
BPAA U.S. Open Galaxy Lanes Venice, Florida Feb 9–15 Steve Cook (9) [1]
St. Louis Open North Oaks Bowl St. Louis, Missouri Feb 17–22 Pete Weber (8)
Lite Beer Championship Red Carpet Celebrity Lanes Milwaukee, Wisconsin Feb 24 – Mar 1 Don Genalo (5)
True Value Open Landmark Plaza Recreation Center Peoria, Illinois Mar 4–8 Walter Ray Williams, Jr. (1)
King Louie Open King Louie West Lanes Overland Park, Kansas Mar 11–15 Mark Baker (2)
Lite Beer Open Buckeye Lanes North Olmsted, Ohio Mar 17–22 Mal Acosta (4) [2]
Toledo Trust PBA National Championship Imperial Lanes Toledo, Ohio Mar 23–29 Tom Crites (1) [3]
Fair Lanes Open Fair Lanes Woodlawn Baltimore, Maryland Apr 1–5 Walter Ray Williams, Jr. (2)
Long Island Open Garden City Bowl Garden City, New York Apr 8–12 Peter Hakim (1)
Greater Hartford Open Bradley Bowl Windsor Locks, Connecticut Apr 14–19 Steve Cook (10)
Firestone Tournament of Champions Riviera Lanes Akron, Ohio Apr 22–25 Marshall Holman (20) [4]
Showboat Doubles Classic Showboat Bowling Center Las Vegas, Nevada Jun 7–11 Mike Aulby (13),
Steve Cook (11)
Kessler Open Earl Anthony's Dublin Bowl Dublin, California Jun 13–18 Dave Husted (4)
Ebonite Firebolt Open Leilani Lanes Seattle, Washington Jun 21–25 Dale Eagle (3)
Southern California Open Town Square Lanes Riverside, California Jun 27 – Jul 2 Mats Karlsson (1)
Miller Lite Challenge Golden Pin Lanes Tucson, Arizona Jul 4–9 Dave Husted (5)
Austin Open Highland Lanes Austin, Texas Jul 11–16 Steve Cook (12)
Hammer Open Boulevard Bowl Edmond, Oklahoma Jul 18–23 Walter Ray Williams, Jr. (3)
Molson Golden Bowling Challenge Rose Bowl Lanes Windsor, Ontario Jul 25–30 Don Genalo (6)
Greater Buffalo Open Thruway Lanes Cheektowaga, New York Aug 1–6 Jeff Bellinger (1)
Columbia Senior/Touring Pro Doubles Super Bowl Lanes Erlanger, Kentucky Aug 9–13 Teata Semiz (4),
Joe Berardi (6)
Japan Cup Tokyo Port Bowl Tokyo, Japan Sep 18–22 Pete Weber (9)
Kodak Invitational Marcel's Olympic Bowl Rochester, New York Nov 3–8 Tom Baker (7)
True Value Open Woodland Bowl Indianapolis, Indiana Nov 10–15 Harry Sullins (1)
Brunswick Memorial World Open Brunswick Northern Bowl Glendale Heights, Illinois Nov 15–22 George Branham III (1) [5]
Budweiser Classic Columbus Square Bowling Palace Columbus, Ohio Nov 24–29 Dave Ferraro (1)
Budweiser Touring Players Championship Taylor Lanes Taylor, Michigan Dec 1–6 Mark Williams (4)

References

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  1. ^ "1986 BPAA U.S. Open". PBA.
  2. ^ "1986 Lite Beer Open". PBA.
  3. ^ "1986 Toledo Trust PBA National Championship". PBA.
  4. ^ "1986 Firestone Tournament of Champions". PBA.
  5. ^ "1986 Brunswick Memorial World Open". PBA.
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