Third Annual John Davis Award

Ted Hoffman Jr.  Honored

In a surprise announcement at the Bowl Expo Convention in Las Vegas , Ted Hoffman, Jr., has been named the recipient of the 2003 John Davis Award. Hoffman, 64, is a Charter Member and a "continuing contributor" of The Foundation, a group of bowling enthusiasts that Davis formed in 1997. This particular award was established in 2001 by The Foundation to recognize the world-wide contributions that Davis has made in so many ways to the sport of bowling.

Ted literally grew up in the bowling business, as his father was a bowling proprietor. At the age of 15, Ted rolled his first perfect game and (at that time) was the youngest bowler in the world to have ever accomplished that feat. He later bowled on several teams on the East Coast and in 1963 he won the Newsday Long Island Open tournament, which was a real test of one's talent. In 1964 he was voted the Pennsylvania "Bowler-of-the-Year" by the Philadelphia Sportswriters Association. It was then that he decided to test the waters of the PBA National Tour. In his Pro career, he finished 2nd on four occasions and also was victorious in two PBA Regional events.

He married his high school sweetheart (Marilynn), and in 1968 they moved to the West Coast to pursue a career in Bowling Management with Smallcomb Enterprises in Redwood City , CA. He started the PBA Western Regional Program and successfully ran it for 30-years. In 1971, he won the Pat Patterson Award for outstanding contributions to the PBA Regional Program. Ted has since been inducted into eight Halls of Fame, including the prestigious PBA shrine.

In 1984, Ted became involved with the late Earl Anthony in a business partnership in two Northern California bowling centers. Ted remains actively involved on both the local and national level with BPAA groups and has served as President of the Northern California Bowling Proprietors, which covers some 120-bowling centers. He was also responsible for bringing the PBA National Tour to the bay area for over 20-years with his promotions, and to this day, he still runs the Earl Anthony Memorial PBA Regional tournament at Earl Anthony's Dublin Bowl. In 2002, that event was also billed as a Foundation Games tournament. He was also instrumental in allowing The Foundation to establish "The Earl Anthony Award of Excellence", a special award given to bowlers who roll a 300-game during Foundation Games tournaments.

Ted received a beautiful Lucite plaque, which was inscribed with: "2003 John Davis Award, Presented to Foundation Member Ted Hoffman, Jr., for Outstanding Contributions and Extraordinary Efforts of Behalf of the Advancement of the Sport of Bowling". This handsome trophy was his to keep, and a perpetual plaque bearing those same words will be permanently displayed at the home of The Foundation in Lake Wales , Florida . Previous winners of this prestigious honor are: Joyce Deitch, a past WIBC President, and John Weber, PBA Midwest Regional Director.

Congratulations Ted on your untiring devotion, your passion and for all that you have done for the sport of bowling.