Voting Station

Don Carter

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Bowler

The Resume

    (July 29, 1926-January 5, 2012)
    Born in St. Louis, Missouri
    Six-time bowler of the year (1953-54,1957-58,1960,1962)
    Founding member and first president of the Professional Bowlers Association (1958-62)
    Wrote '10 Secrets of Bowling' (1958)
    Inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame (1975)

Why he might be annoying:

    He had an unorthodox bowling style with a bent elbow and deep knee bend.
    A PBA spokesperson noted, 'I think there were probably 10 million bowlers who tried to emulate that. I don’t think anyone did.'
    He was forced into early retirement by bad knees.
    He appeared in Miller Lite ads in the early 80s although he admitted, 'I really don't think anybody under the age of 65 remembers me.'

Why he might not be annoying:

    He served in the Navy as a radar operator in the South Pacific during World War II.
    The New York Times commented, 'Baseball had Babe Ruth, boxing had Jack Johnson, and, during its golden age in the 1950s, bolwing had Don Carter.'
    He was the first athlete to sign a million-dollar endorsement deal (for ball manufacturer Ebonite in 1964).
    He was named greatest bowler of all-time in a 1970 poll in 'Bowling Magazine'; in another poll 30 years later, he was still #2, behind Earl Anthony.
    Bowling historian Chuck Pezzano said, 'I often thought that if I could build a robot of the perfect bowler, I would take most of the parts from Don Carter.'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 7 Votes: 28.57% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 13 Votes: 69.23% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 9 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 15 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 18 Votes: 61.11% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 78 Votes: 65.38% Annoying