Norm Duke

About Norm Duke

Norm Duke (born March 25, 1964) is an American professional bowler currently on the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. He has bowled 60(or 61) perfect 300 games in PBA competition (as of the 2013-14 season), including the 15th televised 300 game in PBA Tour history on January 5, 2003.

A native of Mount Pleasant, Texas, Duke resides in Clermont, Florida, with his wife Karen, and their son, Branden.

In 1983, less than a year after turning pro, Duke won a title in Cleveland, OH to become the youngest player ever to win a PBA Tour event (age 18 years, 345 days). On that day, Duke started from the #5 position and defeated four bowlers to take the championship, including a victory over the legendary Earl Anthony in Duke's first-ever televised match.Oddly, Duke would not win his second PBA title until 1991, but his career took off from there.

Norm completed perhaps his best season in 1994, winning five titles including a major at the Tournament of Champions, and also winning PBA Player of the Year honors.He was also the winner of the PBA Player of the Year award in 2000. Duke became a member of the USBC Hall of Fame in 2002, and was inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame in January 2009.

Duke currently owns 37 PBA Tour titles, including seven majors: one ABC Masters, one Tournament of Champions, two United States Opens, and three PBA World Championships. His 37th title on April 1, 2012 put him in sole possession of third-place on the PBA's all-time titles list, though Pete Weber tied him with his 37th title in 2013. Duke's career PBA Tour earnings eclipsed $3 million in the 2011-12 season, making him just the third PBA bowler (along with Walter Ray Williams Jr. and Pete Weber) to surpass the $3 million mark in career prize money.He has made multiple TV Finals appearances every season since 1990. He has won at least two titles in a season nine times, including a career-best five titles in 1994.

The diminutive Duke (he stands 1.65 meters, or 5-foot-5) is known for his exceptional versatility. He is generally thought of as a stroker, either throwing the ball relatively straight or playing a hook shot from the extreme outside of the lane. But he has also shown the ability (especially earlier in his career) to swing the ball out toward the gutter and bring it back like a cranker when necessary. This gives him the advantage of being able to score well on most of the PBA's multiple oil patterns.

Norm Duke Achievements

Two-time U.S. Open winner (2008, 2011) and three-time PBA World Championship winner (2000, 2007–08, 2008–09)

PBA Player of the Year (1994, 2000)

George Young High Average award (1991, 1994, 2005–06, 2006–07)

Harry Smith PBA Points Leader award (2005–06)

In his first year on tour (1983), Duke won the tour stop in Cleveland, OH at age 18 years, 345 days, which is still the record for the youngest person to ever capture a PBA title.

During the 2006-07 Denny's PBA Tour season, Norm broke the tour's average record for a season, averaging 228.47; this record lasted seven years until being topped by Jason Belmonte's 228.81 in the 2012-13 season.

Inducted into USBC Hall of Fame, 2002

During qualifying for an April 1996 PBA tournament held in North Brunswick, N.J., Duke bowled three consecutive perfect games (900 total) in two squads.

60 (or 61) career perfect games

The most recent bowler to win the "Grand Slam" (USBC Masters, PBA World Championship, PBA Tournament of Champions, and the US Open)

2008 ESPY for Best Bowler

Ranked 7th on the PBA's 2008 list of "50 Greatest Players of the Last 50 Years"

First bowler in history to win three Major titles in a row

Inducted into PBA Hall of Fame on January 24, 2009

PBA50 Player of the Year, 2014