Don Carter

Donald James Carter (July 29, 1926 – January 5, 2012) was a right-handed American professional bowler. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, he learned the game while working a childhood job as a pinsetter, and went on to become one of the legends of ten-pin bowling and a founding member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) in 1958.

He was six-time bowler of the year, a 10-time All-American, and became known simply as "Mr. Bowling." Carter and fellow St. Louis native Dick Weber are widely regarded as professional bowling's first superstars. He was voted the Greatest Bowler of All-Time in a 1970 Bowling Magazine poll, and ranked #1 among 20th Century bowlers by Bowlers Journal in 1999. At the vanguard of celebrity endorsement, he capitalized on his fame during televised bowling's most popular period to become the first athlete of any kind to earn $1,000,000 in a single endorsement deal, for Ebonite International.

Bowling career Prior to the PBA being formed, Carter was known as a dominant bowler in major tournaments of the 1950s, as well as in team play.

Carter also won four tournaments during the 1950s in the ABC Open Championships Classic Division. Said teammate Bluth, "Don was the greatest bowler of his era (and) was the star of the Budweisers. He was our leadoff man. He wasn't too gung-ho about that role, but he kept getting strikes and so did the rest of us, so he stayed there."

Unlike most bowlers who keep their arm straight on the backswing as they are about to release the ball, Carter kept his elbow bent, never straightening his arm.

In 1951, he was invited to bowl for the Pfeiffer Beer team in Detroit, where his bowling career reached high momentum.

Beginning in 1978, Carter appeared in selected TV commercials for Miller Lite beer, which had begun using athletes and celebrities in its ad campaigns a few years prior.

Carter died on January 5, 2012, from complications of both emphysema and pneumonia. He was 85.

Milestones and recognition Established a 234 league average in 1959, the highest that season in a sanctioned American Bowling Congress league Inducted into ABC Hall of Fame, 1970 Inducted into PBA Hall of Fame, 1975 (inaugural member) In 1958, he wrote a book entitled "10 Secrets of Bowling" with the help of illustrator Anthony Ravielli. In 1975, he wrote another book entitled, "Bowling The Pro Way" in association with George Kenney and illustrated by Simon Pavkov.

Carter was known for a number of bowling "firsts": First to record three All-Events totals of 1900 pins or higher at the ABC Open Championships (1951, 1952 and 1953) First to convert the sweepstakes spare on the Make That Spare television show (1961), as well as the first to make the spare twice First bowler to crack the jackpot for six consecutive strikes on the Jackpot Bowling television show First to bowl an 800 series on television (809 at the 1956 National Bowling Championships) First bowler to win every possible major tournament in his era (BPAA All-Star, World Invitational, PBA National Championship and ABC Masters) First president of the PBA First bowler to have a professional tournament named after him First athlete to sign a $1 million endorsement contract, inking a multi-year deal with Ebonite International in 1964