Louise Fulton

Louise Vivian Fulton ( – May 7, 1988) was an American professional ten-pin bowler. A bowling pioneer, she was the first African American to win a professional tournament and was one of the first African Americans to compete in the women's professional bowling tour. She also was the first of her race to be invited to a professional league when she joined the Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA) in 1962 and was inducted into the United States Bowling Congress Hall of Fame in 2001, among other honors.

Biography

Fulton was born in , in Kingstree, South Carolina. She spent the first few years of her life in Kingstree, before her family moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, when she was seven years old. She attended Peabody High School, where she played softball and basketball. Ted Page served as her coach from onward and by 1955 she had won the Western Pennsylvania tournament with an average score of 197 pins. Fulton then began "breaking records and knocking down racial barriers as well as bowling pins":

In 1961, Fulton became the first African American ever to enter the All-Star Doubles tournament, which was held that year in Latham, New York. In 1969, she won both the individual and doubles championships in the Pennsylvania Women's Bowling Tournament. She continued bowling through the 1970s.

Fulton was involved in bowling affairs outside of competition as well, including being the owner of the Meadow Bowling Lanes in Homewood. She also for two terms was the Greater Pittsburgh Bowling Proprietors Association president, was a member of the board of directors for the Pittsburgh Women's Bowling Association, directed the Pennsylvania State Women's Bowling Association for a time and served as a delegate for the Annual Meeting for close to 30 years. Outside of sports, she worked in Homewood as a dental assistant.

Fulton received numerous honors and awards, including being the first African American inducted into the United States Bowling Congress Hall of Fame in 2001. She was also inducted into the Western Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame (1971), the Pittsburgh Women's Bowling Association Hall of Fame (1977), the National Bowling Association Hall of Fame (1983), the Pennsylvania State Women's Bowling Association Hall of Fame (1991), the International Women's Bowling Congress Hall of Fame in 2000, and was given the Joyce Deith Trailblazer Award in 1999.

Fulton died on May 7, 1988, of cancer.