Professional Bowlers Association

The PBA announced today that Patrick Allen has won the 2005 Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year Award and Jason Queen has been named the 2005 Steve Nagy Sportsmanship Award winner. Allen, Tarrytown, N.Y., set career highs in nearly every statistical category, winning three titles while earning a Tour-best $350,740 during the 2004-05 Tour season. Allen, who also won the 2005 Harry Smith Point Leader Award, finished 5th or better in each of the PBA Tour’s four major events, including his first career major victory in the 2005 PBA Denny’s World Championship in Taylor, Mich. “I take a lot of pride in this award because there are a lot of great players who have never won the award. I feel very fortunate,” said Allen. “I’d like to thank all the people who supported me through the good times and the bad…going through the learning curve of bowling on Tour is a lot more difficult than I ever imagined. Hard work can pay off.” Allen, owner of five career titles, was tied for the Tour lead with 11 top-10 finishes and had at least one top-10 finish on each of the PBA Tour’s five standard oil patterns. He was the first bowler to win back-to-back PBA Tour events since Walter Ray Williams Jr. in 2000, when he captured the 2005 PBA Dallas Open and the 2005 PBA Birmingham Open. Tommy Jones, Mauldin, S.C., was second in the PBA Player of the Year voting after winning a Tour-best four titles last season. Chris Barnes, who won the 62nd U.S. Open presented by Odor-Eaters for his first career major title, was third. Others receiving votes were: Tom Baker, Parker Bohn III, Jason Couch, Norm Duke, Steve Jaros, Mika Koivuniemi, Robert Smith, Brian Voss, Walter Ray Williams Jr. and Danny Wiseman. Queen, Oreana, Ill., won the PBA Steve Nagy Sportsmanship Award for the second time since becoming a PBA member in 1999, having also won the award in 2003. Queen finished 56th in the 2004-05 PBA World Point Rankings, with his best performance coming in a 9th place finish in the 2005 PBA Atlanta Classic. Queen has been nominated for this award on numerous occasions. “This definitely is an honor because you’re getting the award from the greatest people in game – people you call competitors and friends,” said Queen. “It’s a true honor to know they view you in that way. It means a lot to me.” Tony Reyes and Ritchie Wolf tied for second place while Tim Criss and Rick Lawrence also received votes. The Harry Golden PBA Rookie of the Year Award was not awarded for the 2004-05 PBA Tour season since no bowler fit the criteria to be nominated for the award. To be eligible for the award, nominees must have less than seven career PBA Tour appearances prior to the start of a season and earn an exemption for the following season. The PBA Player of the Year Award is named after the long-time television play-by-play announcer Chris Schenkel. Schenkel provided commentary for the PBA Tour for 36 years and was elected to the PBA Hall of Fame in 1976. Steve Nagy, a member of the American Bowling Congress and PBA Hall of Fame, is the namesake of the PBA’s Sportsmanship Award. The award is given annually to the PBA professional who demonstrates the highest degree of sportsmanship on Tour. The PBA Tour Awards were voted on by PBA members after the completion of the 2004-05 season.