With Ron Mohr's utter dominance on the just-concluded PBA Senior Tour this season, a recent pba.com story asked if Mohr's season was the best ever in PBA history.
While that story did compare Mohr's dominance to a few other standout season performances on the Senior Tour (namely, Tom Baker in 2006, Dale Eagle in 1999 and Pete Couture in 1998), how does his year stack up against the greatest seasons of all time - including the PBA Tour, Senior Tour and Women's Series?
Below are the first five in my list of the 10 greatest seasons in PBA history:
#10 - TOMMY JONES (2005-2006)
Jones got off to a REALLY fast start by winning the Japan Cup and the Tulsa Championship to open the season. He then went 13th, 5th (in the Masters), 7th, 4th and 8th - not a bad little run. He won again in Atlanta, then again at the U.S. Open before closing the season with a 12th in the World Championship and a 3rd in the Tournament of Champions. His $301,700 earnings total that year is still 4th on the all-time list of biggest cash hauls for a season.
TOMMY'S 05-06 STATS
#9 - PARKER BOHN III (2001-2002)
Nobody in the world was a better bowler from 1999 to 2002 than the smooth lefty from New Jersey. He earned his first win that year in the tournament that once bore his name (the Parker Bohn III Empire State Open), then went on a very nice run, finishing 3rd, 8th, 17th and winning the ABC Masters. After dropping a 3rd and a 2nd in Nashville and Detroit, he grabbed another win in the Earl Anthony Memorial Classic and then capped off the season with another win in the Battle at Little Creek. The $245,200 he banked was slightly less than what he earned in his 1999 Player of the Year season, but I rank this one higher by a nose because he earned a major (to date, the only one in his career).
PARKER'S 01-02 STATS
#8 - MIKE AULBY (1989)
Mika Aulby was known for taking advantage of his opportunities when he got them and 1989 was the second time the icy cool lefty ran the table for an entire season (the first was 1985). Although it happened 22 years ago now, his $298,237 is still 5th on the all-time single season earnings list. But what set this season apart and made it so special was that he won the U.S. Open, the Masters and was 3rd in the T of C. Amazingly, Aulby was not selected Player of the Year that season (Amleto Monacelli won it for the second consecutive year), making him the only player on this list with that dubious distinction.
MIKE AULBY'S PBA HALL OF FAME BIO
#7 - MIKA KOIVUNIEMI (2003-2004)
Like Aulby, Major Mika has had a penchant for getting hot and putting together monster seasons. His first such explosion was here, where, although he only won twice, he did it in style with a televised 300 game at the PBA Cambridge Credit Classic. He also had strong finishes in the Masters (3rd) and the World Championship (2nd) in addition to two other 2nd place finishes. The $238,590 he earned was almost $100K less than what he made in 2010-2011, but there was absolutely no doubt that Mika was "the man" that season.
MIKA'S 2003-2004 STATS
#6 - PATRICK ALLEN (2004-2005)
Before Mika Koivuniemi made it to the TV finals of all four majors this past season, Patrick Allen was the player who'd come the closest to that feat. During his career-defining Player of the Year season, Allen finished 2nd in the Masters, 2nd in the U.S. Open, 1st in the World Championship and 5th in the T of C (only four made it to the show that year). He also notched wins in Birmingham and Dallas and his earnings of $350,700 still ranks second all-time to Walter Ray Williams Jr.'s monster 2002-2003 season.
P.A.'S 2004-2005 STATS
Which players put together even better seasons than this? Come back later this week for my final five picks for the greatest seasons in PBA history. And in the meantime, debate the issue here.