Carmen Salvino facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Carmen Salvino
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Salvino in 2016
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| Born | November 23, 1933 |
| Years active | 1953−present |
| Bowling Information | |
| Affiliation | PBA, ABC |
| Dominant hand | Right |
| Wins | 17 PBA Tour (1 major) 2 PBA Senior Tour (1 major) |
Carmen Salvino was born on November 23, 1933, in Chicago. He is a famous professional bowler, an inventor, and an author. He also helped start the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA).
People call him "PBA's Original Showman" because of his exciting style. Salvino won 17 PBA Tour titles. This includes the 1962 PBA National Championship. He beat another bowling legend, Don Carter, in that big game. He also won two PBA Senior Tour titles, including a major one in 1984.
Carmen Salvino is in many Halls of Fame. He was one of the first eight people in the PBA Hall of Fame in 1975. He is also in the USBC Hall of Fame and the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame.
Contents
Early Life and First Strikes
Carmen Salvino was born in Chicago, Illinois. His parents were Michael and Philomena Salvino. He had two brothers, Joseph and Richard, and a sister, Phylis. When he was five, his family moved to Florida. His father worked as a farmer there. This job was part of a government program called the Works Progress Administration (WPA).
Carmen learned to work hard by helping his father. They plowed fields for many hours. His family was very poor. For a whole year, he did not even own shoes.
After five years, his family moved back to Chicago. Young Carmen found work shining shoes. In 1945, when he was 11, he found a bowling pin. It was outside a building called the Amalgamated Center. This building had a private bowling alley.
Carmen went inside and asked about bowling. He got a job as a pin-boy, earning three dollars a night. He started to practice bowling. The very first ball he ever threw was a strike! This is where his amazing bowling journey began.
High School and "Chicago's Boy Wonder"
Salvino went to Crane Tech High School in Chicago. By age 16, he was already very good at bowling. He averaged 203 points per game. This was a very high score for that time. At 17, he joined his high school's first bowling team. He averaged 211 points. He was the first person to earn a "letter" in bowling for his school.
While still in high school, he won a national tournament. It was called the Dom DeVito Classic. He beat about 6,000 other bowlers. He won $3,000 for first place. He then became the youngest bowler in The Chicago Classic League. This was a very famous competition. People started calling him "Chicago's Boy Wonder."
To make his opponents nervous, Carmen wore special overalls. On the back, they said, "I'm great and I'm gonna be the best bowler alive." He wanted to show everyone how good he was. He said, "The way to show 'em is to beat 'em."
Carmen Salvino married Virginia Morelli on May 17, 1956.
Becoming a Professional Bowler
Carmen Salvino started his professional bowling career in 1953. He won the National Match Game Doubles with his partner Joe Wilman. He said this win really started his national career. By age 21, he had won other big titles. He was becoming known as a great bowler.
In 1954, Salvino won his first ABC (American Bowling Congress) title. It was a team event with a famous group called Tri-Par Radio. After this win, Carmen became very well-known. He often appeared on TV bowling shows, like Bowling Stars. On this show, he scored 846 points in three games. This was the highest three-game score ever shown on TV at that time.
In 1958, Carmen Salvino and 32 other bowlers helped start the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA). They each gave $50 to get it going.
PBA Tour Success
In the 1960s, Carmen Salvino's PBA career really took off. He won ten PBA titles during that time. His first win was in 1961 at the Empire State Open. His biggest win was the 1962 PBA National Championship. This was his only major championship.
Salvino kept winning PBA Tour titles into the 1970s. In 1975, he won two events. Both times, he beat another bowling legend, Earl Anthony, in the final match. His 17th and last singles title came in 1979. He was 45 years old.
Even with all his wins, Carmen remembered a loss as special. In 1988, he lost to his good friend Dick Weber in a Senior Tour final. They had never bowled against each other on TV before. After the match, they talked about their old bowling memories.
Carmen Salvino was also called "The Professor." In the 1970s, he said his bowling style was based on a secret math equation. This equation helped him with his stance and how he threw the ball. It focused on being very accurate.
PBA Tour Titles (Major wins are in bold)
- 1961 Third Empire State Open (Albany, New York)
- 1962 Pontiac PBA Open (Pontiac, Michigan)
- 1962 PBA National Championship (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
- 1963 Jacksonville PBA Open (Jacksonville, Florida)
- 1964 Rockford Coca-Cola Open (Rockford, Illinois)
- 1965 Bergen Mall PBA Open (Paramus, New Jersey)
- 1965 Birmingham PBA Open (Birmingham, Alabama)
- 1967 Saint Paul Open (Saint Paul, Minnesota)
- 1967 Mobile-Sertoma Open (Mobile, Alabama)
- 1968 Venezuelan Invitational (Caracas, Venezuela)
- 1973 Lincoln-Mercury Open (New Orleans, Louisiana)
- 1974 New Jersey Open (Edison, New Jersey)
- 1975 Showboat Invitational (Las Vegas, Nevada)
- 1975 Home Box Office Open (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
- 1976 Quad Cities Open (Davenport, Iowa)
- 1977 Houston Open (Houston, Texas)
- 1979 Miller High Life Open (Anaheim, California)
PBA Senior Tour Titles (Major wins are in bold)
- 1984 PBA Senior National Championship
- 1988 Kessler Senior/Touring Pro Doubles Championship with Randy Pedersen (Cheektowaga, NY)
Carmen Salvino's Legacy
Carmen Salvino has left a big mark on bowling. He has been a champion, a Hall-of-Famer, and a great entertainer. He also studied the physics and chemistry of bowling balls. He helped the PBA in many ways, including being its president from 1985 to 1986.
In 2008, the PBA listed him as #17 among the "50 Greatest Players of the last 50 years." He also won the Dick Weber Bowling Ambassador Award in 2008. This award goes to bowlers who promote the sport in a good way.
The PBA even named an oil pattern after him: the "Carmen Salvino 44." This pattern is 44 feet long.
Fun On and Off the Lanes
Carmen Salvino is famous for his exciting style and colorful actions. He loves to put on a show! In 2019, he bowled in a PBA tournament and also gave live commentary.
Later Life and Continued Bowling
As of 2022, Carmen Salvino and his wife Virginia live in Schaumburg, IL. He has stayed active with the PBA for over 20 years. In a 2013 interview, Salvino said he had bowled 105 perfect 300 games. He practices up to 20 games in one session. He believes his study of physics and good health helped him succeed for so long.
In 2018, Salvino competed in the Go Bowling! PBA 60th Anniversary Classic. He was 84 years old, making him the oldest player ever in a PBA Tour event. He did not win, but he rolled the first honorary ball for the TV finals and got a strike!
Resources
- www.pba.com, official website of the Professional Bowlers Association and the PBA Tour
