Sean Rash facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sean Rash
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Rash in 2017
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| Born | August 22, 1982 Denver, Colorado, U.S.
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| Years active | 1998-present (Turned pro in 2005) |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) |
| Bowling Information | |
| Affiliation | PBA |
| Rookie year | 2005 |
| Dominant hand | Right (cranker delivery) |
| Wins | 17 PBA Tour titles (2 majors) 10 PBA Regional Tour titles 2011–12 PBA Player of the Year |
| Sponsors | 900 Global, JoPo Grips |
Sean Rash (born August 22, 1982) is a famous American professional bowler. Many people think he is one of the best players on the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. He has won 17 PBA Tour titles, which are like big championships. Two of these were major championships. Sean was also named the PBA Player of the Year for the 2011–12 season.
Sean Rash has bowled two perfect 300 games on TV. A 300 game means knocking down all the pins on every single ball. He was the first bowler to do this more than once in a TV final. Other great bowlers like François Lavoie, Chris Via, and Jason Belmonte have also achieved this. Sean has also seen four perfect 300 games bowled against him on TV. He has won ten titles on the PBA Regional Tour as well.
In January 2024, Sean Rash was chosen for the USBC Hall of Fame. This means he is recognized as one of the best bowlers ever. He officially joined the Hall of Fame on April 24, 2024. Then, on January 31, 2025, he was also voted into the PBA Hall of Fame. He was officially inducted in April 2025.
As of January 2020, Sean Rash is sponsored by 900 Global and Vise Grips. Before that, he was sponsored by Brunswick for 17 years.
Contents
Sean Rash's Bowling Journey
Before Becoming a Pro
Sean Rash was a very talented bowler even before he became a professional. He achieved many great things as an amateur:
- He was part of the Junior Team USA in 1998, 2002, and 2003.
- He was also on Team USA in 2002, 2004, and 2005. His team won the World Tenpin Team Cup in The Netherlands in 2004.
- Sean was named an All-American twice at Wichita State University in 2002 and 2003.
- He won the International Bowling Congress (IBC) National Championship in 2003.
- In 2003, he won the USBC Doubles Championship with his partner Derek Sapp. They set a record for the most pins knocked down in six games.
- Sean even competed as an amateur in the 2003 USBC Masters, which was his first PBA Tour event. He finished in seventh place.
When Sean was only 13 years old, he started his own bowling tournament in Alaska. He was frustrated because there weren't many tournaments for young bowlers. So, he created the "Sean Rash Stars of the Future" tournament. By 2012, this tournament had given out almost $25,000 in scholarship money to young bowlers.
Starting His PBA Career
Sean Rash joined the PBA Tour in 2005. He was the first PBA player to win a title after starting from the Tour Qualifying Round (TQR). He did this in his first professional season at the 2006 West Virginia Championship.
During a match in 2006, Sean had a moment that caused some talk. After winning a semifinal match, he yelled to the crowd. Some people thought he was being rude to his opponent, Danny Wiseman, who was from Baltimore. But Sean later said he was just trying to get the fans to cheer for him in the next match. He went on to win that match and the championship.
Sean won his first major PBA title at the 2007 USBC Masters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This win meant he had won four titles in his first four TV appearances. He also won seven matches in a row on TV at the start of his career. This streak ended when he lost to Norm Duke in 2008.
Becoming Player of the Year
Sean Rash won the 2012 PBA Tournament of Champions. This was his first championship in five years and his second major title. He was the top player going into the final match and beat Ryan Ciminelli 239–205. Sean was the best on the 2011–12 PBA Tour in average score, money earned, and points. Because of this, he won the 2012 Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year award. It was a very close vote!
Success Around the World
Sean won his sixth and seventh PBA Tour titles in the 2012–13 season. These wins were at the WBT Kuwait Open and WBT Thailand Open. He also won an extra $20,000 in the World Bowling Tour finals. Sean earned the most money on the Tour in the 2012–13 season, with over $248,000.
Bowling Perfect Games on TV
On May 24, 2014, Sean bowled a perfect 300 game during the PBA Wolf Open finals. This was the 23rd perfect game ever shown on TV in PBA history. He then went on to win the tournament, earning his 8th PBA title.
On February 15, 2015, Sean bowled another perfect 300 game on ESPN. This happened during the Barbasol Tournament of Champions. This made him the first player in PBA history to bowl two perfect games on TV in PBA Tour events. He didn't win that specific tournament, though. Later that year, on October 11, 2015, Sean won his ninth PBA title. He beat Hall of Famer Pete Weber in the final match of the PBA Xtra Frame Iowa Midwest Open.
By the end of the 2015 season, Sean had earned over $1 million in his PBA career.
Reaching 10 Titles and More
Sean won his 10th PBA title at the PBA Fall Swing Badger Open on September 10, 2016. He beat Wes Malott in the final match. Just one day later, he won his 11th title at the PBA Detroit Open, defeating Jason Belmonte.
In 2017, Sean was invited to the Main Event PBA Tour Finals. This was because he was one of the top money earners from 2015 to 2017. He finished sixth in that event. On August 20, 2017, Sean won his 12th PBA Tour title. He beat E. J. Tackett in the final match of the Xtra Frame Gene Carter's Pro Shop Classic.
The year 2018 was a bit tough for Sean. He didn't make it to the final rounds as often as usual.
More Wins in Recent Years
On January 13, 2019, Sean won his 13th PBA title. He teamed up with Matt Ogle to win the Roth-Holman PBA Doubles Championship. Sean also made it to the Final Four of the first-ever PBA Tour Playoffs. He won his 14th title on August 27 at the PBA Wolf Open. He also won a $20,000 bonus for earning the most points in the 2019 PBA Summer Swing. Sean finished second at the 2019 U.S. Open to François Lavoie. He also won the 2019 PBA China Tiger Cup, which was not a title event.
On January 26, 2020, Sean won his 15th PBA Tour title at the PBA Oklahoma Open. He won all four matches in the finals to take the title. On June 13, 2020, Sean won the PBA Summer Clash, a special TV event. On October 4, 2020, he won the PBA World Series of Bowling XI Cheetah Championship. This was his 16th PBA Tour title and his first win at a World Series of Bowling event.
By the end of 2020, Sean had earned over $1.5 million in his career. He has bowled 30 perfect 300 games in PBA events.
On August 22, 2021, which was his 39th birthday, Sean won his 17th PBA Tour title. He beat Tom Daugherty in the final match of the PBA Chesapeake Open.
Challenges and Hall of Fame
In 2022, during the PBA Players Championship, Sean spoke out about a type of bowling ball called "urethane." He was fined and put on probation by the PBA for his comments. He still made it to the final match of the Players Championship but lost to Jason Belmonte.
In 2023, Sean shared that he was diagnosed with a back problem called degenerative disc disease. Even with this, he wanted to keep bowling as much as he could.
In 2024, Sean was part of the Las Vegas High Rollers PBA Elite League team. His team won the 2024 Elias Cup championship.
On January 31, 2025, Sean Rash was voted into the PBA Hall of Fame. He was officially inducted in April 2025.
Sean Rash's PBA Titles
Major titles are shown in bold letters.
- 2005–06 West Virginia Open (Parkersburg, WV)
- 2006–07 Beltway Classic (Baltimore, MD)
- 2006–07 Earl Anthony Medford Classic (Medford, OR)
- 2007–08 USBC Masters (Milwaukee, WI)
- 2011–12 PBA Tournament of Champions (Las Vegas, NV)
- 2012–13 WBT Kuwait Open (Kuwait City)
- 2012–13 WBT Thailand Open (Bangkok)
- 2014 PBA Wolf Open (Shawnee, OK)
- 2015 PBA Xtra Frame Iowa Midwest Open (Council Bluffs, IA)
- 2016 PBA Badger Open (Allen Park, MI)
- 2016 PBA Detroit Open (Allen Park, MI)
- 2017 Storm Xtra Frame Gene Carter's Pro Shop Classic (Middletown, DE)
- 2019 Roth-Holman PBA Doubles Championship with Matt Ogle (Shawnee, OK)
- 2019 FloBowling PBA Wolf Open (Aurora, IL)
- 2020 PBA Oklahoma Open (Shawnee, OK)
- 2020 PBA WSOB XI Cheetah Championship (Las Vegas, NV and Centreville, VA)
- 2021 PBA Chesapeake Open (Chesapeake, VA)
About Sean Rash
Sean Rash was born in Denver, Colorado. When he was six months old, his family moved to Anchorage, Alaska. He lived there until he was 18. Then, he went to Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas. Today, he lives in Montgomery, Illinois, with his wife Sara and their three daughters.
