Amleto Monacelli

Amleto Monacelli (born August 27, 1961) of Barquisimeto, Venezuela, is a professional ten-pin bowler, winner of 20 titles on the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour, and a member of the PBA and USBC Halls of Fame. He has also won seven PBA50 Tour titles, including four majors.

PBA career

Monacelli joined the PBA in 1982, and he won his first PBA Tour event in the 1987 Japan Cup. Amleto's style typified that of the modernizing game of bowling, as he was one of the first bowlers to successfully use the powerful cranker-style release. In the 1989 season he won four titles, including the Touring Players Championship (his only major on the standard PBA Tour), on his way to winning the Harry Smith Points Leader and PBA Player of the Year awards. This marked the first time an international player had won PBA Player of the Year honors. (Mika Koivuniemi of Finland and Jason Belmonte of Australia have since also earned this distinction.) Monacelli repeated as Player of the Year in 1990, a year in which he also won the George Young High Average award.

Monacelli failed to qualify for a PBA exemption in the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons, but regained his exemption for 2009-10. He appeared in the TV finals at the 2009-10 PBA Chameleon Championship. A forearm injury led to a disappointing 142 score and a loss in his opening match.[1]

Monacelli won his 20th PBA title in January 2016, at the site of his first, in Japan’s Tokyo Port Bowl for the DHC PBA Japan Invitational. Qualifying as the #2 seed, Monacelli defeated Chris Barnes in the semifinal, then went on to defeat England's Dominic Barrett in the final. Ending an 11-year title drought on the standard PBA Tour, the 54-year old Monacelli became the fourth-oldest PBA Tour title winner, behind John Handegard (age 57) and Buzz Fazio (winner of two titles at age 56).[2] Monacelli's 20 total titles place him tied for 12th place on the all-time list with Dick Ritger and Wayne Webb. He has won over $2.4 million (U.S.) on the PBA Tour, making him one of only seven PBA bowlers in history to surpass $2 million in career earnings. He was ranked #21 on the PBA's 2008 list of "50 Greatest Players of the Last 50 Years," and has rolled 50 perfect 300 games in PBA Tour events.

The PBA recognized Monacelli in 1997 by inducting him into the PBA Hall of Fame, making him the only international player so honored. In a 1999 edition of El Nacional, a Venezuelan newspaper, Monacelli was ranked as the fourth best Venezuelan athlete of the 20th Century. He was inducted into the USBC Hall of Fame in 2012.[3]

PBA50 Tour

While continuing to bowl in selected events on the PBA Tour, Monacelli also joined the PBA Senior Tour (now PBA50 Tour) in 2012 and became the first international player to win the Senior U.S. Open by defeating all-time PBA titles leader Walter Ray Williams, Jr. in the final match. Monacelli was selected as the 2012 PBA Senior Rookie of the Year, becoming the first international player to earn the award. He has gone on to win a total of seven PBA50 Tour titles through the 2016 season, including a repeat win in the 2013 Senior U.S. Open and another major win at the 2015 Senior USBC Masters. Monacelli won his fourth PBA50 major title at the PBA50 National Championship on August 17, 2016.[4]

Personal

The son of Italian and Hispanic parents, Monacelli speaks fluent Italian, Spanish, and English. He was an accomplished soccer player in his teen years, but increased his participation in bowling when his parents took ownership of a bowling center in Venezuela. By age 17, he decided to pursue bowling full-time and make it his career.

Sources

References

  1. ↑ "SPOILER ALERT: PBA Chameleon Championship." Article at www.pba.com, September 6, 2009.
  2. ↑ Vint, Bill (January 31, 2016). "Amleto Monacelli Wins DHC PBA Japan Invitational for 20th Title, Ends 11-Year Title Drought". pba.com. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  3. ↑ Manzione, Gianmarc. "Husted, Monacelli, Baker, Davidson elected to USBC Hall of Fame." Article at www.bowl.com on Jan. 2, 2012.
  4. ↑ Schneider, Jay (August 18, 2016). "Monacelli Wins PBA50 National Championship to Benefit Riley Hospital for Children for Fourth Career PBA50 Major Title". PBA.com. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
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