PBA Hall of Fame adds four new members as the 2021 and 2022 classes earn induction

FAIRLAWN, Ohio — After a one-year hiatus, the Guaranteed Rate Professional Bowlers Association Hall of Fame returned Saturday night and formally inducted four new members from two separate classes into its sacred fraternity.

The induction ceremony was held in conjunction with the 2022 KIA PBA Tournament of Champions, the third major of the PBA Tour season. FloBowling.com provided live coverage of the ceremony held at The Hilton Akron/Fairlawn.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 induction ceremony was postponed until this year.

The 2021 PBA Hall of Fame class of Gary Mage of Vancouver, Washington, and the duo of Kirk and Mary von Krueger of Pensacola, Florida, were inducted for their meritorious service.

The 2022 PBA Hall of Fame class featured only Wes Malott of Fort Wayne, Indiana, who was selected based on performance. All four members were unanimous selections into the hall of fame.

Kirk and Mary von Krueger, who met while both were air traffic controllers in the U.S. Navy, are the first married couple to be inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame.

Kirk took the reins as PBA national tournament director in 1996 following the tenure of Johnny Campos. He was the fourth tournament director in PBA history and served in that role until his retirement in 2020. Kirk added Deputy Commissioner to his list of responsibilities in 2011 and again remained in that role until his retirement in 2020. Only the late Harry Golden, who served as national tournament director for 29 years, held the position longer.

“I never expected to be here,” said Kirk von Krueger, during his speech. “I never thought this would happen. I want to thank everyone who was involved. I want to thank my family who stuck with me through thick and thin. I want to thank my sons, my daughter and my wife, Mary. Mary, I love you baby. If it wasn’t for her, I’d be nothing. She’s responsible for me joining the PBA Tour. She was responsible for me having this job. Everything is due to my wife.”

Mary, who served alongside her husband as his clerical right hand, became the Membership and Statistics Manager.

“This is beyond my wildest dreams,” Mary von Krueger said. “I don’t know if you can imagine how overwhelming this is. To stand where so many legends have stood before – Earl Anthony, Dick Weber, Johnny Petraglia, our dear friend Walter Ray (Williams Jr.), Mark Roth, Marshall Holman and the list goes on and on. Think about it, guys. Did you ever picture yourself in that group? I sure didn’t. I was just coming along with Kirk. I was just here with him, and I loved bowling.

“I also want to say thank you to all of my bowlers, all of my guys. I was there for 25 years and all the years before that watching on TV, and I’m still amazed at what you can do on those lanes. Someone who doesn’t know about bowling, they don’t understand the nuances of what you do. You’re amazing. You’re absolutely amazing.”

Mage, who won his only PBA national title at the 1972 Seattle Open, founded the PBA Northwest region in 1979 and added PBA West Regional Director to his resume in 2004. When he retired in 2020, Mage had served for more than 40 years and hosted more tournaments than any other regional director in the history of the PBA Tour. His wife, Toni, was along for the ride with him.

“I was a bowler like all of you guys,” said Mage, with a smile. “The only difference is instead of complaining about my cross, who I was following or who was throwing all the bowling balls, I made the mistake of complaining that there weren't any tournaments to bowl in the Northwest. Next thing I knew, I was the regional manager for the Northwest.

“I joined the PBA in 1965. I was able to go out on tour, and I got to bowl with all the greats. I had the privilege of being ‘that guy.’ When Dick Weber won his last title, he beat ‘that guy.’ That was me. When Earl Anthony won his last title, he beat ‘that guy.’ He was me. That was my story.”

Malott has captured 10 PBA titles, including the Mark Roth/Marshall Holman Doubles Championship twice with Norm Duke, and the 2013 U.S. Open, his lone major. He also owns 18 PBA regional titles.

Affectionately known as the “Big Nasty,” Malott exceeded $100,000 in earnings in five seasons, including four consecutive years from 2005-2008. He was named the 2008-2009 Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year and tossed multiple 300 games on television as part of his undisputed, dominant run as the “King of Bowling.”

In PBA League competition, he has been named the Mark Roth Most Valuable Player twice while leading the Portland Lumberjacks to back-to-back PBA Elias Cup titles in 2019 and 2020.

“When the PBA began tracking stats, I was about 15 or 16, and two of the people I followed the most were Parker Bohn III and Jason Couch. Why? I don’t know,” said Malott, with a laugh as he began. “Clearly, I don’t know much about the sport or the game because they’re left-handed. With Jason being a power player, I remember him crossing the house with 289, 289… and it was incredible. It was very inspirational to me.

“And, Parker, being one of the guys who is considered textbook. If any of you know me, you know I’m very meticulous and critical of a lot of things that I do, including my game. Parker was one of the ones I followed.”

But, as Malott would state as he closed, it’s all about belief.

“If any of you happened to see the video when Tom (Clark) interviewed me to let me know I had been voted into the hall of fame, you might have heard me talk about how I was a latecomer to the PBA Tour,” Malott said. “It was because I didn’t believe in myself. I didn’t think I could beat these guys out on tour. I went on and won my first regional, then I won the RPC (Regional Players Championship), which got me into the TOC (Tournament of Champions).

“People started asking me if I’m going out on tour. I initially said I don’t know, but then we all talked about it, put some money together and put me out on tour, and here we are. With the help and support of family and friends, they pushed me and things continued to fall into place. If there is one thing I can get people to do in life, you got to believe.”

Since the 2021 induction ceremony was postponed, the 2020 PBA award winners also were recognized Saturday along with the 2021 winners. The 2020 award winners are as follows: 2020 Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year Jason Belmonte, Australia; PBA Steve Nagy Sportsmanship Award winner Brad Miller of Lee’s Summit, Missouri; and PBA Tony Reyes Memorial Community Service Award recipient Danny Wiseman of Baltimore.

The 2021 award winners were: Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year Kyle Troup, Taylorsville, North Carolina; Harry Golden PBA Rookie of the Year Matt Russo, Fairview Heights, Illinois; PBA Steve Nagy Sportsmanship Award winner Jake Peters of Henderson, Nevada; and PBA Tony Reyes Memorial Community Service Award recipient Warren Eales of Chandler, Arizona.

About the PBA

The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) is the world’s preeminent organization dedicated to the sport of bowling and its professional competition, with thousands of members and millions of fans throughout the world. The PBA plays host to bowling’s biggest tournaments from the PBA Tour, PBA Regional Tour, and PBA50 Tour. In 2020, the PBA launched PBA Jr., a club for elite youth bowlers under the age of 17 and the PBA Pinsiders, a membership for fans of the sport. For more information, please visit PBA.com.