Robert K. Pinkalla (October 7, 1928 – April 13, 2015), better known as Bob Pinkalla, was an American ten-pin bowler and owner of Pinky's Bowl in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Robert Pinkalla | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 7, 1928 |
| Died | April 13, 2015 (aged 86) |
| Other names | Bob Pinkalla |
| Known for | Bowling |
Pinkalla was born on October 7, 1928. He was married his sweetheart Barbara Granum. Robert and Barbara went to the same High school, Casimir Pulaski High School.[1] Pinkalla was the owner of the family's business, Pinky's Bowl bowling alley and pro shop (AKA Pinkalla's Bowling Lanes),[2] which was started by his father.[1][3][4] He won numerous tournaments from the 1940s through the 1970s.[3]
Bob Pinkalla, for the 1959-1960 season, set a world record individual average over 238 and was ranked first nationally with an 837 series. The three-man team of Bob, his brother Wayne, and Gene Raffel, "set an all-time record of 2,404 pins and single-game record of 859, with the Pinkallas both spilling 300 games in the latter."[5]
Bob Pinkalla and his brother Wayne organized and were on the Pinky's Bowl team which won the 1967 American Bowling Congress (ABC) national championship with a record setting 3,327 series. They were the first and only team to break 3,300 until 1989. Bob Pinkalla was the highest scoring team member with 700. Four of the five-man team became part of the eight-man United States team that went on to Sweden to compete in the Fédération Internationale des Quilleurs (FIQ) tournament. He and his brother were awarded a bronze in doubles.[6]
He died of heart failure on April 13, 2015, in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, at the age of 86.[3]
References
edit- ^ a b "Robert K. Pinkalla". Tributes.com. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
- ^ LIFE. Time Inc. 1961-02-10.
- ^ a b c "Milwaukee bowling legend Bob Pinkalla dies at age 86". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on 17 April 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
- ^ "Legendary Milwaukee Proprietor Pinkalla Dies – Bowlers Journal International – Professional Bowling Magazine: News, Events & Information". www.bowlersjournal.com. Retrieved 2017-09-11.
- ^ Collier's ... Year Book Covering the Year ... P.F. Collier & Son. 1961.
- ^ Schmidt, Doug (2007). They Came to Bowl: How Milwaukee Became America's Tenpin Capital. Wisconsin Historical Society. ISBN 9780870203879. Retrieved 10 September 2017.