How Kelly Kulick became the FIRST woman to win a PBA title | PBA Bowling Rewind
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- Опубліковано 6 лют 2025
- Kelly Kulick made bowling history in 2010 by winning the PBA Tournament of Champions. She became the first woman to win a PBA title.
In this video we look at how she beat the men to create PBA bowling history.
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PBA bowling // bowling 2023 // pba bowling 2023 // pwba bowling // Kelly Kulick // pba tournament of champions // pba toc // Kelly Kulick pba // Chris Barnes
Chris is a genuine class act.
Absolutely! And always a joy to listen to. As a kid, I wasn't a fan of his. But whaddya know, I grew up a little bit and damn, nothing but respect.
Yeah, I guess that kind of leads me to the comment; I also didn't like him for quite a while. Chris is kind of boring, by the book, and not always on top. However, and as you say, he's incredibly friendly on the ears, humble, hard working, a great role model, and an amazing ambassador for the sport. I wish I appreciated him earlier and not just Belmo! haha.
@jmrsplatt if you’ve never met him in person you can’t really know that.
Chris Barnes took it like a champ. Mika seemed pissed when he lost. She won this tournament fair and square. She didn't get enough credit for this accomplishment.
@@johncavanaugh2517It really is unbelievably impressive. Chris said it best, if you got the stuff, you got the stuff.
It’s Important to remember that this isn’t just a title this is a MAJOR title. Also the Tournament of Champions. Which makes this the most prestigious and stacked event of quality bowlers on the planet. That makes this win that much more impressive
And she didn't win by a nose either. A 265!
I remember watching this Live,, Truly AMAZING Kelly !! 🏆
Had the opportunity to attend one of her clinics a few months ago. She was funny and made it even more enjoyable. She even encouraged me to try a PBA50 event which i might do this year.
How could you not become emotional watching this? Amazing!
I was just thinking about this match. Cool that you put this together!
The whole title match makes me emotional every time I watch it. What an amazing moment, not just for bowling history, but for all sports.
Not contrived. Not exploited. No brow-beating or rubbing salt in the wounds. Just good bowling and the best bowler won out (bad breaks come with the sport for men and women alike, and Barnes was a class-act dealing with his with humility), the way sports was meant to be played. Doubtful we'll see those kinds of organic victories ever again in today's hyper-politicized society but I'm happy to have witnessed it while I was alive! Thanks for sharing that memory so tastefully.
If you have a problem with a society being "hyper-politicized", then take it up with the reactionaries who politicized issues such as "should women have rights", "should gay and trans people exist", and "should workers be paid a living wage"
@@agoo7581 If anything it's the radical left-wingers trying to undo Title IX that women fought so hard for to have equal opportunity competing with other women instead of biological men beating up on them in sports. Try educating yourself for once.
@@agoo7581I think you fellas missed the point. Barnes lost to a girl and it wasn’t the first time either. We know who wears the bowling pants in that family.
@@harveywallbanger2899 I was gonna say...Chris Barnes' wife beats him regularly on the lanes according to him.
@@harveywallbanger2899 Yeah, no. That's not the point at all bud.
I just trained with Kelly Kulick
After being well down in match play she bowled brilliantly down the stretch to make TV. She could have rested on that and still made history as the first woman bowler to make a major telecast but no, superb bowling showed it was no fluke. She beat two major winners fair and square, fantastic day for bowling.
Great title match. Even though I'm a fan of Barnes I was rooting for Kelly to win
That's awesome! .. holy crap she bowled well .. wow! .. fantastic!
My favorite PBA moment of all time.
You should do a video of Liz Johnson she didn't just win the event she rolled more strikes than anyone else that day!
Seeing a woman win a major title like that is beyond remarkable words can't even begin to express.
Bowling is the only professional sport where being a man or woman doesn’t have any advantage. That’s why you’ll never see any men throwing on a wig and going to the women’s tour.
Something I find very impressive about Kulick's sucess on PBA, is that I can't imagine how her game really matches up well against the men.
Against other women, she can move inside most of the field and slow hook it. At least, that's what usually see her do.
Against the men, her rev rate must force her more outside, and then she's rolling ball with less speed, over area the men have broken down. On modern conditions, with how fast lanes break down, I don't see how that can work to advantage. It takes flawless shot execution.
In the videos' I've made about one hand no thumb bowling, I've tried to explain how slow hooking the ball from deep inside won't work well in the modern game. More ball speed doesn't just mean more power,. but prevents the ball from being overly sensitive to small changes in topography from lane to lane or just how the lanes have broken down.
Nice!!
Props to Barnes for not making it a gender thing. It was just the 2 best bowlers of that tournament going for the win.
The audio is messed up
It's very simple, she gave herself an opportunity, and ran with it. ANYBODY can win one game!! I won a scratch sweeper years ago, running up the ladder from 5th, beating 4 of the best bowlers in our area including a PBA tour champion. Which shows what I'm talking about, I did it 4 times in one day!!
Her ball speed was the key
truly a big moment of pba history
I miss when the crowd was this loud, now it's like golf when pros bowl
Blame that on Aholes like Weber that go off on the littlest thing...Obviously man Karen Pete forgot what league bowling is like!!!
I'm confused about how this could be her first win because I always believed to enter the Tournament of Champions you had to already had to have a PBA win?
That's a good question. She won this during that several year gap when there was no PWBA, so I think she and a couple other women were good enough to be able to bowl on the men's tour. Not sure what the rules were then to qualify to bowl in the TOC.
@@machinethesun9243 Thanks for your input on this.
Somewhere down the road they changed the "Tournament of Champions" requirement that only the most recent tournament winners were eligible. I think it was now based on tour points as well as tournament winners and she qualified that year based on points. The change may have occurred when the original PBA tour went bankrupt and the "Microsoft Guys" bought the business.
@@williamford9564 William thanks for your explanation
Amazing. Why hasn’t this been talked about more?
Because there's nothing "amazing" about it.
Bowling is a skill game. Stick any two people on a lane pair, going head to head... and either one of them can take the match. It's all down to who knocks the most pins down, while facing the obstacles of the lane conditions and distance.
Chris and Kelly both are fantastic bowlers, and THAT particular day, she just bowled better than he did. No more, no less.
Women have been beating guys for decades. Sylvia Wene beat Dick Weber, YEARS ago. It's no big deal.
The main reason Kelly was in the TOC... was because, quite candidly, the PWBA didn't exist, and neither did its predecessor, the LPBT. The LPBT had gone out of business. And, the PBA stepped up and granted women the opportunity to bowl professionally in the PBA, since they didn't have their own tour.
They still had to meet the PBA's average standards to qualify... but really, that wasn't a big deal.
The biggest deal, was facing the best bowlers in the world, male OR female... and trying to get one of five slots to bowl for the title. THAT is a tall order for ANYONE. Even the greatest men in the world, had a rough time making that top 5 cut, week in and week out.
Kelly was the first woman to win the TOC... but nobody was 'shocked' by it, really... Not anyone who REALLY knows bowling, anyway.
It was thirty years ago. Big news when it happened!
@@gwencrawford737 Well, considering that the PBA didn't even allow women to bowl their events more many years indicates that there was some sort of narrative that women couldn't compete with the men, and shouldn't even be able to try.
So the fact that they won this event was actually a pretty big deal, and your take is pretty awful.
@@agoo7581 There was no 'narrative' of the sort back then, son.
The segregation of mens and womens sports evolved from a previous period where there were NO womens sports organized.
As time went on, women began to get organized sports going, and more and more became interested in competition.
Things grew from there over the decades, and a large part of that was INTEREST.
You know that today, for example, that women make up 12% of our fire service in the US, even though every department in the US will welcome women to its ranks?
Why do you think that is?
Because not everyone wants to do it. It's that simple.
The same goes for sports. For every woman who wants to compete in sports, there's a lot more women who have other interests entirely.
Growth and change take time, is the point I'm making.
So I would reject your assertions about "narratives" at work.
If my take is 'awful' to you, Too bad. I'm only speaking the truth as a woman and a bowler who regularly bests men on the lanes, and who knows bowling history.
Kelly's in the USBC hall of fame for a LOT more than being the first woman to win a major PBA title or competing on the PBA tour during a time when the PWBA was out of business.
Her curriculum vitae that justifies enshrinement, is mind-boggling, and much bigger than hoisting one trophy at a PBA event.
So again, I maintain that her TOC win was NOT "amazing". It was inevitable given that men and women were competing in this non-contact skill sport together, that a good woman bowler would win out.
Women have been beating guys in this sport since even before Sylvia Wene beat Dick Weber in the 1960s. Any league bowler worth their salt knows that gender doesn't matter on the lanes. The pins don't care. They'll fall for whoever throws the best shots, man or woman.
So every year the TOC includes the Womens bowler Tour also??? I didn't know this.
No.
The TOC had women bowling in it, at that time, because there was NOT a separate ladies professional tour at the time. The PBA opened its membership to the women, to give these elite women bowlers an opportunity to compete at an elite level, after the LPBT closed up shop.
I thought the TOC was for only previous champions. How could she be the first winner in an event for only prior winners?
@@dubl59zy Somewhere down the road they changed the "Tournament of Champions" requirement that only the most recent tournament winners were eligible. I think it was now based on tour points as well as tournament winners and she qualified that year based on points. The change may have occurred when the original PBA tour went bankrupt and the "Microsoft Guys" bought the business.
how often do women enter men’s PBA tournaments?
Now? They don't bowl in men's PBA tournaments.
They have the PWBA tour, now... unlike the way things were when Kelly won the TOC. Back then, the LPBT had closed up shop, so there wasn't a separate women's professional bowling organization there for a while. The PBA stepped up in this period and allowed women who could meet the average standard, to compete on the men's tour if they wished.
These days?
They DO enter PBA/PWBA doubles events and there are team events where both PBA and PWBA members bowl, too.
@@gwencrawford737 Lol, "stepped up" as in allowing women to do what they probably should have already been allowed in thefirst place.
@@agoo7581 They were allowed before, but there was no reason for women to compete on the men's tour when they had their own. It may be politically incorrect to say so but women in the sport cannot compete with men day in and day out on a season long basis because the guys are bigger, stronger and have more ability to impart revolutions on the ball.
Spoiler alert - She dropped more pins than her opponents.
Cause Bowling is based on ability and skill and a little bit of luck.Not strength,size or speed..She was just the better bowler that day
How did she even qualify for the TOC without winning a PBA title?
Commissioner exemption.
@@alexhamilton9863 I looked it up. She actually got in because she won the 2009 PBA Women's World Championship.
I totally forgot about that. I remember now they ran that the previous year. Thank you for the correction.
Because she was the BEST BOWLER on those planks that day. Race or sex had nothing to do with anything.
Bowling is one of those sports that a woman SHOULD be able to compete against a male because their physical make-ups are not pitted against one another. It's all about how they perform on the oil pattern.
Yes and no. She will never be able to play left of any man with more revs, so I'm curious what lines she had to play, and if she ever got trapped during the lead up to this match during the days before.
When will we have the first man to win a WPBA tournament? Oh, that''s right. Men aren't allowed to enter. How fair.
isnt Kulick Barnes ball rep now ?
It would be more impressive if she beat ej
The yelling, emotion, and animation during the match are unprofessional in the face of her opponent.
Does this mean bowling is not a sport? JK 😜
Why are they talking about a gender thing? In bowling the athlete is only playing against themselves, it's one of the few sports where it doesn't matter what gender you are.
This is very untrue. Pro men vs. women on the same condition are 20 pins different at least. A woman can bowl great for a game, a block, a day or a week. But when you look at average scores on the same condition, the women are as far behind as any sport.
@@skidhookroll That's not true, I'm referring to the physical differences that might hold them back. You can strike just as much at 15mph than at 20mph with the same ball weight. The women just don't have the same level of confidence or competitiveness.
Because in a society where women are marginalized and treated like shit, especially in the context of sports, it's kind of a big deal when a woman in a competition vs men.
I suggest you study some history.
@@skidhookroll No, women are not "as far behind". There is certainly a difference in the ceiling, but to compare to say that the skill gap between men and women in bowling is the same as other sports is a bit ridiculous.
Back when Chris Barnes was blowing wins every week😂😂he was dominant until the cameras turned on
While it was fantastic that she won, and really deserved to for her bowling that week, I will always consider this win with an *. She earned a spot in the tournament by means that no other male could have - by winning a women's tournament. By bypassing the requirements the rest of the field had to do, she had an advantage. Her track record on the PBA was spotty at best, and likely never could have earned a spot without the gift entry.
schmuck!!! She only won this by 70 pins.
She didn't bypass anything.
She still had to bowl the qualifier to get into the field. She had to then make cut after cut throughout the tournament, to get to the final cut... and be one of the 5 finalists for the stepladder show.
You'll find that EVERY man on the PBA is 'spotty' in this same regard. Even Belmonte has a rough way to go, making shows. And that's no different than back in the day when Earl Anthony was the big player in the PBA. You didn't see HIM every week either! Same with Mark Roth or Marshall Holman.
At that level, one bad frame at the wrong time is all it takes to sink you.
Make no mistake... she earned it the hard way, just like EVERY TOC champion does.
Uh, no she didn't. Do you think that people who win regional tournaments, shouldnt get in to the TOC?
It is an * win.
Had she not 7-10ed and it carried. She could’ve shot 300
She left 1 pin on the deck, so it would've been a 299
@@robertspony9156 did she throw it straight at the pocket or was she not really trying that last shot because she went to grab the trophy fairly quickly
@@drcheese3012 I'm sure that's what happened yes
When Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs, he was hamstrung by unfair rules....King received a very favorable playing condition, which was in turn unfair for Riggs. It's no different than letting drag men compete against real women....an unfair advantage, again, is at work. In this case I think she was given a favorable condition and Barnes either choked or gave the match away....happens in boxing all the time....and I probably would have used anyone else but Barnes....saw him in 89-90 with e. Anthony , l. Wagner and one other and he stunk the place up.....just saying. And it couldn't have been the Burger King Open?!? It had to be a major?!? Come on, man.
What exactly was "favorable" for Billie Jean King, outside of her being younger and more athletic. (which doesn't mean anything, because bobby was the one who issued the challenge).
And what is a "drag man" anyway? Do you mean a man who dresses in womens clothing? If so, than no, the battle of the sexes was not like that at all. Otherwise, did you mean a trans man? If so, than you are oversimplifying a complicated issue that maybe have some merit, but is oversimplified by reactionaries who use the talking point to justify their transphobia.
Either way, your take is shit.
She was NEVER given a favorable condition. Coming into Day 3 into this 5 day tournament, she was sitting second to LAST in the standings, and struggled against everyone. All she had done the entire time was think that she had nothing else to lose, made a ball change to the Ebonite Mission, and matched up perfectly to the conditions in the 24 game block to the TV show she won her matches and made it to match play in the final spot. She went from all but last to second for the TV show, showed up, and showed out.
I have had the pleasure of bowling against Kelly in Collegiates, and she has never been given a bone or anything to her favor.
Even more so, Chris said it himself that his wife Lynda (who I have also had the pleasure of bowling with) is a better bowler than he and gets constantly beat by her, and she’s a HoFer.
She won because it was pre ordained she would win for tv.