Tournament Thursday: 1960 PBA Tournaments:

Three tournaments were held inn the inaugural season of the PBA Bowling Tour in 1959.

In 1960, the number of PBA Tournaments jumped to seven.

Empire State PBA Open 
Friday, May 13, 1960 - Sunday, May 15, 1960 
Prize fund: $16,500
Location: Schade's Academy, Albany, New York 

Fairless Hills PBA Open
Tuesday, May 17, 1960 - Thursday, May 19, 1960

Prize fund:  $15,300
Location: Fairlanes, Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania 

Paramus Eastern PBA Open

Friday, May 20, 1960 - Sunday, May 22, 1960 
Prize fund: $17,400
Location: Paramus Bowl, Paramus, New Jersey 

Las Vegas National PBA Invitational 

Monday, June 20, 1960 - Wednesday, June 22, 1960 
Prize fund: $21,900
Location: Showboat Lanes, Las Vegas, Nevada  

Northern California PBA Open 

Friday, June 24, 1960 - Sunday, June 26, 1960
Prize fund: $18,100
Location: Castle Lanes, San Francisco, California 

Southern California PBA Open 

Wednesday, July 06, 1960 - Thursday, September 01, 1960 
Prize fund: $22,600
Location: Bowl-O-Drome, Los Angeles, California 

First Annual National Championship 

Friday, November 25, 1960 - Monday, November 28, 1960 
Prize fund: $44,000
Location: Imperial Lanes, Memphis, Tennessee

Tournament Thursday: Empire State PBA Open. May 22 - May 24, 1959

The PBA was founded in 1958.  Its first tour was held in 1959.

The first tournament of the first tour was the Empire State Open, held at Schade's Academy in Albany, New York, from Friday, May 22 through Sunday, May 24, 1959.

The prize money might not seem like a lot, but remember it is in 1959 dollars.  Multiply each amount by 8 to get the value in 2016 dollars. For example, $150 in 1959 dollars is worth $1,208 in 2016 dollars.

The winner of this very first PBA tournament was Lou "Wrong-foot" Campi (so nicknamed because, as a right hander, he would finish his slide to the foul line on his right foot, the "wrong" foot.)

Lou Campi

Top 10

1    Lou Campi, from Dumont, NJ - Won $2,500

2    Ed Lubanski, from Detroit, MI - Won 2,000

3    Dick Weber, from St. Louis, MO - Won $1,500

4    Joe Donato, from Schenectady, NY - Won $1,150

5    Buzz Fazio, from Detroit, MI- Won $ 800

6    Don Ellis, from Houston, TX - Won $700

7    Ray Bluth, from St. Louis, MO- Won $650

8    Larry Cassera, from Albany, NY - Won $600

9    Billy Golembiewski, from Detroit, MI - Won $550

10  Bill Lillard, from Dallas, TX   - Won $500

Top 20

11   Carmen Salvino, from Chicago, IL - Won $475

12  Jerry Back, from Amherst, N.Y - Won $450

13   Al Savas, from Milwaukee, WI - Won $ 425

14   Therm Gibson, from Detroit, MI - Won $400

15   Don Carter, from St. Louis, MO - Won $375

16   Punk Limmer, from Albany, NY  - Won $350

17   Tony Lindemann, from Dallas, TX- Won $325

18   Tom Hennessey, from St. Louis, MO - Won $300

19  Stan Gifford, from Highland Park, IL.- Won $275

20  Billy Welu, from St. Louis, MO - Won $250

Rest of the field

21   Joe Joseph, from Lansing, MI - Won $225

22   John King, from Park Ridge, IL - Won $ 200

23   Dick Hoover, from Akron, OH - Won $190

24   Bud Schaibly, from Chicago, IL - Won $ 180

25   Phil Cleary, from Endwell, NY - Won $170

26   Woody Hulsey, from St. Louis, MO - Won $160

27   Ludy Villani, from Niagara Falls, NY  - Won $150

28   Hank Lauman, from Pico Rivers, CA - Won $150

Webography

http://www.bowl.com/Hall_of_Fame/Hall_of_Famers/Superior_Performance/Lou_Campi/

http://www.pba.com/Tournaments/FullStandings/134

http://www.in2013dollars.com/1959-dollars-to-2016-dollars