| Bryan Goebel | |
| Birth Date: | October 15, 1961 |
| Birth Place: | Kansas City, Kansas, U.S. |
| Affiliation: | PBA, PBA50 |
| Rookieyear: | 1988 |
| Hand: | Right |
| Championships: | 10 PBA Tour (1 major) 1 PBA50 Tour 8 PBA Regional Tour |
| Sponsors: | Ebonite |
Bryan Goebel (born October 15, 1961, in Kansas City, Kansas) is a right-handed professional ten-pin bowler who currently resides in Shawnee, Kansas. He is a member of the Professional Bowlers Association. Having previously bowled on the PBA Tour, he now participates on the PBA50 Tour (formerly PBA Senior Tour). He has topped $1 million in career PBA earnings.[1] Goebel's release style is that of a power stroker. He has the rev-rate and hook pattern of a cranker, but uses the smooth slide step of a stroker.
Bryan is a pro staff member for Ebonite.[2]
Goebel won his first PBA tournament at the 1990 Miller Lite Challenge. The following season, he won the Kessler Classic for his second title. In 1992, he had a chance to join an exclusive group of bowlers who have rolled a perfect 300 game in a televised PBA event. In the second match of that year's Japan Cup, he left a 10-pin on his final shot for a 299 game.[3]
Goebel won four titles in the 1994 PBA season and cashed a career-high $172,182, but was beaten out for PBA Player of the Year honors by Norm Duke, who won five titles that same year. He won the Tucson Open in back-to-back seasons (1995 and 1996). He won his ninth title and lone PBA major at the 1998 PBA Tournament of Champions, held that season in his native Kansas.[1]
At the PBA Medford Open, held in January 2003,[4] Goebel won his tenth PBA title, defeating Danny Wiseman 257–212.[5] This victory made him eligible to go on the ballot for the PBA Hall of Fame.[6]
Goebel also has eight PBA Regional Tour titles.
Goebel served as a color analyst for ESPN on a few broadcasts in the 1990s. He filled in for Marshall Holman in 1996 when Holman won his final PBA title.
After more than a decade of eligibility, Goebel was voted into the PBA Hall of Fame in December 2016. He was officially inducted on February 13, 2017.[7] In his induction speech, Goebel spoke about the difficult decision to become a full-time touring pro:
"In 1988, I had been a pro bowler for eight years and didn't have a title. I quit my job and decided if I was ever going to be a (full time) pro, I had to do it now. I missed a cut and came home whining. My wife Kelly said, 'well, you quit your job; you’d better go out and bowl better.’"[8]
After participating in 50 tournaments on the PBA50 Tour without a win, Goebel won his first PBA50 Tour title on May 16, 2017, at the PBA50 Miller Lite Players Championship in Indianapolis. This is considered a major title for PBA50 players. Qualifying as the #2 seed, Goebel defeated top seed and fellow PBA Hall of Famer Parker Bohn III in the final match.[9]
Major championships are in bold type.
1990 – Miller Lite Challenge (Tucson, AZ)
1991 – Kessler Classic (Riverside, CA)
1994 – True Value Open (Peoria, IL)
1994 – Active West Open (Ontario, CA)
1994 – Greater Detroit Open (Taylor, MI)
1994 – Merit Mixed Doubles Championship (w/Aleta Sill) (Reno, NV)
1995 – Tucson PBA Open (Tucson, AZ)
1996 – Tucson Open (Tucson, AZ)
1998 – Brunswick World Tournament of Champions (Overland Park, KS)
2003 – PBA Medford Open (Medford, OR)
2017 – PBA50 Miller Lite Players Championship (Indianapolis, IN)