This past season was a banner year for Hammer! Two-year Hammer player, Doug Kent, took home the coveted Player of the Year title and rookie Tour player and Hammerhead, Billy Oatman, snagged the Tour's Rookie of the Year Award. It's no surprise that Doug, Billy, and Tony Reyes will all be returning to Hammer's pro staff for the 07-08 season. And, the brand is excited to add Chad Kloss to its roster for his first Tour season with Hammer. "Hammer came on strong and consistently performed well all season long," said Brian Graham, Hammer brand manager. "We're excited to maintain this talented team going into next year and we're already planning a repeat performance for the fans this year. "Doug's a veteran of the Tour and all-around great guy. His experience and determination are matched by few of his peers. Tony has a great presence on the lanes and he's been a loyal Hammer bowler since his childhood. Billy's got a spark and charisma that others try to emulate because he's so much fun to watch. You watch him and you can see the focus he puts into every shot. Chad is a newcomer to the staff and his enthusiasm and talent is evident by all who see him perform. With this team in place, we can't go wrong."
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Doug, who owns two bowling centers with his wife, Chrissie, resides in Newark, New York, and has been bowling on Tour since 1988. During that time, he has posted nine career wins, including two wins this past season. Early in the season, Doug walked home with the USBC Masters title and then earned his second Tour Major victory of the season at the PBA World Championships. With this win, he became the sixth bowler in Tour history to win two Major Championships in one season. Doug led the Tour with a career-best $200,530 in earnings and finished the season ranked fourth in PBA World Point Rankings and 10th on Tour with a 222.43 average. He continued his winning streak with a win at the season-ending Motel 6 Roll to Riches special event and pocketed a cool $150,000 for this top prize, a title and earnings that are not included in his overall season title or earnings count. |
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Tony Reyes, a third-year Hammer staffer, captured his first career title in the 06-07 season at the Motor City Classic. Most notably, Tony will forever be remembered for his stellar performance, firing off the 17th televised 300-game in the 47-year history of the Tour. Closing out the year with a 220.68 average, Tony finished the 2006-2007 PBA Tour season with three consecutive TV finals appearances. A San Bruno, California man, he was on the San Jose State bowling team from 1992-95 and was named First Team All-America in 1993 and '95. Tony joined the PBA Tour in 1997 and earned his exemption by winning The Final Frame event presented by the Tour in 2005. |
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Known as "Billy O," Billy finished 11th in the 06-07 Tour Trails but earned exempt status when Ritchie Allen deferred his exemption due to injury. The rest is Tour history. Billy, who hails from Chicago, is the first African-American and, at 41 years old, the oldest bowler in PBA history to earn PBA Rookie of the Year honors. He led the rookies in points (37th), earnings ($46,145) and match play appearances (7) and finished second in averages (216.14). He is also the first left-handed bowler to win this award since 1996. In January, he came dangerously close to winning his first career title at the Motel 6 Classic, but fell just one pin short to Jason Couch. The upcoming season will be Billy's second year with Hammer. |
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Chad Kloss, a Greenfield, Wisconsin native who is new to the Hammer Pro Tour staff this year, joined the PBA in 2005. In that first year as a PBA member, he won the very first tournament he bowled in and cashed in at 80 percent of the events he bowled that year, earning "Rookie of the Year" honors for the Midwest region. He finished an impressive 8th in the 2006 USBC Masters and says he spent the year gaining as much experience as possible. During the 06-07 PBA Tour season, he finished fourth in points among non-exempt players and qualified for the 07-08 Tour finishing sixth at the Tour Trials. Most recently, Chad captured the 2007 Peterson Classic, known as the most brutal of all tournaments in the world. |
| Stay logged on to Hammerbowling.com for more Hammer information, including Tour updates throughout the season. | |
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