32 Facts About Tom Smallwood

Thomas Smallwood was born on November 4,1977 and is an American professional ten-pin bowler competing on the PBA Tour.

Tom Smallwood has won three PBA Tour titles, two of which are majors.

Tom Smallwood has finished runner-up in three other PBA major championships.

Tom Smallwood played other sports but always came back to bowling.

Tom Smallwood went to Saginaw Valley State University, but soon quit to be a bowler.

At age 19, Tom Smallwood went to Las Vegas for a 1997 high-roller amateur tournament for the first time.

Tom Smallwood fell short of winning $10,000 on the second day.

Tom Smallwood had been an excellent bowler in classic leagues in and around Saginaw, and supplemented his income by competing in local tournaments and a few open PBA events.

Tom Smallwood estimated that even in a lean year, he would net an extra $10,000 to $15,000 from bowling.

Tom Smallwood finished 53rd on the Tour points list and did not make the next season's all-exempt Tour.

Tom Smallwood then found a job at a metal shop as his then-girlfriend Jennifer would not marry a man without a regular paycheck.

At age 30, Tom Smallwood had decided he was "done" with trying to be a full-time bowler, content to work during the week and bowl weekend tournaments that paid as little as $800 for first place.

Tom Smallwood then got a job at General Motors' Pontiac East Assembly Plant in the Spring of 2008 only to get laid off two days before Christmas.

Tom Smallwood, then married and with one child, agreed to look for a new job for two months before considering a return to the PBA Tour.

Tom Smallwood practiced for free at State Lanes in Saginaw after job applications did not pan out, having been a regular league bowler there and being neighbors of the owners, Anne and Steve Doyle.

Still looking for a regular job, Tom Smallwood learned that the PBA Tour Trials would be held in the Detroit area in May, 2009, making travel a non-issue.

Tom Smallwood swore to Jen that this would be his last attempt at bowling for a PBA Tour card.

Tom Smallwood had to decline, telling the rep that he was a full-time bowler now and would in fact be on ESPN television that Sunday.

Tom Smallwood won his second PBA title on November 3,2013, at the World Series of Bowling PBA Scorpion Championship.

Tom Smallwood threw five strikes in the roll-off, while Blanchard threw four strikes before leaving a 10 pin on his fifth shot.

Tom Smallwood then defeated top seed Marshall Kent in the final match.

Tom Smallwood was voted by his peers to receive the PBA Steve Nagy Sportsmanship Award for the 2016 season.

On February 25,2018, Tom Smallwood won his third PBA title and second major at the Barbasol PBA Players Championship.

On November 20,2018, the PBA announced that Tom Smallwood had won his second career PBA Steve Nagy Sportsmanship Award.

Tom Smallwood made it all the way to the final four round before being defeated by eventual champion Bill O'Neill.

Tom Smallwood was the only player in the final four that did not earn a bye into the second round.

On February 6,2021, Tom Smallwood won the Central Region qualifier for the PBA Players Championship, earning a spot in the February 21 final round, which offered a PBA record-tying $250,000 first prize.

However, Tom Smallwood rolled an errant ninth frame shot that ultimately cost him the match.

However, by the end of the week, Tom Smallwood just missed making the televised finals, losing a roll-off to Francois Lavoie for the fifth and final seed to finish the tournament in sixth place.

Tom Smallwood has five PBA Regional Tour titles, and has rolled eleven perfect 300 games in PBA competition.

Tom Smallwood's father worked at General Motors, primarily at a Flint Chevrolet plant manufacturing V6 engines.

In 2020, Tom Smallwood became a pro staff member for MOTIV Bowling and later that year was named a MOTIV brand ambassador.