Boresch, McCordic, Borden Elected to PBA Hall of Fame

Lennie Boresch Jr., Pete McCordic and Fred Borden will make up the PBA Hall of Fame Class of 2023. Boresch will enter in the superior performance category for his PBA50 career and McCordic and Borden will both enter for meritorious service.

The PBA Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held March 12, 2023 in Fairlawn, Ohio prior to the PBA Tournament of Champions.

The induction ceremony will be livestreamed for free on BowlTV.

Lennie Boresch Jr.

Boresch, of Kenosha, Wis., won the 2022 Senior U.S. Open in June for his fifth PBA50 title and second major, making him eligible for PBA Hall of Fame consideration. At his first opportunity of eligibility, he was elected and will enter the PBA Hall of Fame in 2023. He’s already a member of the USBC Hall of Fame, having been inducted in 2012.

PBA Tour commissioner Tom Clark broke the news to Boresch prior to the Friday-morning league at Castle Lanes in Racine, Wisconsin, where Boresch owns Bowler’s Choice Pro Shop. Clark addressed the league—a league Boresch created—under the guise of relaying information on the new PBA LBC National Championships tournament, then surprised everyone by announcing Boresch’s upcoming induction into the Hall of Fame.

“It was a total shock,” said Boresch. “I saw Tom earlier and he told me he was making the rounds to talk about the tournament, and then when he said I was going into the Hall of Fame, I was caught way off guard. I met the criteria for consideration this year but I don’t know how that all plays out. I thought maybe some day, but not this quickly.”

In addition to Boresch’s five PBA50 titles, he has eight second-place finishes and also owns 33 PBA Regional Tour titles (25 standard and eight PBA50).

“I was always a late bloomer,” said Boresch. “I joined the PBA when I was 19 and didn’t win my first regional until I was 32. I never gave up and then all of a sudden I’ve put together a little success these last several years. It’s still kind of surreal to me.”

“Lennie is a great example of a bowler who extends his bowling career with the PBA50 Tour,” said Clark. “He joined the Tour, went full-bore into it, won some big titles against some of the best ever to play, and now he gets into the Hall of Fame. It’s inspirational for a lot of people.”

“It really hasn’t sunk in yet,” said Boresch. “I look around at all the Hall of Famers out there and it’s the guys I watch on TV, and now I’m one of them? Going into the Hall of Fame was a goal of mine. I’ve been very blessed in my career.”

Pete McCordic

Long-time Southwest Region manager McCordic, of Katy, Texas, retired in 2022 after 25 years running the region. Overwhelmingly respected by the players for his excellence, consistency and fairness, McCordic will enter the PBA Hall of Fame for his meritorious service to the game.

“Having bowled on Tour for about 18 years, I know what it’s like trying to make a living competing,” said McCordic. “I did the best I could to give the bowlers chasing that dream a great experience in every tournament.”

“The PBA has been blessed with great regional managers,” said Clark. “They keep the PBA together by running a regional system that is the backbone of the PBA. They understand tournament bowling and how to create a consistent, fair environment for the players. Pete McCordic was all those things and he was also a great player.”

Prior to devoting his time to amplifying the regional program, McCordic was a touring pro, winning two PBA Tour titles and bowling a perfect game in the 1987 Greater Los Angeles Open. It was the fourth televised 300 game in PBA history and first in 13 years. In 2018, during the PBA’s 60th anniversary season, McCordic’s perfect game was designated the fourth-most memorable moment in PBA history.

“He sacrificed his own playing career to take on the Southwest Region and give opportunities for so many players to compete,” said Clark. “Pete’s going into the Hall of Fame for meritorious service, and his unforgettable performance on the lanes is the cherry on top.”

“I was literally speechless when Tom told me,” said McCordic. “I loved my job. I was blessed to be able to be around great bowlers 25 weekends a year, if not more. I got to see Chris Barnes and Wes Malott win their first titles and it was a joy to watch those players and so many other greats. I have no complaints or regrets. It was a great way to spend my adult life and it’s a tremendous honor to be inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame.”

Fred Borden

Coach, teacher, proprietor and author Fred Borden’s impact on the PBA began at the very beginning. When Eddie Elias announced the formation of the PBA in 1958, 17-year-old Borden, like Elias a resident of Akron, Ohio, fast-tracked his devotion to bowling.

“When I was 15, I made up my mind I was going to own a bowling center or two,” said Borden, “but I knew I wasn’t going to bowl professionally. Our junior coach had us older kids coach the younger kids, and one of the kids I coached bowled a 300 game. I always respected my coaches and I realized there was a lot to coaching beyond just the Xs and Os. Then when Eddie announced the PBA, I got really serious about bowling. I never expected it would lead to this. I’m really taken aback by this honor.”

Borden, studied biomechanics, sports psychology, physiology and began coaching women’s learn-to-bowl schools that had 600 women taking lessons at the same time.

“Harry Smith started telling people I’ve been coaching,” said Borden, “and up comes Don Johnson. He hadn’t won yet but he was a very coachable person. He would try anything, saying, ‘Bords, that’s so clever, I’ve never heard of that.’ Then he started telling a lot of players. George Pappas, Johnny Petraglia, Barry Asher—they all started showing up. They became friends, not students. My wife would make spaghetti and they’d stay at the house and show up and bowl.”

Borden continued coaching the top players and honing his own coaching skills, eventually famously working with eight-time PBA Tour champion John Mazza. “I told him, Johnny, I want you to think of yourself as world class every time you go out there. To this day, he calls me World Class. The relationships I’ve developed in this game are so special to me.”

“Fred’s credentials are amazing,” said Clark. “The work he did with the PBA and its players since the sixties is unmatched. The art of coaching is something Fred mastered and the PBA is proud to recognize that skill and how important and influential it is on the game and the players.”

Borden, a member of the USBC Hall of Fame since 2002, owns five patents in the world of bowling and is a former head coach of Team USA. Borden was instrumental in creating the USBC Bowling Coaches Certification Program and spent time as the color analyst with the PWBA among many other roles in the industry.

“Bowling is a sport that’s good for everybody,” said Borden. “This is the biggest thrill of my life. I didn’t do these things for the accolades so I just need to know how blessed I am to be appreciated. I didn’t do this by myself by any means.”