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The Success and The Failures of Lefthanders in Sports


All-Time Best Lefthanded Women Bowlers

Patty Costello was one of the best women bowlers of the 1970’s and 1980’s.  She earned 25 wins in her pro career, including 4 times at the Players Championship Tournament and 3 at the US Women’s Open.  In 1976 she won both those events, along with 5 others (which set a record at that time, and earned her 2nd BWAA Female Bowler of the Year.  Costello was inducted into the WIBC Hall of Fame in 1989, and was a charter inductee in the PWBA Hall of Fame in 1995.

Dorothy Fothergill earned her first professional win in 1967, and with 3 wins in 1968 and 2 more in 1969 she earned Bowler of the Year both years.  She won a total of 12 professional titles, including back-to-back USBC Queens tournament titles in 1972 and 1973. Fothergill competed favorably against the top men’s bowlers in exhibition play.  She was inducted into the WIBC Hall of Fame in 1980, and she was a charter inductee in the PWBA Hall of Fame in 1995.

Paula Sperber-Carter bowled under the name of Paula Sperber when she won the US Women’s Open and was named the 1971 Bowler of the Year.  She won the US Open for the 2nd time in 1975.  She later met men’s bowling great Don Carter in 1973 and married him in 1976.  For many years afterward, she promoted women’s bowling and women’s sports, and helped Carter run a chain of bowling centers bearing his name.  She was inducted into the WIBC Hall of Fame.

Alita Sill won 31 professional bowling titles from 1981-2000, including 6 major titles.  She was PWBA Player of the Year in 1984, and she had 31 perfect games to her credit.  She was leading money winner on the tour 6 times, and the first women bowler to reach one-million-dollars in career earnings.  She was inducted into both the USBC Hall of Fame and the PWBA Hall of Fame in 1996.

Dana Miller-Mackie earned six professional wins in the early 1980’s (as Dana Miller), and then earned ten more in the 1990’s (as Dana Miller-Mackie).  Included in those sixteen wins are two victories at the US Women’s Open in 1983 and 1990.  She made a smooth transition to playing in seniors tournaments.  She was inducted into the PWBA Hall of Fame in 2002.

Cara Honeychurch had starred in her native Australia and at the 1998 Commonwealth Games before taking her talents to the United States and the PWBA Tour.  She won a total of 8 tournaments from 1999 to 2002, (1 in 1999, 2 in 2000, 4 in 2001, and 1 on 2002), and was considered one of the top performers on the tour before they ceased operations during the 2003 season. 

Tish Johnson earned 25 PWBA titles (including 4 majors) from 1989 through 2002.  She was the PWBA Player of the Year in 1992 and 1995, and she was inducted into the PWBA Hall of Fame in 1998.  She is tied for 4th all-time in PWBA titles and has more than one-million dollars in career earnings.  She has remained active in Seniors Tour and she was the 2018 USBC Queens Champion.

Shannon Pluhowsky earned a PWBA Major Title at the 2006 USBC Queens Championship, and has 3 other professional titles to her credit.  She has been on the US National Team and has won countless gold, silver and bronze medals at events around the world.  Shannon rejoined the PWBA when it re-formed in 2015 and she remains a regular performer on the tour.

​Cherie Tan earned her first PWBA Career win in 2016, added her second win in 2019, and now has a total of five after winning once in 2022, 2023, and 2024.  Her 2019 win was a major at the PWBA Players Championship.  She also has wins in many international competitions including a gold medal at the 2019 World Bowling Womens's Championship.