Mike Scroggins, Steve Hoskins, Bryan Goebel, l-r.

CHICAGO (Dec. 9, 2016) – Bryan Goebel of Shawnee, Kan.; Steve Hoskins of Tarpon Springs, Fla., and Mike Scroggins of Amarillo, Texas, have been elected to the Professional Bowlers Association Hall of Fame for superior performance. They will be inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame, along with meritorious service honoree and former PBA Commissioner Mark Gerberich, during ceremonies on Monday, Feb., 13, at the Grand Casino Hotel & Resort in Shawnee, Okla.

Goebel is a 10-time PBA Tour champion who won his lone major in the Brunswick World Tournament of Champions in Overland Park, Kan., in 1998. Hoskins, PBA’s 1989 Rookie of the Year, also won 10 times including Bayer/Brunswick Touring Players Championships in 1997 and 1999. Scroggins won eight times, including majors in the 2005 Miller High Life USBC Masters in Milwaukee and the 2009 Lumber Liquidators U.S. Open in North Brunswick, N.J.

“I’m fairly stunned and a little overjoyed,” Goebel said. “I’ve been on the ballot for a long time so I’m really thrilled. Those two guys belong, too. It’s great, it’s really nice … and I’m happy for those two guys, too.”

Goebel said when he started his career, he never dreamed of reaching the hall of fame.

“Most of the time I just wanted to get out there and bowl against those great bowlers,” he said. “But when you win a couple of times, you start to think, man, wouldn’t it be great? But I honestly never thought I’d win two titles, let alone 10. I was bowling against Walter (Ray Williams Jr.) and Pete (Weber) and those guys, and they’re so awesome.”

Hoskins retired from PBA Tour competition shortly after winning the 2000 Lone Star Open in Pasadena, Texas, and said he’s never looked back.

“That was a nice phone call (from PBA CEO and Commissioner Tom Clark),”  Hoskins said. “It’s been an odd scenario, but it was a matter of being patient.

“I’d be remiss if I said I didn’t think about (getting into the hall of fame),” he added. “When you’re in your teens, you think about it, but you never believe it’ll happen until you get out there and find out. It’s a constant test of your ability. When you get there, it’s incredibly satisfying but humbling at the same time.

“Looking back, it was quite an interesting career; I actually quit at a fairly young age, but it was a personal choice and I don’t regret it one bit,” Hoskins said. He currently owns a car lot and works for a sub-prime auto lender, a field he entered right after retirement.

“After I retired, I bowled for years with my father, but when he had to quit due to arthritis, I gave it up, too,” he said. “Now I play softball and golf, but every now and then, I do get the itch to go bowling.”

Scroggins, like his fellow electees, was more than a little surprised.

“I can’t believe it,” he said. “It’s something you always wish for, but then you don’t believe it’ll happen. It’s what you dream about when you’re a kid. You want to win a PBA title, and then you say, you want to be in the PBA HOF. Now it’s true and it’s unbelievable.

“I’m just so honored to be in with the people who are in the HOF now,” he added. “As you get older, your body kinda doesn’t let you do the things you want to do, but I’m going to keep going as long as I’m able to be competitive.”

Additional information regarding the hall of fame and PBA awards dinner will be announced soon.