Class of 2025 inducted into PWBA Hall of Fame
May 14, 2025
LAS VEGAS – Two members of the Professional Women’s Bowling Association Hall of Fame Class of 2025 were celebrated during their induction ceremony Wednesday evening at the Suncoast Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
Marianne DiRupo of Matthews, North Carolina, and Liz Johnson of Niagara Falls, New York, were elected to the PWBA Hall of Fame in the Performance category, with both in attendance at Wednesday night’s ceremony.
DiRupo was the 1992 PWBA Rookie of the Year and earned her first of eight titles at the 1993 Ebonite Three Rivers Open.
“When I won my first title, I was very fortunate to have my mom, her best friend and my family there,” said DiRupo. “I’m not even sure I could describe it with words. It was also the same day that I was given the Rookie of the Year award. I don’t think I could ask for anything more.”
DiRupo would go on to win three majors in her career, the 1997 Hammer Players Championship, the 2002 Miller High Life National Players Championship and the 2004 USBC Queens.
“Winning those two Players Championships will always go down as a soft spot in my heart,” DiRupo said.
During her 2004 Queens title run, DiRupo had to overcome adversity as her mother went in for neck surgery in the middle of the event; nevertheless, DiRupo persevered and found her way to the winner’s circle, after which she dedicated the win to her mom.
“I think that all professional athletes have adversity,” said DiRupo. “It’s the ones that learn how to control it, battle it and overcome it are the ones that succeed. To win a major title that I’ve always wanted to win (like that), it’s something you can’t put into words.”
DiRupo continues to be involved in the sport by coaching others who aspire to be like her.
Johnson is arguably the greatest women’s bowler to grace the sport, but legendary status was never the goal even as she amassed 25 titles, including 10 majors. Johnson just wanted to make some cuts.
“I didn’t really have any expectations as far as titles,” said Johnson, who cashed in her first PWBA event at the age of 19; however, due to the rules at the time, which stated that Team USA members could not bowl professionally, Johnson, who made Team USA not long after, was not able to compete on tour.
But she made up for lost time after leaving Team USA a few years later, making the TV telecast at her first tournament as a professional, setting the stage for the rest of her career.
Johnson won her first title at the 1996 Ladies & Legends event with Mike Kench before making the TV show at the 1996 U.S. Women’s Open as the No. 4 seed and running the ladder to win the first of her six U.S. Women’s Open titles, coincidently, against DiRupo.
“That was an awesome moment for me, and I felt like I belonged at that point,” said Johnson.
She continued winning, earning nine more titles before the tour went doormat in 2003, taking away the prime of her career.
“It was heartbreaking,” said Johnson, who went to work at a friend’s pro shop while the tour was away. “I thought it was going to come the following years, and it never did. We still had the Queens every year, but it was one big question mark.”
With no PWBA Tour, Johnson competed on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour, becoming the first woman to make a PBA Tour telecast and win a match. When the PWBA Tour relaunched in 2015, Johnson captured that year’s Queens, U.S. Women’s Open and PWBA Detroit Open titles en route to her first PWBA Player of the Year award.
“In the back of my mind, I never imagined winning the Player of the Year award; it was a dream of mine,” said Johnson, who won two more POYs in 2016 and 2017. She won her 25th and most recent title in 2021, which tied her for fourth all time with Patty Costello and Tish Johnson.
“It was almost surreal because I grew up watching those ladies,” Johnson said. “I remember as a teenager wanting to (get to that point), but I never thought I would be in the same category as them.
“I feel like not having a tour for those 12 years made me appreciate what I have now, and the last 10 years of being able to bowl on the ladies tour gave me a new appreciation of the sport.”
Through 2025, there are 51 members of the PWBA Hall of Fame – 31 in Performance, 10 in Pioneer, nine in Meritorious Service/Builder and one in Ambassador.
Marianne DiRupo of Matthews, North Carolina, and Liz Johnson of Niagara Falls, New York, were elected to the PWBA Hall of Fame in the Performance category, with both in attendance at Wednesday night’s ceremony.
DiRupo was the 1992 PWBA Rookie of the Year and earned her first of eight titles at the 1993 Ebonite Three Rivers Open.
“When I won my first title, I was very fortunate to have my mom, her best friend and my family there,” said DiRupo. “I’m not even sure I could describe it with words. It was also the same day that I was given the Rookie of the Year award. I don’t think I could ask for anything more.”
DiRupo would go on to win three majors in her career, the 1997 Hammer Players Championship, the 2002 Miller High Life National Players Championship and the 2004 USBC Queens.
“Winning those two Players Championships will always go down as a soft spot in my heart,” DiRupo said.
During her 2004 Queens title run, DiRupo had to overcome adversity as her mother went in for neck surgery in the middle of the event; nevertheless, DiRupo persevered and found her way to the winner’s circle, after which she dedicated the win to her mom.
“I think that all professional athletes have adversity,” said DiRupo. “It’s the ones that learn how to control it, battle it and overcome it are the ones that succeed. To win a major title that I’ve always wanted to win (like that), it’s something you can’t put into words.”
DiRupo continues to be involved in the sport by coaching others who aspire to be like her.
Johnson is arguably the greatest women’s bowler to grace the sport, but legendary status was never the goal even as she amassed 25 titles, including 10 majors. Johnson just wanted to make some cuts.
“I didn’t really have any expectations as far as titles,” said Johnson, who cashed in her first PWBA event at the age of 19; however, due to the rules at the time, which stated that Team USA members could not bowl professionally, Johnson, who made Team USA not long after, was not able to compete on tour.
But she made up for lost time after leaving Team USA a few years later, making the TV telecast at her first tournament as a professional, setting the stage for the rest of her career.
Johnson won her first title at the 1996 Ladies & Legends event with Mike Kench before making the TV show at the 1996 U.S. Women’s Open as the No. 4 seed and running the ladder to win the first of her six U.S. Women’s Open titles, coincidently, against DiRupo.
“That was an awesome moment for me, and I felt like I belonged at that point,” said Johnson.
She continued winning, earning nine more titles before the tour went doormat in 2003, taking away the prime of her career.
“It was heartbreaking,” said Johnson, who went to work at a friend’s pro shop while the tour was away. “I thought it was going to come the following years, and it never did. We still had the Queens every year, but it was one big question mark.”
With no PWBA Tour, Johnson competed on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour, becoming the first woman to make a PBA Tour telecast and win a match. When the PWBA Tour relaunched in 2015, Johnson captured that year’s Queens, U.S. Women’s Open and PWBA Detroit Open titles en route to her first PWBA Player of the Year award.
“In the back of my mind, I never imagined winning the Player of the Year award; it was a dream of mine,” said Johnson, who won two more POYs in 2016 and 2017. She won her 25th and most recent title in 2021, which tied her for fourth all time with Patty Costello and Tish Johnson.
“It was almost surreal because I grew up watching those ladies,” Johnson said. “I remember as a teenager wanting to (get to that point), but I never thought I would be in the same category as them.
“I feel like not having a tour for those 12 years made me appreciate what I have now, and the last 10 years of being able to bowl on the ladies tour gave me a new appreciation of the sport.”
Through 2025, there are 51 members of the PWBA Hall of Fame – 31 in Performance, 10 in Pioneer, nine in Meritorious Service/Builder and one in Ambassador.