2026 Hall of Fame Inductee
MARK BAKER
Mark Baker was born in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. He moved from “The Volunteer State” to Southern California at an early age, but his legendary career in bowling could only be described as a lifetime of volunteer work for the game.
Baker has been involved in the sport for more than 50 years, starting as a youth kegler while living in Garden Grove, where he was also a standout basketball player. He was one of the original 43 bowlers elected to the Southern California Junior Bowling Hall of Fame.
Following his youth career, Mark moved on to the Pacific Coast Bowlers (PCB) Tour, where he won 14 titles. He is tied for the most all-time victories in that organization with this year’s fellow inductee, Jim Murtishaw.
Mark’s next move was to the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA), where he excelled with 4 PBA Tour titles and 6 PBA Regional titles from 1982 to 1991. He made many top-five televised appearances and was among the top 20 in tour winnings every year from 1983 to 1990.
In addition to Baker’s PBA Tour victories at the Miller High Life Classic (1984), King Louie Open (1986), Kessler Open (1987) and Oregon Open (1990), he won the coveted George Young High Average Award in 1985 while competing in PBA events.
During his time on the PBA Tour, Baker was a contributing writer for the Pacific Bowler, providing weekly content for the “Baker Speaks” column. His volunteer work with the newspaper no doubt led to Mark’s authoring a book titled “The Game Changer: A Simple System For Improving Your Bowling Scores,” which was released in 2012.
“I’ve been in this sport for many years – as a competitor, as a student of the game, and now as a coach,” said Baker. “Since 2011, I’ve coached full-time, working through more than 10,000 individual lessons with bowlers from every corner of the sport.”
Another aspect of Mark’s giving back volunteer spirit is “Camp Bakes,” a four day focused, hands-on clinic with some of the best coaches in the game. “I’ve worked with Tommy Jones, Mika Koivuniemi, Bill O’Neill and others to help their game,” said Mark. “My approach is always the same: I start with where you are, not where I think you should be.”
A humorous example of Mark’s theory came when he first met Wesley Low, a 10 year old weighing in at 60 pounds. Everyone was trying to change his game and get him to roll the ball with just one hand, including his parents.
“This kid shows up and they’re telling me he’s doing it all wrong,” remembers Mark. “I watched him, and after about 20 minutes I told his parents, I wouldn’t change anything!”
Please join us in welcoming Mark Baker to the California USBC Hall of Fame!
Award was presented at the CUSBC Awards Dinner on May 30, 2026 at the Staybridge Suites, Long Beach.