Pete Couture, USBC and PBA Hall of Famer, dies at 73

ARLINGTON, Texas - Pete Couture of Cocoa, Florida, a United States Bowling Congress and Professional Bowlers Association Hall of Famer, died Saturday at his home. He was 73.

Couture enjoyed a long and successful career on the PBA Tour, where he won five titles, but he truly excelled as a senior competitor, including a pair of wins at the USBC Senior Masters in 1998 and 2002, making him one of seven two-time winners at the premier tournament for USBC members age 50 and older.

The right-hander's PBA50 resume includes nine titles, the last of which came in 2002, PBA50 Rookie of the Year honors in 1995 and a PBA50 Player of the Year Award in 1998.

His longevity and success on the lanes, including third- and sixth-place finishes at the USBC Masters in 1986 and 1980, respectively, and a 29-year career at the USBC Open Championships, where he averaged more than 202 for 269 games, earned Couture election to the USBC Hall of Fame in 2004 and the PBA Hall of Fame in 2016.

Couture developed his skills at the local and state level in his native New England, winning more than 20 state and local association titles in Maine and Connecticut, before moving to Florida in the 1990s.

His early success earned him spots in the Greater Central Connecticut Bowling Association and Connecticut State USBC Association Halls of Fame in 1993.

He was elected to the Florida Space Coast Bowling Association Hall of Fame in 2015, and earlier this year, he returned to Maine, where he grew up, for his induction into the Auburn-Lewiston Sports Hall of Fame.

Information about services for Couture is not yet available.