Michael Todd Fagan (born November 4, 1980) is an American former professional bowler on the

PBA Tour The PBA Tour is the major professional tour for ten-pin bowling, operated by the Professional Bowlers Association. Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, over 3,000 members worldwide make up the PBA. While most of the PBA members are Regional profess ...

. He has also participated in World Bowling Tour (WBT) and European Bowling Tour (EBT) events, and as a member of Team USA in international competitions. Known for his high backswing, he was given the nickname "King of Swing". He has a high RPM rate, but also has a smooth release, so his style can be classified as either a cranker or a power stroker.

PBA career

Fagan began his PBA career in the 200203 season, and owns five PBA Tour titles, including two majors. He captured his first PBA title in his 108th career event, winning the PBA Exempt Doubles Classic with partner Danny Wiseman in the 200708 season. He earned his first singles title at the 2010 One-a-Day

Dick Weber Richard Anthony Weber (December 23, 1929 – February 14, 2005) was a ten-pin bowling professional and a founding member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA). Along with Don Carter, Weber is widely regarded as professional bowling's fi ...

Open, defeating all-time titles leader

Walter Ray Williams, Jr. Walter Ray Williams Jr. (born October 6, 1959) is an American professional bowler and competitive horseshoes pitcher. He currently holds the record for all-time standard PBA Tour career titles (47) and total PBA earnings (over $4.9 million throu ...

in the final match. Having lost to Chris Barnes in his first TV appearance at the semifinals of the 2003 Empire State Open in

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, Fagan won against Barnes in the 2012

USBC Masters The USBC Masters is a championship ten-pin bowling event conducted by the United States Bowling Congress. The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) began recognizing it as a title event in 1998, and it was designated one of the four majors in 200 ...

, overcoming a 30-pin deficit after five frames to win his third title and first major championship. Fagan narrowly missed winning a second consecutive major in that season's U.S. Open, when Pete Weber rolled a strike on his final ball of the tenth frame to defeat Fagan by a single pin, 215–214. His next victory came at the 2012 Brunswick Euro Challenge, a World Bowling Tour event, where he was credited with his fourth PBA Title. Marking his first (and so far only) season with multiple titles, Fagan won a career-high $116,950 in 201112. Fagan won his fifth career title and second major at the

PBA World Championship The PBA World Championship is one of five major PBA (Professional Bowlers Association) bowling events. It is one of three PBA Tour major events that are open only to PBA members. (The U.S. Open and USBC Masters allow qualifying amateurs to enter.) ...

on January 11, 2015, defeating

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in the final match, 252–212.

PBA Tour titles

Major championships are in bold text. # 2008 PBA Exempt Doubles Classic w/Danny Wiseman (

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) # 2010 One-A-Day Dick Weber Open (

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) # 2012 Alka-Seltzer Plus Liquid Gels USBC Masters ( Henderson, Nevada) # 2012 Brunswick Euro Challenge (

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) # 2015 PBA World Championship (Las Vegas, Nevada)

Other career highlights

* Prior to 2012, Fagan's best finish at a major was third place at the 2006 U.S. Open. He defeated 2000 U.S. Open champion Robert Smith, 216–214, in the first match of the finals (his first career televised victory) before losing to eventual champion Tommy Jones. * Had a career-high four perfect 300 games during the 2007–08 season, tied for second on Tour. Through the 2016 season, he had accumulated 21 perfect games in PBA events. * His career PBA Tour earnings are over $892,000 (through 2016). He also owns two PBA Regional titles. * Was the victim of Liz Johnson in the finals of the 2005 East Region Kingpin Lanes tournament, the first PBA tournament ever won by a female bowler. * Lost with an 8-pin count to Jack Jurek's strike in a sudden death rolloff after tying the game at 218 in the 2009 Shark Championship, giving Jurek his first title in 14 years. * Has won five European Bowling Tour (EBT) titles as of April 30, 2012. * He is a five-time member of Team USA (2010–11, 2013–15) Note Emily is listed as "Emily Maier" * Fagan has also served as PBA Player Committee Chairman and was on the USBC Board of Directors.

Personal life

Originally from Patchogue, New York, Fagan now resides in

with his wife, Emily, who bowled collegiately for

Wichita State University Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

and also for Team USA 2010. The two were married in 2013. Mike, who got his undergraduate degree in Finance at St. John's University, announced during the 2015 season that he would be reducing his appearances on the PBA Tour to pursue his

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

. He only entered three PBA Tour events in the 2016 season and did not make an appearance in the 2017 season. By 2020, he had become Director of Business Development for a company that owns bowling centers in Minnesota.

References

External links

Michael Fagan official website

Michael Fagan
bio on PBA.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Fagan, Michael 1980 births Living people American ten-pin bowling players People from Patchogue, New York People from Westbury, New York Competitors at the 2013 World Games World Games gold medalists World Games medalists in bowling