Patty Costello (May 8, 1947,

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

– April 16, 2009,

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U ...

) was an American left-handed professional ten-pin bowler and former member of the

Professional Women's Bowling Association The Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA) organizes and oversees a series of annual tournaments for the top competitive women ten-pin bowlers. The series is often referred to as the "women's tour" of bowling. The PWBA was formed in 1960 ...

(PWBA). She was one of the best female bowlers of the 1970s and 1980s. Born to William Joseph and Marjorie Moran Costello in

, Costello did not begin bowling until the age of 16, but she quickly made a name for herself in the sport, winning the Columbia 300 Open in 1970. Over her bowling career, she earned 25 professional titles, including seven major championships. Her majors include four titles in the

PWBA Players Championship The PWBA Players Championship is one of the four major tournaments on the Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA) Tour. Unlike the U.S. Women's Open (bowling), U.S. Women’s Open and USBC Queens, which allow qualifying amateurs to participa ...

(1971, 1972, 1974, 1976) and one victory at the

U.S. Women's Open The U.S. Women's Open, one of 15 national golf championships conducted by the United States Golf Association (USGA), is the oldest of the LPGA Tour's five major championships, which includes the Chevron Championship, Women's PGA Championship, W ...

(1976). In 1976, she won seven events, setting a record for most titles earned in a year. (The record was tied by

Carolyn Dorin-Ballard Carolyn Dorin-Ballard (born 1964, Linden, New Jersey) is one of the top female Ten-pin bowling, ten-pin bowlers in the world. She is a member of the Professional Women's Bowling Association (1990–2003 and 2015–present) and has bowled in Profess ...

in 2001, although Dorin-Ballard competed in eight more events.) Costello was named Female Bowler of the Year by the Bowling Writer's Association of America in 1972 and 1976.Charlene Agne-Traub, ''Biographical Dictionary of American Sports: 1992-1995 Supplement for Baseball, Football, Basketball, and Other Sports''. Edited by David L. Porter. Greenwood Press, 1995. pp. 312-313. Costello's career suffered a setback in 1977, when her father suddenly died of a heart attack while watching her provide commentary for a bowling telecast. Afterwards, she experienced depression and anxiety attacks for several years. She told ''

Bowling Digest ''Bowling Digest'' was a Ten-pin bowling magazine. It was published from 1983 to 2005. Jeri Edwards was the editor of the magazine between 1993 and 2000. The magazine published four times per year. The publisher was the Century Publishing Co. The h ...

'' in 2002, "I was so ultrasensitive to everything around me that I could feel the hair on my arms standing straight up, and no one could comprehend that. I would go to doctors and tell them my symptoms, and they'd look at me like I was ready for the psych ward. It was an awful, lonely place to be." However, Costello recovered and won three titles between 1979 and 1981, including capturing her third U.S. Women's Open crown in 1980. At the time, she was one of only two bowlers (

Marion Ladewig Marion Ladewig (née Van Oosten; October 30, 1914 – April 16, 2010) was an American ten-pin bowler. She was named Female Bowler of the Year by the Bowling Writers Association of America a record nine times between 1950 and 1963 (1950&ndas ...

being the other) to win the U.S. Open at least three times.

Kelly Kulick Kelly Kulick (born March 16, 1977) is an American professional bowler and sportscaster. She has won ten professional women's bowling titles (six of them majors), one PBA Tour title (a major) and a professional mixed doubles title. Kulick is the ...

and Liz Johnson have since joined that exclusive group. Patty won three more championships in 1985, and was named Player of the Year by her fellow bowlers.Lydia Rypcinski.
"Playing it where it happens to lie: learning to smile and mellow out along the way, Patty Costello has taken on whatever challenges—and insults—life has thrown her"
''Bowling Digest''. April 2002. Retrieved on August 27, 2008. In 1989, Costello was inducted into the Women's International Bowling Congress (WIBC) Hall of Fame (now known as the USBC Hall of Fame).1989 Hall of Fame Inductees
WIBC History Hub. September 2003. Retrieved on September 1, 2008. Costello retired from bowling and began a career with the Community Medical Center in

, where she was a transport driver. "Bowling was my job then; this is my job now. In both cases, I've always been happy to meet people, talk to them, and get them feeling good to be around me", she told ''Bowling Digest''. Costello died of pancreatic cancer, aged 61, at the VNA Hospice, Scranton, Pennsylvania, on April 16, 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Costello, Patty 1947 births 2009 deaths Sportspeople from Scranton, Pennsylvania American ten-pin bowling players Deaths from pancreatic cancer Deaths from cancer in Pennsylvania