Bill Hoffman (born 1971), also widely referred to as ''The Joker'', of
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...
, United States, is a
Ten-pin bowler.
Hoffman, 29, finished 17th in his
Bowling World Cup debut in
Lisbon
Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
,
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
, in 200
Hoffman qualified for his second
Bowling World Cup in 2003 in
Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa ( )—formally Tegucigalpa, Municipality of the Central District ( or ''Tegucigalpa, M.D.C.''), and colloquially referred to as ''Tegus'' or ''Teguz''—is the capital and largest city of Honduras along with its sister city, Comaya ...
,
Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...
, where he rolled the only
300
__NOTOC__
Year 300 ( CCC) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Valerius (or, less frequently, year 1053 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 300 ...
in the tournament on his way to earning the top seed for the knockout elimination rounds. He eventually was eliminated in the semifinal
Hoffman won the 2007
Bowling World Cup on his third try. Held in
St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...
, Russia, Hoffman never was out of the top 5 throughout qualifying, eventually qualifying as the second seed for the stepladder finals. He went on to defeat Andres Gomez (2-0) and Jason Belmonte (2-1) to win the title. With his victory, he ended a 12-year winless streak of U.S. men in the
Bowling World Cup He is a graduate of
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...
, where he majored in
international relations
International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...
and
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
. He has rolled several 300 games and has a personal-best mark of 857 for three games. Hoffman is averaging 225 in league and tournament play.
Bill Hoffman is a five time World-Champion, and has been inducted into the
International Bowling Hall of Fame.
1971 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Columbus, Ohio
American ten-pin bowling players
Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences alumni
Bowlers at the 2003 Pan American Games
Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games
Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in bowling
Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in bowling
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