Eddie Elias 1998 Deaths

Eddie Elias

sports television pioneer and later a celebrity agent who established the Professional Bowlers Tour in 1958; helped turn bowling from a recreational sport to television's second-longest-running professional sport behind college football; was the first to organize corporate sponsorship of a nationally televised sporting event when he established the Firestone Tournament of Champions in 1958; founded Eddie Elias Enterprises, Inc., a sports marketing firm which represents the pro golf tours and several celebrities; member of both the ABC and PBA Halls of Fame; in 1997 the PBA named the Ambassador of Bowling Award after him; of complications associated with pneumonia