Nelson Burton Jr.
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Nelson "Bo" Burton, Jr. (born June 5, 1942 in St. Louis, Missouri) is a professional ten-pin bowler and former longtime analyst for the PBA Tour on ABC Television. Bo is the son of the legendary Nelson Burton, who himself was a successful bowler in his day, competing with the likes of St. Louis natives Glenn Allison and Billy Welu. Burton compiled 17 titles on the PBA Tour and has earned US$763,782.00 on tour. He won his first title in Louisville, Kentucky on August 20, 1964 at age 22. He was the 1970 PBA Player of the Year, leading the tour in average. Burton won major titles at the 1976 ABC Masters and the BPAA U.S. Open in 1978. Both Burton and his father are members of the USBC Hall of Fame. Burton Jr. is also a member of the PBA Hall of Fame.
In 1975, Burton became the color analyst on ABC's Saturday afternoon telecast, The Pro Bowlers Tour, working with veteran sportscaster Chris Schenkel. He replaced Billy Welu who passed away earlier that year. Burton spent nearly 23 years (1975 to 1997) with ABC. He also competed on the PBA Tour part-time, and would even make the TV finals on some occasions (his backup was usually Dick Weber.) He and Chris were still working together when ABC ceased production of the telecast in June 1997.
It is assumed that Burton's last national television commentary came in the 1998 Women's College Bowling National Championship. He and former NBC bowling announcer Jay Randolph called the action on ESPN2.
Burton has resided in South Florida with his family since 2001. He has not bowled regularly on the PBA Tour since 1986.
Burton has also been involved with the Generations Bowling Tour as both a competitor and color commentator on local telecasts of the tour's events.
See also: Strike-a-Thon
