Jimmie Allen is one of the fastest rising names in country music. His first two singles “Best Shot” and “Make Me Want To” from his 2018 debut album Mercury Lane both topped the Billboard Country Airplay charts. He earned the New Artist of the Year award at the 2021 Country Music Awards and New Male Artist of the Year award at the 2021 Academy of Country Music Awards, and was nominated for Best New Artist at this year’s GRAMMY Awards.
Over the past two years, Allen has expanded his ventures to the lanes. His obsession with bowling began in the early days of the pandemic. The Delaware native now lives near Nashville, where Mookie Betts and Cortland Finnegan introduced him to the sport. He’s been hooked ever since.
“I fell in love with the sport — how fun yet difficult it is; how challenging yet competitive it is,” Allen said. “The cool thing about bowling is you don’t have to be a certain height. You don’t have to be a certain age. You can pick it up at any age and get really good at it and can become a professional.”
Allen connected with the PBA thanks to a few fortuitous connections. Chuck Wicks, a country singer Allen grew up with, knew Ronnie Russell. Last March, Allen happened to be in Milwaukee during the World Series of Bowling, where Russell introduced him to Sean Rash.
“I asked him to just come hang out with us in Milwaukee,” Rash said. “I will never forget it, and history has put (the rest) together.”
“The growth is great, not really because of me but because of how receptive the whole bowling community has been,” Allen said. “Everyone from Tom Clark to Sean Rash, EJ Tackett, AJ Johnson and Ronnie Russell, they’ve been great welcoming me to the bowling community.”
Two years after picking up a ball and seven months after meeting the pros, Allen’s taking his obsession to the national stage: The Jimmie Allen PBA Challenge will air this Sunday, Oct. 16 on FOX.
The opening match will pit AJ Johnson and Terrell Owens, who won the PBA CP3 Celebrity Invitational last year, against Kyle Troup and Nelly. Rash and Allen will then take on Ronnie Russell and Hannibal Buress. Allen said Rash had “no other choice” than to be his partner.
“I’ve learned so much about the game from watching (Rash) and what he has told me,” Allen said. “In my first event, every event, he has no choice but to bowl with me. He’s stuck with me.”
After the semifinal matches, a…