History
In 1922, at a time when most bowling tournaments were decided by total pinfall, Louis B. Petersen of Chicago established the first major match-play tournament. Two Petersen tournaments were held in 1929.
The Bowling Proprietors Association of America took the tournament over in 1933. Another match-play tournament, the All-Star, was sponsored by the Chicago Tribune in 1941. Two years later, the BPAA also took control of that event and merged it with the Petersen tournament.
The BPAA All-Star, as the merged tournament was known, became the BPAA Open in 1971.
During the 2002-2003 season, the event was moved from December to January, so there was no tournament in 2002.