LaVerne Carter (née Thompson; July 30, 1925 – March 8, 2012), was an American professional bowler.
Born in Brentwood, Missouri as Laverne Thompson, Carter moved to Tucson as a teenager, and ultimately to Los Angeles, where she acquired the nickname "The Blonde Bombshell" for her beauty and feisty antics on the lanes.
[1] Carter won several singles, doubles, and team tournaments between 1951 and 1974 for the various bowling organizations that existed then.
Along with then-husband Don Carter, she was one of the founding members of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) in 1958, for which she was given the informal title of "The First Lady of the PBA", and she was one of the founding members of the Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA) in 1960.
[citation needed] The Bowling Writers Association of America named her Bowler of the Year in 1964.