Troup was born on 18 January 1950 in
Edinburgh,
Scotland. At the age of 3, his family moved to the United States when his father began working at the
University of South Carolina. Troup began bowling in his youth and chose his nickname at the age of 11 after becoming a member of The Guppies, a South Carolina team of youth bowlers that he captained. He later said, "We won a state title and we set a state record for juniors back then and it just stuck. I don't know why. I just started telling everybody to start calling me Guppy." In 1979, Troup set a PBA Tour record with six
perfect 300 games. He was unhappy with his performance the following season and considered taking a break from the circuit, but continued playing and won a tournament in
Waukegan, Illinois and finished second in the Greater Buffalo Open in consecutive weeks. Early in 1981, Troup broke an ankle. Although the injury caused a significant reduction in his playing schedule, he managed to earn more than $23,000 that year. In 1982, Troup won the first event of the year in
Anaheim, California. The win was the first of three for Troup that year. The second came in July at the Molson Bowling Challenge in
Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Troup's first-place prize was $13,000, but he received only $11,050 because of a 15 percent tax on PBA Tour bowlers earning $5,000 or more in Canada; he said after the event that he was "ticked off". His third win in 1982 was in October's Northern Ohio Open, and his earnings for the season exceeded $80,000. Early in 1983, Troup earned a win at February's Quaker State Open in
Grand Prairie, Texas, the sixth PBA Tour tournament he had won in his career. He then entered a down period, not qualifying for a televised final for more than a year. That streak came to an end at the 1984
US Open. Troup defeated his first three opponents in the stepladder finals to reach the championship match against
Mark Roth, but lost by seven
pins as he was unable to roll a tenth-frame
strike which would have secured a title. He did win $20,000 for the second-place finish. Later in 1984, Troup had a four-tournament stretch that included three televised finals and a win in
Columbus, Ohio. He again earned more than $80,000 that season. Troup's eighth PBA Tour victory came in 1985 at the Austin Open. By the early 1990s, he had curtailed his playing schedule following the birth of his
son. Overall, Troup had 28 career top-five finishes, including ten trips to the championship match, where he compiled an 8–2 record. He is in semi-retirement as of 2014, and holds multiple jobs at a school when not on the PBA Senior Tour.
PBA Tour titles • 1978 Kessler Open (
Battle Creek, MI) • 1980 Waukegan Super Touch Open (
Waukegan, IL) • 1982 Miller High Life Classic (
Anaheim, CA) • 1982 Molson Bowling Challenge (
Windsor, ON,
Canada) • 1982 Northern Ohio Open (
Fairview Park, OH) • 1983 Quaker State Open (
Grand Prairie, TX) • 1984 Budweiser Classic (
Columbus, OH) • 1985 Austin Open (
Austin, TX) ==Style==