Senior leagues make name of themselves

Last week I spoke with Terry Henke at Boulevard Lanes about their senior leagues.

He was telling me they have three leagues and Lucille Drake serves as secretary for each one of them. Henke added that even though Drake is the secretary, he does all the work and she takes all the credit. I kind of felt sorry for him. The two leagues featured this week are the Monday League and Wednesday League. I believe Henke gets the credit for naming them.

The first league he named the Monday Seniors and the other was the Wednesday Seniors. I heard it only took him two weeks to come up with the league names.

The Monday Seniors, whose average age is 75.5, is a five-team league that bowls 35 weeks. The winners of each half will meet at the end of the season to determine the champion. Going into league play last week, the Strikers were leading the first half with a 19-5 record. The members are Dan Hook, Bernie Moran, Glenna Hawk and Don Struebing. High game and series for the men was held by Struebing with a 213 and 599. While Margarett Briggs has the top scores for the ladies with a 203 game and a 517 series.

During league play last week, Tommie Williams led the way with a 225 game and a 589 series. His game is now a season high for the men. The ladies top game of 171 was shot by Shirley Henke, while high series of 471 was rolled by Hawk. Other notable performances were by Shirley Mueller, whose average is 121, had a 163 game and a 432 series. Hook shot 68 pins over his series average with a 482. Rollo DeBower’s 203 game was 38 pins over average, while Dorothy Nitsch was 37 pins over her 120 average.

Our second featured league is the Wednesday Seniors, whose average age is 75.6. The six-team league bowls 35 weeks, with the winners of each half bowling in the finals. The top team this season is the Pepsi’s with a 20-8 record. They only have three regulars that bowl each week, they are Dave Hanis, Larry Holmes and Carol Holmes. The Pepsi’s have high game and series with scores of 779 and 1,952. Tom Hastings has both top scores for the men with a 236 and 592. The women are led by Shirley Henke with a 198 game and 506 series.

During league play last week, Holmes set a new high series for the men with a 602 with a 224 game. Henke led the ladies with a 168 and 487. Others that bowled well by both shooting 88 pins over their series average was Bill Haney’s 405 and Hanis’ 559. But not to be outdone was Drake, who averages 125, shot a 476 series. That’s 101 pins over average. Bud Went, who averages 121, fired a 144 game. That may not seem like much, but at 93 years young, I think that is great. Nice bowling to all our seniors.

The bowlers of the week from Boulevard once again goes to someone from a featured league. Larry Holmes gets the nod for the seniors this week. Jodie Trofholz’s 608 series with a nice 235 game helps her get the honor this week. We find co-bowlers of the week for the men, Randy Rohlfing and Brady Hoefer each rolled a 769 series. High games of the week for the ladies was a 247 by Chere Moon. The men saw another 300 shot, this time by Shawn Riedmiller, number four of his career. Now for the “oh by the way” category, Dave Neemeyer left the 5-7-10 split last week.

Westbrook also saw their share of some fine bowling the past week. There was a full moon over the ladies last week, as Moon had both honors with high game and series by rolling a 266 and 682. The seniors saw Ray Micek at it again with a 781 series and a 279 game.

For the men, Terry Henke reclaimed the title as the best lefty in town by throwing his 12th 300 game. I was told he did this with a new hook in the box. High series for the men was a 760 by Mike Anderson. It is good thing he is young, because that score wouldn’t have made it in the senior leagues. Also, Fran Morrison, who carries a 119 average, shot a 233 game, very nice bowling.

Until next week, I want to thank Rick Hanus, who stepped down last week, for his past twenty years of serving our local association. The first eight years as a member of the Board of Directors, serving as President six of those years. The last 12 years, he was our association manager. If anyone is interested in the position, contact Randy Cline.

Chuck McCarthy is a bowler whose column on city bowling will appear on Tuesdays during the winter bowling season.

Bowlers of the Week

Boulevard Lanes

Brady Hoefer 280-769

Randy Rolfing 276-769

Jodie Trofholz 235-608

Larry Holmes 224-602

Westbrook Lanes

Terry Henke 300-702

Chere Moon 266-682

Ray Micek 279-781