Bowl America

There's been plenty of talk lately about the No. 4 pins at Bowl America Glen Burnie. Is there a mysterious force at work here at the Anne Arundel County center? Is the 4 pin actually nailed to the floor?If everything is normal, how do you explain what's happened this summer in the Thursday Scratch Trio league."Well, it's a good league," manager Chuck Kelly said. "The prize is high and in a short while the league grew from eight teams to thirty. One of the things that made it grow is the fact that if a bowler throws a perfect game he gets a check for $1,000."

Another of the Baltimore area's longstanding duckpin and tenpin bowling alleys is closing its doors. After 40 years of operation, Bowl America Inc. will close its lanes at 11973 Reisterstown Road on Sunday. The bowling alley is the second with duckpin lanes - a Baltimore tradition in which players use 5-inch balls to knock down short, squat pins - to close in the metropolitan area in less than a year. Last fall, Southway Bowling Center in South Baltimore closed to make way for upscale apartments.

On Nov. 3, Ryan Anderson celebrated his 11th birthday; less than two months later he threw the highest game of his short career.Ryan, a Corkran Middle School sixth-grader, lives in Glen Burnie and bowls in the YABA on Saturday mornings at Greenway Bowl Odenton.Throwing a 12 1/2 -pound Power Torq or Pro Rhino, Ryan has steadily increased his average."He's up several pins over last season," his father, Ron, said. "This year he's close to 170."Ryan is no stranger to high scores. On Oct. 31 he fired a 548 series to take first place in the first PCA Singles tournament at Annapolis Bowl.

There's been plenty of talk lately about the No. 4 pins at Bowl America Glen Burnie. Is there a mysterious force at work here at the Anne Arundel County center? Is the 4 pin actually nailed to the floor?If everything is normal, how do you explain what's happened this summer in the Thursday Scratch Trio league."Well, it's a good league," manager Chuck Kelly said. "The prize is high and in a short while the league grew from eight teams to thirty. One of the things that made it grow is the fact that if a bowler throws a perfect game he gets a check for $1,000."

Bowl America Odenton played host to the Parents-Coaches Association's first Scholarship Tournament on May 9, and youth bowlers from 12 centers competed for $1,000 in scholarship prizes.The tournament had two divisions: Division I for grades 5-8 and Division II for grades 9-12. The format was six games across 12 lanes.Kristal Brady took the Division I first-place $250 scholarship prize, and David Williams captured the $250 Division II scholarship.Kristal's victory was a cliffhanger. The first six games resulted in a tie with Chris Lee from Bowl America Silver Hill.

Jean Grimes, a Pasadena resident, recently lived a dream. Or maybe it was a nightmare. It depends upon your outlook on bowling in general and on tournament bowling specifically.Grimes started duckpin bowling just three years ago."Glenna [Grimes, manager of Riviera Bowl and Jean Grimes' sister-in-law] dragged me into a bowling center about three years ago," she said. "Then last weekend she dragged me into the tournament."That tournament was a Duckpin Bowler Tour event at Fair Lanes Eastpoint, a singles tournament with results based on a handicap system.

Angela Belella of Dual Lanes in Hagerstown and Jay Newcombe of Cambridge recently won the girls and boys titles in the Baltimore Tenpin Council Youth Invitational Tournament held at Bowl America Reisterstown.Belella, who finished first after qualifying with 1,228, defeated Rachel Cassady of Aberdeen, who was second with 1,213, in a roll-off for the championship, 211-204. Cassady had the high game in the tournament, 265.Newcombe, first after qualifying with 1,140, defeated John Marsh of Fair Lanes Kings Point, who had 1,133 after qualifying, in a roll-off, 211-184.

The Young America Bowling Alliance Saturday morning leagues are in action.And nowhere will the action be hotter than on the lanes at Bowl America Odenton. The young bowlers are rolling at a record-setting pace."There are over 120 youth bowlers signed up," Charley Thompson said. "Opening day we had Joe Castricone entertain with his magic show, and that was just great. And we're fortunate to have the parents become deeply involved with the YABA here at Bowl America."Thompson, a coach in the YABA for 10 years and a board member for two years, knows how important it is to have parents take an interest in the youth program.

How do you get into the "Guinness Book of Records?" Simple. If you're young Richard Daff Jr. you start by staying with your sick mother. And, of course, later becoming the youngest person to bowl a 300 game.But it all started three years ago, in the summer of 1987, when Laurie Daff, Richard's mother, was recovering from a serious operation and Richard would not leave her side. Laurie knew that Richard needed a diversion, but 9-year-old boys can sometimes be difficult to divert, especially where their moms are concerned.

For 22 of her 29 years, Jackie Cocker of Gambrills has been battling the tenpins.On Aug. 5, in the Bermuda Shorts league at Bowl America Odenton, she shot the ultimate game, a 300."I began with a 214 game," she said. "Then I just started throwing strikes."Seventeen in a row.The second game was the 300 and then the last game started with another five strikes in a row. That last game was a solid 244 for a strong 758 series."If that first game had been a little better I would have had a good chance to break the house three-game record of 767," she said, "But I did beat [husband]

Jean Grimes, a Pasadena resident, recently lived a dream. Or maybe it was a nightmare. It depends upon your outlook on bowling in general and on tournament bowling specifically.Grimes started duckpin bowling just three years ago."Glenna [Grimes, manager of Riviera Bowl and Jean Grimes' sister-in-law] dragged me into a bowling center about three years ago," she said. "Then last weekend she dragged me into the tournament."That tournament was a Duckpin Bowler Tour event at Fair Lanes Eastpoint, a singles tournament with results based on a handicap system.

Bowl America Glen Burnie has been sitting in the heart of Glen Burnie for many years. A lot of fine scores have been posted in the 48-lane tenpin house. It would be difficult to count the 800 sets and 300 games by men over the years.What about the women?"I'm pretty sure that she's the first one to do it," said Chuck Kelly, manager of Bowl America Glen Burnie. "I know that I don't remember any women doing it.""She" is Bec Hebler of Pasadena, and "it" was a perfect game.Last month, Hebler opened her Thursday league with a 212 game; she finished with a 181. But that middle game was the big one."

The Western Chesapeake Bay Association youth tournament at Annapolis Bowl on two weekends last month produced the following winners:* Division A Team: the Scavengers (2,511) consisting of Brian Mayer, Bryant Buchman, Jason Morton and Chris DiGiulian.* Division B Team: the Clubs (2,554) consisting of Daryl Parker, Sharia Godwin, Joy Esterson and Dale Crowner.* Doubles Division A: Jessica DeRidder and Jennifer Moore (1,285).* Doubles Division B: Colleen Anderson and Chris Moore (1,286).* Singles Division A: Nicole Martinsen (696)

Derek Clevinger of Owings Mills bowls in two leagues at Bowl America Reisterstown; a third night, Tuesday, he bowls at Hampstead lanes.The 24-year-old began his tenpin career six years ago in Orlando, Fla."That's where I shot my best series," Clevinger said. "At Colonial Lanes, I had games of 279, 279 and 243; either of the first two games could have been 300s."Now averaging 215 with a 16-pound Piranha, he stepped on the lanes at Hampstead last month never giving a thought to making history.

Finally.Ever since the doors opened at the Hampstead Bowling Center on Main Street in the '80s, everyone knew that someone, someday would post a perfect game on the tenpin half of the center.Derek Clevinger had the honor.On Jan. 24, in his regular Tuesday night league at Hampstead, Clevinger started with a 244 game, then fired a solid 245. His last game was the first 300 game in Hampstead's history.The 24-year-old didn't pick up a tenpin ball until he was out of high school."I was living in Florida then, Orlando," Clevinger said.

The Parents Coaches Association conducted a Halloween Singles Tournament at Bowl America Odenton.Youth tenpin bowlers competed in six divisions with a three-game set of qualifying to determine the five stepladder finalists in each division.Mickey Meehan of Bowl American Odenton rolled a 251 game to defeat Justin McCreedy of Greenway Bowl Odenton and win the Division I Handicap event.David Falls of Bowl America Glen Burnie, bowling against Mickey Meehan's brother, Matt, posted a 122 game to become Division I scratch champion.

Several new faces are at Bowl America Odenton. John Fowler is still the manager, but he has some new help to keep things humming at the center on the hill.Jerry Hiett is the new assistant manager, and Mary Castricone is the new promotions director.Hiett and his wife, Tammy, live in Odenton, and they're proud of the new addition to the family, 6-month-old Jerry Jr.Hiett doesn't have as much time as he'd like to bowl, but when he was active, he carried a 165 average with a high game of 237 and a high set of 657.He's been at the center for about six weeks, but he has a long history in management.

Bowl America Glen Burnie has been sitting in the heart of Glen Burnie for many years. A lot of fine scores have been posted in the 48-lane tenpin house. It would be difficult to count the 800 sets and 300 games by men over the years.What about the women?"I'm pretty sure that she's the first one to do it," said Chuck Kelly, manager of Bowl America Glen Burnie. "I know that I don't remember any women doing it.""She" is Bec Hebler of Pasadena, and "it" was a perfect game.Last month, Hebler opened her Thursday league with a 212 game; she finished with a 181. But that middle game was the big one."

Howard Marshall continues to fit and drill bowling balls at Walt Cervenka's Pro Shop at Fair Lanes Ritchie. He also continues to maintain a 220-plus average and to stay active on the PBA Regional Tour."

A team of Anne Arundel tenpin bowlers, the Maryland Free State #1, placed seventh in Division I (160-179 average) at the Women's International Bowling Congress Championship Tournament last month in Salt Lake City, Utah.The team of Peggy Mekins, Boots Jarrett, Pat Baker, Becky Patterson and Pat Chambers banged out a 2,646 set, just 42 pins off the winners' pace. That was good enough to bring home a check for $1,200.Mekins just recently moved from Pasadena to Severn. A secretary for the Maryland State Police, she began her bowling career "about 15 years ago."