Kansas State USBC BA
2008 Hall of Fame Inductees
Virgil
Maser (Great Bend, Kansas)
Virgil Has been a Kansas resident his entire life,
since his birth May1, 1933! he has been involved in bowling in
the Great Bend area for over 40 years, starting at 300 Bowl and then
moving to Walnut Bowl in 1962.
Virgil has served the
Great Bend bowlers at the local level as a Director from 1978 to
1983 and again in 1992 to 1994. His term as President of the
Great Bend Bowling Association began in 1983 and he ended his term
in 1992, but returned as Vice President in 1994 & 1995. He has
served the bowlers in Great Bend with pride and dignity!
Virgil has been involved
in bowling in all areas, as league officer and a bowler. He
has participated in the USBC National Tournament for 20 consecutive
years; He has participated in the Great Ozarks Open Tournament for
45 years and the local city tournament in Great Bend for 47 Years!
Although Virgil may not
be known for his ability to maintain a high average or have numerous
honor scores, he has the credentials to be a member of the Kansas
State USBC "Hall of Fame" due to his years of service and commitment
to bowling; all bowlers in the Great Bend area are very lucky to
have a man so committed to bowling! Congratulations Virgil!
Jack Dick (Topeka, Kansas)
Jack's Bowling career got a
kick start when he purchased the Sunflower Bowl in Topeka in June of
1980. His wife and three children helped operate the business until
a fire destroyed 10 of the 16 lanes in 1984! They rebuilt 6
lanes and moved the business into the smaller portion of the
business until 2004 after which he concentrated on selling bowling
equipment and drilling bowling balls as over time the lanes
deteriorated and became unusable.
This past
year, a portion of our bowling equipment was loaned to the Kansas
State Historical Museum for the use in the bowling exhibit.
They constructed one of our telescores, ball return, and the
original Brunswick seating. It is a really great exhibit which
all bowlers should see. I am honored to have a part in this
exhibit! The marquee sign "Sunflower Bowl" hangs on the
museum wall
In the
past ten years or so, I have concentrated on selling bowling
supplies, balls, shoes, and drilling balls, under the names "Jacks
Pro Shop" . I am active in drilling bowling balls for most of
my friends who are senior bowlers in the Topeka area and who
establish a high average. I always sponsored two teams in
tournaments, and we have won 1st and 2nd in the Senior State
Tournament in Dodge City in 2001. He has won the doubles
tournament in 2000, with partner Gerry Sanders in the Topeka City
tournament, where ha also won the all-events in the senior category.
Jack has rolled two (2) 300 games sanctioned and another three (3)
un-sanctioned. He also has a 299 and a 296 game to his credit.
His highest league average has bee 220 , where he has participated
in the Topeka "Top Ten" Senior Event the past four bowling seasons!
Jack has been bowling at the USBC National Tournament with his son
Daniel, where he sponsors two teams yearly! Congratulations
for this honor and please welcome Jack into the Kansas State USBC
"Hall of Fame"
Robert (Bob) Harp
Robert (Bob) Harp was a man that knew if the bas was
going to hook left or right instantly after he threw the ball.
He has been bowling since the age of 19 and touched many lives while
doing so. Bob was a husband, father, father-in-law, and
grandpa. He was the one person that got his family interested
in bowling.
He was
born on November 29, 1938 in Cedar Vale, Kansas. He passed away on
September 20, 2006 and is greatly missed by many.
Bob graduated form Ark City
High School in 1956. He then continued onto Cowley County
Community College (CCCC) for a semester. After the first
semester he went on to work at New Era Mill on June 9th 1958.
New Era Mill was sold to ADM Milling in March of 1977. Bob
continues working there until he passed away.
Knowing the bowling alley
was going to be open that day would make Bob have a much better day
if he we was having a rough one. Bob used bowing as a way to
spend time with the ones he loved. Bowling in 2-3 leagues, he
won many awards. Hs has many trophies, patches and plaques.
Bowl bowled his first 300 game in Wichita, Kansas on the travel
league.
Bob has; one 298 game, two 299 games, four 300 games, 19 700
patches, two 800 (833 and 823), forty-six first place league
champion patches dating back to 1959-1960. There are so many
other awards that he won but all of these awards demonstrate how
much Bob was dedicated to the sport.
He bowled on the Monday and
Wednesday night leagues and on the Hillcrest Traveling Teams here in
Arkansas City. The bowling alley is where Bob met his wife Karen.
She was there every day and night when he bowled. She enjoyed
watching him bowl, because she loved to see him having fun and
hanging out with his buddies.
His son, Dean participated
in bowling with him as much as he could. Which included
bowling on the Monday and Wednesday night leagues and also the
traveling team. They were known as the "Dynamic Duo" to all
the people that bowled with and against them.
Bob Has been bowling almost
his whole life and you could tell by how he bowled. He had that
professional look to him but him being him, he would never admit it.
He was a very humble person. He put everyone else first rather
that himself. He did everything for his family including spoil
his grandkids.
Bob was the one that taught his son to bowl. He also taught
his grandkids how to enjoy the game without getting caught up in the
competition. Sure he liked the competition but who doesn't?
He just loved to bowl even if it was only for game.
The bowling alley is where
Bob met all the people in his life. If there was someone new
that had just moved into town or was just new to the bowling alley
he would introduce himself and get to know them. They would
have a couple of beers, hang out and have a good time. He met
all of his closest friends there including; Larry Downing, Danny "
The Klutz" McClaskey, CJ Layton, Kim Stephens, and many others.
Bob loved to bowl is
the easiest way to put it. The moment that he loved was when
Emily (granddaughter) beat him. Emily bowled a 176 and he
bowled a 170. He could have a bad day in there somewhere but
it was not to often. Robert (grandson) was getting pretty
close to beating him as well, so grandpa has to stay on his toes.
He as
inducted into the Arkansas City Kansas bowling Hall of Fame in 1999.
Bob was also a leader and mentor of the youth bowlers. Even
today, mostly all are still bowling while hearing Bob in their mind
telling them what to do.
He loved bowling not only for himself, but for others too. His
family can go out to the bowling alley and see and remember all the
memories of him. Seeing all of his accomplishments all over
the walls showing his dedications and love of the sport. Yes,
he love to bowl just for the plain fun of the game.
John
Williams
John Williams grew up on a dairy farm near
Tonganoxie, Kansas. He was an active member of 4-H during his
youth and become a spokesman for the 4-H Foundation in High School.
His bowling interest
began at Baker University on an intra-mural bowling team where he
bowled his first 299 game with on old Manhattan bowling ball.
He bowled in mixed leagues for several years and in 1978 was invited
to fill a vacancy on a team at Sky lanes in Leavenworth. That
was his first taste of competitive bowling which sparked an ongoing
passion for the game that still exists today.
After moving to Lawrence,
he became more and more interested in his bowling where he bowled on
two handicap leagues and one scratch league. His bowling
accomplishments include 4 - 300 games; 2 - 298 games; 1 - 803 series
and numerous 700 series. He has been on a league champion team
for 14 years, City Tournament accomplishments include doubles
champions, Team champions, and Senior Doubles champion, Team
champions Senior Doubles champion. His highest league average
was 214 and he has consistently averaged between 195 and 205 for the
last 18 years. Hs has been a member of the ABC-USBC
Travel league for numerous years, which began his interest in
promoting the sport of bowling and gaining ideas from bowlers from
other bowling centers in the state of Kansas. He has bowled in
18 State Tournaments, and 17 Nationals and continues to talk with
bowlers gaining knowledge and ideas from other bowlers across the
country.
He was a member of the
Lawrence BA for 19 years where he served as Director. He was
lane inspection coordinator for 14 years and Director of the Year
four times. He became a Life member of the LBA in 2002.
He has been a member of
the SBA for 15 years; USBC Youth board for 6 years; Kansas Bowling
Council for 4 years; currently Kansas Bowling Council President and
president of the Greater Douglas County Bowling Association.
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