WALTER RAY WILLIAMS JR., the all-time leader in victories on the Professional Bowlers Association national tour, reached another milestone last week at the PBA/PBA50/PBA60 Decker Appraisal Services Baker Trios tournament in Harrisonburg, Va.
“Deadeye,” as he is known by virtue of his bowling and horseshoe pitching skill, combined with Dennis Lane and Dick Allen to win the trios event for his 100th overall PBA title.
Some of you may remember that Walter Ray put on a bowling and horseshoe pitching exhibition at Mancuso Bowling Center (then Mancuso Lanes) about 30 years ago at the invitation of Mike DiMartino. It was quite a show as Williams, a nine-time World Champion horseshoe pitcher, and DiMartino, at least a nine-time NYS horseshoe pitching champion, tossed ringer after ringer on portable pits set up in the parking lot outside the bowling center's east entrance.
Williams' latest bowling title is his 10th as a PBA50 Regional competitor. He also has 47 wins on the regular PBA Tour, 32 PBA Regional crowns and 11 PBA50 Tour titles.
Fellow Hall of Famer Pete Weber has 99 combined Tour titles.
In other PBA news:
-- Mike Wolfe of New Albany, Ind., won his first PBA Tour title in eight years, defeating Darren Tang of San Francisco, 279-143, in the finals of the Cheetah Championship that was televised on Sunday on ESPN.
The win added $20,000 to Wolfe’s bank account, while Tang, a 21-year-old rookie, pocketed $10,000.
-- The finals of three more “animal pattern” tournaments from last month’s World Series of Bowling will be televised this weekend on ESPN – the Chameleon Championship at 1 p.m. Saturday, and a Christmas Day doubleheader on Sunday featuring the Scorpion Championship at 2:30 p.m. and the Shark Championship at 3:30 p.m.
-- Last month, I cast my vote for three people on the ballot for the PBA Hall of Fame and I am glad to announce that all three – Bryan Goebel, Steve Hoskins and Mike Scroggins – have been elected for superior performance.
All three were forces on the PBA Tour in the 1980s, ‘90s and 2000s. Goebel and Hoskins are 10-time champions with major tournament titles, and Scroggins has eight titles including the USBC Masters and U.S. Open.
Induction ceremonies will take place on Feb. 13 at Grand Casino Hotel & Resort in Shawnee, Okla.
GRAVANDA’S ‘BEAT THE CHAMP’ APPEARANCE IS SATURDAY
Fans of the “Beat The Champ” bowling show on WBBZ-TV (MeTV) were able to watch Batavian Rich Wagner win two matches before losing his third match on Dec. 10 – earning $250 for his efforts – and now will have the opportunity to see another Batavia resident this Saturday at 4 p.m. (with a repeat showing at 11 p.m. Sunday).
Fred Gravanda will take on current champion John Danielwicz of Sanborn in the first match. The winner will go up against Paul Tatone of St. Catharines, Ontario, and the winner of that match will take on Szczublewski of West Seneca.
The fourth and final show from Mancuso Bowling Center (taping took place on Nov. 30) will be televised on Dec. 31. It will be a mixed doubles event featuring four teams of Genesee Region bowlers – Rich and Jen Wagner, Chris and Jenn Bardol, Frank Jarkiewicz and Laurie Morgante, and Mark and Penny Brown.
GRAY SR. CASHES AT 60-AND-OVER EVENT IN ROCHESTER
Three days after undergoing surgery on his left thumb, Kevin Gray Sr. of Honeoye Falls was back on the lanes and found a measure of success at the 60-and-Over Tournament Bowlers Club event at Bowl-A-Roll Lanes in Rochester.
The 63-year-old right-hander, wearing a cast on his left hand, placed fourth out of 46 bowlers, just missing the three-bowler finals by a few pins. Still, he won $125.
Gravanda and Joe Trigilio of Attica also cashed in the tournament by advancing to the top 12.
BATAVIA YOUTH BOWLERS EARN SCHOLARSHIPS
The team of Tyler Roth, Lily Martin, Jonah Martin and Brock Bigsby captured top honors at the third annual Genesee Region USBC Youth Baker Team tournament at Scopano’s Lanes on Dec. 10.
The Batavia team won $400 in the form of $100 scholarships each for their efforts. Another Batavia squad of Corinne Saluste, Tara Clattenburg, Zach Wester and Skylar Laesser finished in second place, splitting $120 in scholarship money.
Another GRUSBC youth tournament – Adult-Junior Doubles -- is scheduled for Jan. 14-15 at Medina Lanes. For an entry form, go to www.bowlgr.com.
FOUR LOCAL TOURNAMENTS SET FOR JANUARY
Medina Lanes will host two Genesee Region USBC tournaments in January, a month that also will feature a three-person no-tap event at Oak Orchard Lanes in Albion and the annual scratch singles tourney at Mount Morris Lanes.
-- Jan. 7, Scott Whittier Memorial 3-Person Handicap No-Tap, Oak Orchard Bowl. This is the fifth year of the tournament that benefits the Scott Whittier Scholarship Foundation. First prize is $600 and the entry fee is $60 per team. Squad times are 1, 3 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. To enter, call 585-589-6900.
-- Jan. 7-8, GRUSBC Scratch Memorial, Medina Lanes. A $1,000 first prize (based on 80 entries) awaits the winner of the scratch singles event, which lists squad times at 1 and 4 p.m. on Jan. 7 and 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Jan. 8. Qualifying will be bowled on a 47-foot oil pattern and the finals will be contested on a 38-foot oil pattern. Entry fee is $55. To enter, call 585-861-0404 or send an email to mikep@bowlgr.com.
-- Jan. 13-15, Mount Morris Pepsi Open, Mount Morris Lanes. First place is a guaranteed $1,500 and one out of five will cash. Qualifying (four games) dates and times are 7 and 9:30 p.m. on Jan. 13, 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on Jan. 14, and 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Jan. 15. Entry fee is $70 and the re-entry fee is $50. To enter, call 585-658-2540.
-- Jan. 14-15, GRUSBC Adult-Junior Doubles, Medina Lanes. Squad times are noon, 3 and 6 p.m. on Jan. 14 and noon and 3 p.m. on Jan. 15 for the handicap tournament, which lists two divisions – 12 & under and 13 & over. Entry fee is $30 per team. Youth winnings will be in the form of scholarships; adult winnings will in the form of checks mailed from the GRUSBC office. To enter, call 585-284-2637 or send an email to tfstrikeforce@msn.com.
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!
As 2016 draws to a close, I’d like to express my sincere appreciation to Howard Owens, publisher of The Batavian, and Lisa Ace, his graphic artist, as well as all the businesses who advertise on this page for supporting the Pin Points column that reaches out to bowlers and bowling fans in the GLOW region.
Bowling continues to be a popular organized sport in our area (as well as the nation and world) and I count it a privilege to be able to share bowlers’ accomplishments and information about the sport on The Batavian, the area’s No. 1 source of online news.
We’ll be back with the first column of 2017 on Jan. 5. Until then, have a Blessed and Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!
(Mike Pettinella’s Pin Points column appears every other Thursday on The Batavian. To advertise on this page or to suggest story ideas, contact Mike at mikepett2002@yahoo.com).
