onefrombills
11-13-2008, 01:52 PM
A veteran competitor on the lanes and two men who contributed to the enjoyment of the sport for others were elected to the United States Bowling Congress Hall of Fame by the USBC Hall of Fame Committee during its annual meeting Nov. 10.
Gene Stus of Allen Park, Mich., who competed mainly in the Detroit area until he reached his 50th birthday, was elected in the Veterans category after a highly successful career on the Professional Bowlers Association Senior Tour.
Tom Kouros of Deer Park, Ill., an internationally-acclaimed author and bowling instructor, and Lowell Rothschild, a Tucson, Ariz., attorney who played significant roles with the American Bowling Congress, International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame, and Maccabiah USA Sports for Israel organization, were elected in the Meritorious Service category.
These three, along with any others elected from the Superior Performance ballot that will voted upon in December, will be inducted during the USBC Annual Meeting in Reno, Nev., in late April.
Like so many before him, Stus, 68, caught the bowling bug as a 10-year-old pinboy, but at age 21, he had to make a career choice between bowling and job security with General Motors. He opted for General Motors and became an evening/weekend bowler while climbing the career ladder in the automotive industry.
It wasn't until he turned 50 in 1990 that the 6-foot-2, 240-pound Stus began showing the rest of the world what the Detroit bowling community already knew: This guy could play the game.
Despite potentially fatal heart health issues that had dogged him since age 29, Stus added 12 PBA Senior Tour titles to a resume that included three American Bowling Congress Championships titles and an ABC/Brunswick World Team Challenge championship. He was selected as PBA Senior Tour Player of the Year in 1992, the same year he became the first Senior Tour player to roll a nationally-televised 300 game.
"I'm shocked. It's a wonderful honor to be among the people who are in there. I'm speechless," Stus said.
Kouros' career blossomed from pinboy to competitor, proprietor, author and bowling instructor in his native Chicago where he founded the Institute of Professional Bowling Instruction and authored a pair of best-selling books: Par Bowling and Par Bowling: The Challenge. He has served as a columnist for Bowlers Journal International for more than 30 years and has personally coached some of the sport's top stars, both in the United States and internationally. Kouros will celebrate his 82nd birthday on Nov. 19.
"I'm tickled pink. I never thought I'd get in," Kouros said. "Guys like me are too outspoken; we rub some people the wrong way, but I've always been a guy who'd tell you if I thought your nose was too big. You do a lot of things and you don't know if they're appreciated. This wipes that whole slate clean. I'm very happy."
Rothschild had an impact on the sport after joining the ABC Board of Directors in the early 1960s. He was ABC's legislative chairman for 11 years leading up to his term as ABC President in 1977. As ABC President, he named the first ABC Education Committee and created the ABC Senior Tournament Committee.
Following his presidency, he joined the Bowling Hall of Fame and Museum Committee, assisted in site selection, and chaired an ad hoc group that raised more than $1 million in corporate sponsorships to build the St. Louis facility. Since 1997, Rothschild has played a central role in recruiting and fund-raising to send America's top Jewish bowlers - women as well as men - to the Maccabiah Games, the quadrennial Olympic Games for Jewish athletes.
"I was just overwhelmed. I was in tears," Rothschild said after his notification call from USBC President Jeff Boje.
At age 81, Rothschild is still a practicing attorney and is scheduled to bowl in his 46th USBC Open Championships in 2009.
The Hall of Fame Committee also selected six men and six women for the national Superior Performance ballot. These 12 candidates will be presented to a panel of veteran bowling writers and hall of famers for voting in December. In order to earn a place in the USBC Hall of Fame, candidates must be named on 70 percent of the ballots cast.
Candidates on the men's performance ballot are Del Ballard Jr., North Richland Hills, Texas; Marshall Holman, Medford, Ore.; Dave Husted, Milwaukie, Ore.; Amleto Monacelli, Barquisimeto, Venezuela; John Petraglia, Manalapan, N.J.; and Mark Roth, Fulton, N.Y.
Women's performance candidates are Dede Davidson, Buellton, Calif.; Shirley Levens, Titusville, Fla.; Wendy Macpherson, Henderson, Nev.; Jackie Mitskavitch, DuBois, Pa.; Michelle Mullen, Farmington Hills, Mich.; and Cheryl Robinson, Oceanside, Calif.
The USBC Hall of Fame was created in 2005 by merging the former ABC and WIBC Halls of Fame. With the three new inductees selected by the committee, there are now 372 members of the USBC Hall of Fame - 243 in Performance, 110 in Meritorious Service and 19 Pioneers.
Gene Stus of Allen Park, Mich., who competed mainly in the Detroit area until he reached his 50th birthday, was elected in the Veterans category after a highly successful career on the Professional Bowlers Association Senior Tour.
Tom Kouros of Deer Park, Ill., an internationally-acclaimed author and bowling instructor, and Lowell Rothschild, a Tucson, Ariz., attorney who played significant roles with the American Bowling Congress, International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame, and Maccabiah USA Sports for Israel organization, were elected in the Meritorious Service category.
These three, along with any others elected from the Superior Performance ballot that will voted upon in December, will be inducted during the USBC Annual Meeting in Reno, Nev., in late April.
Like so many before him, Stus, 68, caught the bowling bug as a 10-year-old pinboy, but at age 21, he had to make a career choice between bowling and job security with General Motors. He opted for General Motors and became an evening/weekend bowler while climbing the career ladder in the automotive industry.
It wasn't until he turned 50 in 1990 that the 6-foot-2, 240-pound Stus began showing the rest of the world what the Detroit bowling community already knew: This guy could play the game.
Despite potentially fatal heart health issues that had dogged him since age 29, Stus added 12 PBA Senior Tour titles to a resume that included three American Bowling Congress Championships titles and an ABC/Brunswick World Team Challenge championship. He was selected as PBA Senior Tour Player of the Year in 1992, the same year he became the first Senior Tour player to roll a nationally-televised 300 game.
"I'm shocked. It's a wonderful honor to be among the people who are in there. I'm speechless," Stus said.
Kouros' career blossomed from pinboy to competitor, proprietor, author and bowling instructor in his native Chicago where he founded the Institute of Professional Bowling Instruction and authored a pair of best-selling books: Par Bowling and Par Bowling: The Challenge. He has served as a columnist for Bowlers Journal International for more than 30 years and has personally coached some of the sport's top stars, both in the United States and internationally. Kouros will celebrate his 82nd birthday on Nov. 19.
"I'm tickled pink. I never thought I'd get in," Kouros said. "Guys like me are too outspoken; we rub some people the wrong way, but I've always been a guy who'd tell you if I thought your nose was too big. You do a lot of things and you don't know if they're appreciated. This wipes that whole slate clean. I'm very happy."
Rothschild had an impact on the sport after joining the ABC Board of Directors in the early 1960s. He was ABC's legislative chairman for 11 years leading up to his term as ABC President in 1977. As ABC President, he named the first ABC Education Committee and created the ABC Senior Tournament Committee.
Following his presidency, he joined the Bowling Hall of Fame and Museum Committee, assisted in site selection, and chaired an ad hoc group that raised more than $1 million in corporate sponsorships to build the St. Louis facility. Since 1997, Rothschild has played a central role in recruiting and fund-raising to send America's top Jewish bowlers - women as well as men - to the Maccabiah Games, the quadrennial Olympic Games for Jewish athletes.
"I was just overwhelmed. I was in tears," Rothschild said after his notification call from USBC President Jeff Boje.
At age 81, Rothschild is still a practicing attorney and is scheduled to bowl in his 46th USBC Open Championships in 2009.
The Hall of Fame Committee also selected six men and six women for the national Superior Performance ballot. These 12 candidates will be presented to a panel of veteran bowling writers and hall of famers for voting in December. In order to earn a place in the USBC Hall of Fame, candidates must be named on 70 percent of the ballots cast.
Candidates on the men's performance ballot are Del Ballard Jr., North Richland Hills, Texas; Marshall Holman, Medford, Ore.; Dave Husted, Milwaukie, Ore.; Amleto Monacelli, Barquisimeto, Venezuela; John Petraglia, Manalapan, N.J.; and Mark Roth, Fulton, N.Y.
Women's performance candidates are Dede Davidson, Buellton, Calif.; Shirley Levens, Titusville, Fla.; Wendy Macpherson, Henderson, Nev.; Jackie Mitskavitch, DuBois, Pa.; Michelle Mullen, Farmington Hills, Mich.; and Cheryl Robinson, Oceanside, Calif.
The USBC Hall of Fame was created in 2005 by merging the former ABC and WIBC Halls of Fame. With the three new inductees selected by the committee, there are now 372 members of the USBC Hall of Fame - 243 in Performance, 110 in Meritorious Service and 19 Pioneers.