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LIUSBC Hall of Fame Biographies

This page will be under construction for a while. We are writing biographies of all 159 members of the LIUSBC Hall of Fame, starting with the initial class of 1962 and progressing to the present. Click here to return to the main Hall of Fame page.

If you have corrections, suggestions, or have photos to submit, please send a message to Glenn Gerstner.

Bill Voorhees

1984

Wantagh
Meritorious Service

Born in Bayonne, New Jersey, and raised in Malverne, Bill Voorhees was an anomaly when it came to bowling. Despite averaging in the 140s, he found time to bowl in six leagues per week. His love for bowling was evident during the 40-plus years he wrote about the sport.

Voorhees started in the newspaper business in Vermont as the sports editor of the Rutland Herald. He returned to Long Island in 1947 and wrote for the now-defunct Nassau Daily Review-Star and the Long Island Press, covering just about everything, including golf, skiing, boxing, harness racing, and bowling. In 1951, he moved to Newsday and became the paper’s first writer to cover a major league team -- the Brooklyn Dodgers -- until the club moved in 1957. He was the first writer Newsday sent to cover the Olympics in 1960, and served as the paper’s resident skiing expert.

When fellow LIUSBC Hall of Famer Dick Clemente was promoted to sports editor in 1964, Voorhees took over the bowling column. He had the good fortune to cover bowing in its heyday, when national tournaments and the PBA tour made regular visits to Long Island. He retired from Newsday in 1977 but did not sit still for very long. Along with Artie Linneman and Ed Leahy, he began publishing the Long Island Bowling News, a bi-weekly paper that covered bowling on all of Long Island, including Brooklyn and Queens.

In 1983, Voorhees received the Metropolitan Bowling Writers Association Joe Richards Award, emblematic of distinguished dedication to bowling journalism.

After being elected to the LIUSBC Hall of Fame, Voorhees continued to publish and write occasional columns for the Long Island Bowling News. Bill Voorhies died in 1988 at age 76.
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Mary Baker

1983

Central Islip
Superior Performance

The most decorated female professional bowler born and raised on Long Island, Mary Baker did not pick up a bowling ball until she was 22 years old. She proved a fast learner. Just three years later, she was winning local tournaments, and by the time she was 34, she was named Bowler of the Year by the Bowling Writers Association of America (BWAA).

Baker first qualified for the BPAA Women's All-Star in 1961, defeating a field of the best women bowlers on Long Island to do so. She bowled in several All-Stars and WIBC Queens tournaments, and won so many local tournaments she was named the Metropolitan Bowling Writers Association (MBWA) Women's Bowler of the Year in 1968.

In 1969, Baker turned professional and gave PWBA tour a try. After a year of acclimating herself to life on the road, she dominated the tour in 1970. She won tournaments in Portsmouth (VA), Wichita, and Rochester, and finished 2nd on the PWBA money list. While not part of the tour at the time, she captured the biggest prize in women's bowling, the BPAA All-Star (now the U.S. Open) in Northbrook (IL), pushing her total earnings to over $15,000. Her performance easily earned her the BWAA Women's Bowler of the Year, a spot on the Bowlers Journal All-American team, and a second MBWA Bowler of the Year award. Her four professional victories in a single season matched the previous record held by PWBA and WIBC Hall of Famers Dotty Fothergill and Millie Martorella.

Baker bowled well in 1971, finishing eighth on the PWBA money list and earning another Bowlers Journal All-American nod. She finished second in the 1972 U.S. Open and third in 1973, but suffered a back injury late in 1973 that required surgery. Baker never again bowled regularly on the PBWA tour. In 1977, she returned to the lanes by winning a Women's All-Star Association (WASA) title in Windsor Locks (CT), and another two weeks later at Wallington (NJ).

After being inducted into the LIUSBC Hall of Fame, Baker's six WASA titles earned her induction as a charter member of the WASA Hall of Fame in 1987. Mary Baker Harris died in 1999 at the age of 63.
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Fred Ridolf

1983

East Norwich
Meritorious Service

Born and raised in New Hyde Park, Fred Ridolf spent his career promoting bowling in a variety of roles. After serving with the 9th Army Air Force in Europe during World War II, he returned to earn a bachelor's degree in industrial relations at New York University.

He first became involved in bowling while working at the direct marketing firm O. E. McIntyre in Westbury. Ridolf eventually became the president of the Long Island Industrial Recreation Association at a time when industrial bowling leagues were at their height of popularity. His outstanding work there caught the eye of the leaders of the Nassau Bowling Proprietors Association (NBPA), who hired Ridolf as their executive director in 1960.

For the next 17 years, Ridolf was instrumental in promoting bowling on Long Island. In his role as NBPA executive director, he led the effort to bring professional bowling to the area, first with the PBA National Championship in 1963, the BPAA All-Star in 1968, and the Long Island Open at Garden City Bowl in 1975. His promotional acumen convinced the Long Island Lighting Company to sponsor the annual Andy Varipapa Stars of the Future pro-am tournament, held concurrently with the Long Island Open. He also lobbied legislators to include bowling instruction as part of elementary and high school physical education classes.

In 1976, Ridolf became co-owner of the largest bowling center in Nassau County, the 56-lane Sterling Bowl in New Hyde Park. He continued to serve his profession and community, serving as President of the Long Island Public Relations Association, the Lake Success Kwianis Club, and the Metropolitan Bowling Writers Association, which in 1981 awarded him the Joe Richards Memorial Award for exceptional contributions to bowling.

After being inducted into the LIUSBC Hall of Fame, Ridolf continued as the proprietor of Sterling Bowl until he sold it in 2001. He spent his retirement splitting time between homes in Southampton and West Palm Beach, Florida. Fred Ridolf died in 2007 at the age of 80.
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Roy Ryan

1983

Massapequa Park
Superior Performance

Leroy Ryan was one of Long Island’s best bowlers for more than 40 years. Born and raised in Bayside, he took a job at Frank Varipapa’s Mineola Bowl Mart and made bowling his career. While selected to the LIUSBC Hall of Fame for Superior Performance, he likely would have qualified for Meritorious Service based on his outstanding contributions as a pro shop operator, bowling center manager, proprietor, and industry executive.

At 17, he bowled in an adult league at Little Neck Lanes and averaged 199. He bowled his first Newsday Eastern Open in 1953 and, after a couple of close calls, made the finals in 1959, finishing 12th. Over the years, he made several more appearances in the Eastern Open finals, as well as several high finishes in the Long Island Masters, including a runner-up performance in 1967.

In 1960, Ryan won the Nassau Bowling Proprietors’ Association singles title. In 1965, he teamed with Loren McGirr and co-founded the Seaboard Classic League. The Seaboard remains the premier bowling league on Long Island. That same year, he won the ELIBA doubles with Vic Nuzzi, the first of several association titles, including the all-events crowns in 1973 and 1980.

Ryan’s 811 series at Garden City Bowl in 1976 was only the fourth ever sanctioned 800 rolled on Long Island and the highest ever. In 1977, he won the third-ever Eastern Seaboard Semi-Pro Club title. In 1982, he finished third in the PBA Senior Tour Championship, which included a televised 3-game 751 series during the stepladder finals.

He wore many hats in the bowling industry. Ryan co-owned Bowl Mart’s West Babylon location from 1956 through 1967, when he was named manager of Huntington Century’s Lanes. In 1973, he purchased a controlling interest in Deer Park Lanes, which he sold in 1978. He then became Director of Operations at AMF.

After being inducted into the LIUSBC Hall of Fame, Ryan his outstanding bowling. In 1983, he won the first of four Grand Masters titles and finished fourth with Norm Duke in the 1984 PBA Senior/Touring Pro Doubles. In 1991, he won the ELIBA All-Events title for the third time, becoming the first bowler to accomplish that feat. The win also made him the only bowler to capture ELIBA titles in four decades.

Ryan retired from AMF and moved to Pinellas Park, Florida, and later Las Vegas. He bowled regularly on the PBA Senior Tour through 1993, and in 1997, captured a Senior Scratch Bowlers Tour Title in Las Vegas at age 68. He bowled his final national event in St. Petersburg in 2004 at the age of 75, capping off almost 60 years of competitive bowling.
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Annese Dunleavy (Kelly)

1982

Brooklyn
Superior Performance

Perhaps the most accomplished female bowler in the LIUSBC Hall of Fame, Annese Dunleavy won several regional, national, and international titles. At just 32, she is the youngest bowler ever inducted into the LIUSBC Hall of Fame.

The Brooklyn native burst onto the scene at age 15, winning the New York City Junior Championship and soon after compiling the second-highest average in the powerful Ladies Met Major League at Bowlmor in Manhattan. In 1969, she won the all-events and team gold medals at the FIQ Tournament of the Americas in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

She briefly bowled on the PWBA tour, finishing second in the 1970 PWBA Championship and eighth on that year's earnings list. In 1971, she was named to the Bowlers Journal All-American second team. In 1978, she won the all-events and doubles crowns (with Barbara Shelton of Hempstead) at the WIBC Championships.

Dunleavy regained her amateur status in the mid-1970s and earned a spot on Team USA in 1979 and again in 1981. In 1979, she won gold medals in team and trios events at the FIQ World Championships in Manila. At the FIQ Tournament of the Americas in Winnipeg in 1981, Dunleavy took home two more golds in team and doubles. All told, she won six gold medals in FIQ international competition.

Dunleavy accumulated nine Women's All-Star Association (WASA) titles and numerous state and local association championships. She was named the Metropolitan Bowling Writers Association Bowler of the Year five times and WASA Bowler of the Year four times. In 1980, she became only the second woman to roll a sanctioned 300 game on Long Island at Mid-Isle Lanes.

After being inducted into the LIUSBC Hall of Fame, Dunleavy continued to bowl at a high level. She added another WASA title, her 10th, and was inducted as a charter member of the WASA Hall of Fame in 1987. In 1985, she received bowling's highest honor when she was inducted into the USBC Hall of Fame for superior performance. In 2018, Dunleavy celebrated her 50th appearance at the Women's USBC Championships.
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Tony Kusky

1982

Hallandale Beach, FL
Meritorious Service

One of the rare nominees who would likely qualify under all three of the LIUSBC Hall of Fame criteria – superior performance, meritorious service, and pioneer – long-time Hempstead resident Anthony Kusky has been part of the Nassau bowling scene since the mid-1930s. An innovative proprietor, he was also known as a talented bowler who rolled 15 perfect games over a long career.

Kusky began working in bowling alleys as a teenager. In 1938, he purchased C&J Recreation in Oceanside with his brother, Walter, who became a partner in many of their ventures. He later owned Hempstead Recreation, Mid Isle Lanes, and Kusky’s Baldwin Lanes. He served as president of both the Nassau and Westchester Bowling Proprietors Association and was an officer in the New York State Bowling Proprietors Association.

On the lanes, Kusky was one of the top bowlers on Long Island from 1935 through 1955. He finished second in the 1949 Eastern Open, and represented Nassau many times in the BPAA All-Star. At a time when there were few formal tournaments, Kusky built his reputation as a match bowler, willing to put up his own money to bowl any time, anywhere.

While retired in Florida, Kusky remains a part-owner of Glen Cove Bowl and Smithtown Bowl. Only months after being inducted into the LIUSBC Hall of Fame, Tony Kusky died in 1982 at the age of 69.
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Henry Feinberg

1981

North Babylon
Meritorious Service

Born in Poland, Henry Feinberg immigrated to the United States as a child. Raised in Manhattan, he began bowling after moving to Long Island following World War II. Although he served in many executive roles with the ELIBA, his legacy will be his commitment to youth bowling.

Feinberg has been involved in youth bowling since the 1960s when the Nassau-Suffolk Junior Bowling Association was still under the auspices of the Nassau-Suffolk Bowling Council. In 1977, the 17,900-member organization joined the American Junior Bowling Congress (AJBC), with Feinberg serving as president.

Later renamed the Long Island Junior Bowling Association (LIJBA), it remained the largest youth bowling organization in the country for many years. Feinberg served as chairman of the Long Island Bowlers Benefit Tournament for several years and, at various times, held the positions of director, vice president, and president of the ELIBA.

After being inducted into the LIUSBC Hall of Fame, he continued to serve as an ELIBA director
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Skip Oliver

1981

Hempstead
Superior Performance

A lifelong resident of Hempstead, Clara “Skip” Oliver was one of Long Island’s best bowlers for the 15 years following World War II. Her mother, Lil Oliver, is a charter member of the LIUSBC Hall of Fame, and to date, they are the only mother-daughter duo so enshrined.

She first gained notoriety from her utter domination of the Long Island Industrial Women’s Championship. Beginning in 1949, Oliver led her Doubleday team to three titles in four years. In 1952, she shot a record 12-game total of 2,257 that stood until 1979. In 1953, she took a job at Sperry’s and led them to three straight titles.

In 1954, Oliver won the inaugural Nassau-Suffolk Bowling Proprietors (NSBPA) championship. In 1955, Oliver won the Nassau-Suffolk Women’s Bowling Association (NSWBA) all-events, singles, and doubles titles. In all, she collected three all-events titles (1955, 1956, and 1959) and nine other NSWBA team, singles, and doubles crowns. She won the New York State Women’s Bowling Association doubles title with Joan Streck in 1955 and the NSBPA doubles crown with Lucille Backhaus in 1957.

Her 299, rolled at Hempstead Recreation in 1949, was the highest sanctioned game by a female bowler on Long Island until 1979. Skip Oliver died in 2017 at the age of 90.
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Helen Edwin

1980

West Hempstead
Meritorious Service

A lifelong Long Islander, Helen Edwin was no more than a recreational bowler. When her late husband, Vic, assumed the role of ELIBA Secretary in 1951, Helen offered to assist in their office – the kitchen table of their home in West Hempstead – and later became the association’s first salaried employee.

Soon after being named office manager, Helen was tired of having to move association papers off the dining room table to serve dinner. She coordinated the ELIBA’s move to a proper office in West Hempstead and later to larger quarters in Garden City. By the early 1970s, the association grew to include more than 220 centers, 2,500 lanes, and 50,000 bowlers. The ELIBA was the third-largest American Bowling Congress-affiliated association in the country.

Edwin assisted tens of thousands of bowlers during her 27-year tenure as office manager, which ended when she retired in 1978. Those bowlers honored her at a testimonial dinner at the Salisbury Restaurant in East Meadow, a gesture of thanks for many years of dedicated service to the ELIBA. Helen Edwin died in 1988 at the age of 83.
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Stan Lewis

1980

Medford
Meritorious Service

Born and raised in New York City, Stan Lewis was a Brunswick salesperson in the late 1940s when the bowling industry was still in its infancy. Like any good entrepreneur, Lewis saw a need and set out to fill it. In 1950, he opened Bowl Mart, Long Island’s first stand-alone pro shop.

Located in West Hempstead, Bowl Mart opened at a time when bowling balls were sold at department stores, hardware stores, and even jewelry stores, often by individuals who had no knowledge of the sport. As bowlers began to employ semi-fingertip and fingertip grips, proper fitting became increasingly important. Lewis personally fit and drilled balls for each Bowl Mart customer. His store even featured a stub lane with a complete approach, allowing bowlers to try out their new ball to ensure a proper fit.

The business took off in 1951 when Lewis partnered with Frank Varipapa and moved Bowl Mart to a larger location in Mineola. At the same time, Lewis became co-owner of Ten Pin Lanes in Lawrence. However, that was short-lived because as the bowling industry grew, Bowl Mart grew right along with it. By 1960, Lewis and Varipapa owned 11 locations in 4 states. That same year, Bowl Mart became the presenting sponsor of the Long Island Masters Tournament, an event they still sponsor today.

By 1965, only the flagship Mineola store was wholly owned by Lewis and Varipapa. In 1976, Lewis sold his stake in Bowl Mart and accepted an executive position with the Bowling Corporation of America. In 1980, he returned to Long Island to manage Westbury, North Levittown, and South Levittown Lanes. Lewis has been an honorary member of the Nassau County Bowling Proprietors Association for many years.

After being inducted into the LIUSBC Hall of Fame, he retired in 1982. Stan Lewis died in 2000 at the age of 81.
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John Spadaro

1978

Westbury
Meritorious Service

Born in Passaic, New Jersey, Giovanni "John" Spadaro was orphaned as an infant and dropped out of school after eighth grade. Those challenges did not stop him from becoming Long Island's most influential youth bowling administrator and instructor. His reputation was such that when profiled in a Newsday feature story in 1962, he was referred to as "The Pied Piper of Pins."

In 1951, Spadaro became a certified American Junior Bowling Congress (AJBC) instructor and began Long Island's first AJBC program the following year. Starting with a modest enrollment of 425 bowlers, the program now boasts more than 17,000 members, making it the largest of its kind in the United States.

He has served as a director with the ELIBA since its inception in 1950 and, in 1966, became the proprietor of Bowerland in Lake Ronkonkoma. Spadaro continues to work tirelessly to promote bowling and offer lessons to any youngster interested in learning the game, free of charge.

After being inducted into the LIUSBC Hall of Fame, Spadaro continued to own, operate, and provide free lessons at Bowlerland until his retirement. His love of the game's history is evident in his instance of using a 60-year-old wooden ball when he competed in the 1987 ABC Championships.

In 1983, he was inducted as a charter member of the Long Island Junior Bowling Association Hall of Fame. In 2002, he was elected to the New York State Bowling Association Hall of Fame. John Spadaro died in 2010 at the age of 99.
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Gus Lombardi

1978

Bellport
Pioneer

Augustus Lombardi was born in Italy and immigrated to the United States as a child. After retiring from Western Union in 1951, the World War I veteran became the most recognizable junior bowling instructor in the country.

Lombardi toured the nation for more than a decade as a member of the AMF Staff of Champions, appearing alongside stars such as Sylvia Wene, Billy Welu, and Junie McMahon. Bowling instruction was still in its infancy, and Lombardi used principles gleaned from nine years as a tennis instructor. He developed a system where physical education teachers could demonstrate the basics of the game to students using a plastic ball and pins in a school gymnasium.

As AMF’s director of scholastic activities, Lombardi taught bowling basics to tens of thousands of students from grammar school through college. In 1951, he founded the Intercollegiate Match Games Championship, which initially involved four participating schools. Today, the tournament, based in Wallington, New Jersey, attracts more than 50 men’s and women’s teams from around the country.

After being inducted into the LIUSBC Hall of Fame, Lombardi continued to teach once per week at Patchogue Bowl. In1981, the Bowling Writers Association of America presented him with the Rip Van Winkle Award, emblematic of outstanding contributions to bowling. Gus Lombardi died in 1986 at the age of 90.
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Marie Baxter

1977

East Meadow
Superior Performance

Marie Baxter was one of the top female bowlers on Long Island for nearly 20 years. She started bowling competitively in 1948, and from her first tournament win in 1958, served notice that if any woman wanted to win a tournament on Long Island, she would have to go through Baxter.

In 1958, she captured the Nassau-Suffolk Women’s Bowling Association all-events crown and was a finalist in the Nassau-Suffolk Bowling Proprietors Women’s singles championship. The following year, she secured the Nassau Bowling Proprietors Women’s Singles title and appeared in the first of nine BPAA Women’s All-Star tournaments. Baxter made the finals of the All-Star in 1969.

Baxter’s best year was in 1962. She won the PWBA Norwalk (CA) Classic, the third event in the tour's history. She also won the Nassau County Women’s Bowling Association (NCWBA) all-events title (the first of three) and the New York State Women’s Match Game championship. Predictably, Baxter was named the Metropolitan Bowling Writers Association (MBWA) Bowler of the Year.

During her long career, Baxter won numerous state, local, and Women’s All-Star Association (WASA) titles. In 1970, she was again named the MBWA Bowler of the Year as well as the Long Island Bowler of the Year. In 1975, at the age of 49, she competed in six PWBA events and advanced to the finals in three. Baxter added a third in team, fifth in all events, and sixth in singles at the WIBC Championships. Her commitment to bowling was such that even while bowling all over the country and raising a family, she volunteered on the NCWBA board of directors for 17 years.

After being inducted into the LIUSBC Hall of Fame, Baxter served for several more years as an NCWBA director and continued to participate in association and WASA tournaments well into her 60s. She was named a charter member of the WASA Hall of Fame in 1987 and was inducted into the New York State Women’s Bowling Association Hall of Fame in 1993. Marie Baxter died in 2015 at the age of 89.
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Ray Van Cott

1977

East Islip
Meritorious Service

Ray Van Cott wore many hats in the bowling industry – bowler, proprietor, and tournament organizer. But his ability to build consensus among the industry’s many competing interests is what he is most remembered for. The Hempstead native was one of a handful of men who met in a Freeport fire house in 1948 and formed the Hempstead Bowling Association (now the ELIBA). Dissatisfied with their treatment from the New York City arm of the ABC, this small group of bowlers, alley managers, and proprietors laid the groundwork for what would become one of the largest local bowling associations in the country.

Before serving in World War II, Van Cott worked in a bank and was a top-caliber bowler. When he returned, he looked for a new career and soon became the manager and later part-owner of Heineman’s in Hempstead. In 1948, Newsday bowling columnist Dick Clemente approached Van Cott about hosting a long-format tournament similar to Chicago’s BPAA All-Star. With 32 lanes, Heineman’s was the only center large enough to host the event, and after a slow start and a few name changes, the Newsday Eastern Open became the most prestigious tournament on the East Coast.

Van Cott sold his interest in Heinemann’s in the mid-1950s to manage Oscar’s Bowl in East Islip and, for a brief time, managed the gigantic 48-lane Green Acres in Valley Stream. In 1959, he became co-owner of Valley Stream Recreation. Ray Van Cott died in 1985 at the age of 72.
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Lou Geisler

1977

Lynbrook
Pioneer

Lou Geisler's first job in the bowling business was as an accountant at Brunswick, Balke, and Collender Corporation's Manhattan office. In 1931, the Brooklyn native purchased Hempstead Recreation and later became proprietor of Lynbrook Recreation and Valley Stream Recreation.

In 1939, he became the first president of the Nassau Bowling Proprietor's Association. Geisler promoted tournament bowling at all of his establishments until he sold Lynbrook Recreation and retired in 1956.

Lou Geisler died in 1976 at age 89.
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Fred Voelpel

1977

Port Salerno, FL
Pioneer

Fred Voelpel earned the nickname “Iron Man” for his ability to bowl lengthy challenge matches of up to 50 games while winning more than he lost. He later lived up to that nickname by overcoming an almost career-ending injury and returning to the ranks of Long Island’s best.

Born and raised in Queens, the World War I veteran secured a position with the New York Daily News and eventually rose to become an assistant foreman in the printing department. All the while, Voelpel bowled matches and tournaments against the great bowlers of the era. In 1944, he won the Long Island Championship, outlasting all-time greats, including Andy Varipapa and George Young. But in early 1945, while leading a defense of his title, his right hand was crushed in the rollers of a printing press. By the start of the 1946-47 season, Voelpel returned to the lanes, and by 1948, he led the qualifying round of the first Newsday Eastern Open, eventually finishing fourth. He made the finals again in 1951.

Voelpel was a co-owner of Baldwin Modern from 1944 to 1950. During that time, he served as the president of the Nassau Bowling Proprietor’s Association (NBPA) and organized the first Long Island Women’s Championship in 1949. In 1950, he opened a popular restaurant in West Hempstead, the aptly named “Voelpel’s Tavern,” and continued to support bowling. In 1953, he won the NBPA’s Sponsor of the Year award.

He retired from the Daily News in 1970 and moved to Port Salerno, Florida. Fred Voelpel died in 1980 at the age of 79.
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Irene Kreidler

1976

Oyster Bay Cove
Meritorious Service

Irene Siems was born and raised in the Chicago suburb of Bloomingdale, Illinois. She moved to Hempstead after marrying James Kreidler in 1948. An avid bowler, Irene began volunteering with the Nassau-Suffolk Women’s Bowling Association and has served bowlers at the local, state, and national levels ever since.

Kreidler was elected president of the Nassau County Women’s Bowling Association (NCWBA) in 1960 and served in that position for a decade. Under her leadership, the association grew to more than 31,000 members, making it the largest local association in New York. While serving as NWBA president, she worked tirelessly to bring the New York State Women’s Bowling Association (NYSWBA) tournament to Long Island. In 1969, that became a reality when Jericho Lanes and Garden City Bowl hosted 8,000 bowlers during the seven-week-long event.

In 1974, Kreidler was elected to represent the NCWBA as a director of the Women’s International Bowling Congress. The following year, she was elected to the same position in the NYSWBA.

After being inducted into the LIUSBC Hall of Fame, Kreidler continued to be active in local, state, and national women’s bowling associations. The Metropolitan Bowling Writers Association presented her with its distinguished service award in 1979, and she was elected to the New York State Bowling Association Hall of Fame in 1997. She served two more terms as NCWBA president, the final one ending in 2000, 40 years after her first term commenced. Irene Kreidler died in 2002 at age 77.
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Nick Mormando

1976

Old Westbury
Meritorious Service

Nick Mormando purchased his first bowling center in 1948 at the tender age of 21. Since then, he has been one of the most active and accomplished proprietors in the nation.

The Brooklyn native ultimately owned seven bowling centers and is best known on Long Island as the proprietor of Westbury Bowl, North Levittown Lanes, and South Levittown Lanes. From the mid-1950s, Mormando was an active director and officer of the Nassau-Suffolk Bowling Proprietors Association, the Nassau Bowling Proprietors Association, and the New York Bowling Proprietors Association. He served as the president of the Bowling Proprietors Association of America (BPAA) from 1974 to 1976.

Mormando accomplished even more after being inducted into the LIUSBC Hall of Fame than he did previously. In 1978, Mormando received the President’s Award from the BPAA for exceptional support and significant contributions to the organization.

In the late 1970s, he played a crucial role in securing the necessary financial support to relocate the National Bowling Hall of Fame and Museum (NBHFM) from Greendale, Wisconsin. Mormando spearheaded the movement to call on bowling’s commercial partners to raise the lion’s share of the $5 million needed to build the new museum. Thanks in large part to his effort, the new NBHFM opened in St. Louis in 1984. Mormando served on the site selection, design, and construction committees and later served as the NBHFM president.

In 1991, he was inducted into the BPAA Hall of Fame and awarded the Vic Lerner Memorial Medal, the BPAA’s highest honor. The dedication read, “Always striving for accomplishments to enhance the sport and business climate of bowling.” In 1994, the NBHFM selected him as its “Salute to Champions” honoree, the hall’s primary fund-raising event that Mormando himself helped found.

In 1998, Mormando was inducted into the New York City Bowling Association Hall of Fame, and in 2003, he received bowling’s highest honor when he was inducted into the USBC Hall of Fame. Nick Mormando died in 2021 at age 93.
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Frank Kuranda

1976

Roosevelt
Pioneer

Frank Kuranda was the first president of the Hempstead Bowling Association (later the ELIBA and now the LIUSBC). Serving from 1949 through 1951, he was instrumental in getting the new association off the ground. Kuranda, a carpenter, never worked in the bowling industry; he was just a bowler who wanted to help the game.

He was tabbed by the first executive committee as president based on his experience with the New York City Bowling Association. Kuranda worked tirelessly to encourage bowlers to join the HBA and made the initial association championships in 1950 a success. He also planned the first captain-sponsor tournament the same year, bringing 125 five-man teams across five houses in both scratch and handicap competitions.

After being inducted into the LIUSBC Hall of Fame, Kuranda made national headlines in 1977 at age 72 by shooting a 649 in the doubles event at the ABC Championships. Frank Kuranda died in 1990 at age 85.
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Helen Whitten

1976

Mineola
Pioneer

Born in Chicago, Helen Bowen married Loren Whitten in 1922 and shortly thereafter moved to Long Island. Loren became an executive with Trieber Insurance in Mineola, and Helen raised their three children. In 1946, Helen became the secretary of the newly formed Nassau-Suffolk Women's Bowling Association. A year later, she was elected president, a post she held until 1950.

Since then, she has continued to be involved with women's bowling on Long Island, serving as an officer of several leagues at the Sheridan Bowling Academy.

She relocated to Pompano Beach, Florida, following her husband's death in 1969. Helen Whitten died in 1990 at age 89.
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Mary Siegel

1975

Babylon
Meritorious Service

In the 1960s, Mary Siegel and her husband Ralph helped organize junior bowling on Long Island. They were inducted together into the LIUSBC Hall of Fame because they worked side by side for most of their lives to promote bowling to young people.

Mary became involved in bowling in the 1950s and served as vice president of the Nassau County Women’s Bowling Association for over a decade. When the Nassau-Suffolk Junior Bowling Association was founded in 1960, she and her husband, Ralph, served as directors, and Mary became a certified instructor.

In the mid-1960s, Siegel was part of a group that lobbied the New York State Women’s Bowling Association to bring their annual championships to Long Island. It became a reality in 1969 when Jericho Lanes and Garden City Bowl hosted 8,000 bowlers during the seven-week-long event. Siegel chaired the tournament committee.

After being inducted into the LIUSBC Hall of Fame, Siegel continued to lead and instruct junior bowlers. By 1977, the Long Island Junior Bowling Association (LIJBA) had more than 17,000 members, making it the largest junior bowling association of its kind in the United States. Mary Siegel died in 1987 at the age of 82, and four months later, the LIJBA dedicated their annual scratch championships to her memory.
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Ralph Siegel

1975

Bablyon
Meritorious Service

Ralph Siegel helped found the Hempstead Bowling Association (later the ELIBA) in 1948. He was one of the original directors of the organization and served as president from 1958 to 1960. However, his most significant contribution was his commitment to junior bowling.

A machinist at Grumman, Siegel was a good bowler who often represented the company in the annual Long Island Industrial Tournament, one of the preeminent team events of the era. He helped found the Nassau-Suffolk Junior Bowling Association in 1960 and, along with his wife Mary, worked to make the association one of the best in the nation. By 1966, it became the largest junior bowling association in the country, and the 1966 championship drew 3,000 entries, almost as many as the ELIBA adult championships.

Ralph Siegel died in 1974 at the age of 74.
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Joe Falcaro

1975

Lawrence
Pioneer

Born in Italy and raised in Manhattan, Joe Falcaro was one of bowling’s most flamboyant and controversial figures. When he won the New York City Individual Championship as a teenager in 1915, he became known as one of the top bowlers in the city.

Falcaro won the National Match Game Championship in 1929 by defeating Joe Scribner by 129 pins over 60 games. He defended the title only once, in 1931, when he defeated Scribner, but this time by a more convincing 993 pins. Due to his reluctance to defend his championship, the BPAA stripped Falcaro of his title in 1933. Since he did not lose the title, he began billing himself as the “Undefeated Match Game Champion.”

In the 1930s and 1940s, Falcaro toured the nation on behalf of Coca-Cola and, during World War II, was credited with raising more than $10 million in war bonds. He rolled 69 perfect games – all unsanctioned – and was known as a great entertainer, always incorporating trick shots and humor into his clinics and appearances.

In 1946, Falcaro purchased Peninsula Lanes in Lawrence, immediately changing the name to Falcaro’s Recreation and later to just Falcaro’s when it expanded to 48 lanes in the mid-1950s.

Joe Falcaro died in 1951 at age 55. In 1952, the Nassau County Bowling Writers established the “Joe Falcaro Memorial Award,” presented annually to a resident of Long Island for contributions to the sport of bowling. He is a charter member of the New York City USBC Hall of Fame (1951) and the New York State USBC Hall of Fame (1982). Falcaro was elected to the USBC Hall of Fame in 1975.
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Eddie Heineman

1975

Hempstead
Pioneer

Born in Queens, Eddie Heineman was a colorful pioneer of bowling on Long Island. One of the area’s best players in the 1930s and 1940s, he captained the Pabst Brewery team and led them to the New York State Bowling Association championship in 1937 and a second-place finish at the ABC Championships in 1938. A feared match bowler, Heineman tangled with the best players in the northeast and won more than he lost.

Heineman is best known for the Hempstead alleys that once bore his name. Legend has it that after winning a seven-leg parlay at Jamaica Race Track, he rounded up 15 partners and bought an abandoned indoor polo field on Mill Road in Hempstead. After installing 32 lanes, Heineman’s was the largest bowling center on Long Island and stayed that way until the late 1950s. Later known as Mid-Isle Lanes, it hosted the area’s largest tournaments, including the Long Island Industrial Tournament, the Newsday Eastern Open, the ELIBA Championships, and the Long Island Masters.

After selling his share of Heineman’s, Eddie stayed in the industry, managing several bowling centers and bowling at a high level. He finished fourth in the 1954 Eastern Open but was forced to retire from bowling in 1956 after suffering a back injury. In 1963, he returned to manage Mid-Isle Lanes 25 years after he built it.

He retired in 1964 and moved to Florida. Eddie Heineman died in 1968 at age 62.
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Irene Richards

1975

St. Petersburg, FL
Pioneer

Irene Richards was the best female bowler on Long Island during the 1940s. The Queens native won numerous tournaments and even beat former National Match Game Champion Ned Day in a three-game exhibition match in 1944.

She won the 1940, 1941, and 1942 Nassau County Women’s Championship; the Nassau County Mixed Doubles with George Franz in 1942; the New York Journal-American singles in 1944 and 1947; and the Eastern States Women’s Individual Bowling Classic in 1946; In 1944, Richards received votes in the Associated Press’ Female Athlete of the Year voting. In 1949, she finished 6th in the first BPAA Women’s All-Star tournament in Chicago.

Richards bowled anchor on the James Gray's Girls, a powerhouse team that competed in the Ladies Majors at Capitol Lanes in Manhattan, the Woman’s All-Star Classic at Newark Recreation, and the Heineman’s Woman’s Classic.

Richards also served her fellow bowlers as the first secretary of the Nassau-Suffolk Women’s Bowling Association and later its president. She was an instructor at Heineman’s from 1943 through 1948. After moving to St. Petersburg, Florida, in 1958, she became an instructor at Ten Pin Lanes in St. Petersburg and later at Deerfield Lanes in Deerfield Beach. Irene Richards died in 1976 at age 66.
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Lil Valentine Larsson

1975

Roosevelt
Pioneer

Lillian Valentine was one of Long Island’s best bowlers of the 1940s and early 1950s. She finished second in the inaugural Nassau County Women’s Championships in 1941 and bowled numerous challenge matches in the Northeast for many years.

In 1945, she organized the Nassau-Suffolk Women’s Bowling Association and served as president for the first two years. Valentine managed Malverne lanes and was the bowling instructor at the Peninsula Bowling Center in Lawrence and the Pavilion Bowling Center in Valley Stream.

Valentine moved to Florida shortly after marrying Oscar Larsson in 1951. She continued bowling, winning the Broward County Women’s Bowling Association all-events, singles, and team titles in 1957. Lil Valentine Larsson died in 2003 at age 93.
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Frank Caprise

1974

Old Westbury
Meritorious Service

A graduate of the College of the Holy Cross, Frank Caprise spent his entire career in the bowling industry. Over the years, his family owned several Long Island bowling centers, including the Sheridan Bowling Academy in Mineola, Garden City Bowl, and Baldwin Modern.

Sheridan opened in 1940 as a 16-lane center. During Caprise’s tenure, the center expanded to 44 lanes and installed automatic pinsetters and underground ball returns. Sheridan hosted the area’s most significant events, including the Newsday Eastern Open, the Long Island Masters, and the ELIBA Annual Championships. Caprise was instrumental in the founding of the Nassau-Suffolk Bowling Proprietors Association in 1952 and later served two terms as president.

After being inducted into the LIUSBC Hall of Fame, Caprise received the President’s Award in 1978 from the Bowling Proprietors Association of America (BPAA) for exceptional support and significant contributions to the organization. He retired in 1981 and moved to West Palm Beach, Florida, where his family owned Garden Lanes.

Caprise remained active in the BPAA, serving as convention chairman for 17 years. In 1991, he was inducted into the BPAA Hall of Fame and awarded the Vic Lerner Memorial Medal, the BPAA’s highest honor. The dedication read, “Bowling is much more than a business for this family-oriented man – it’s been a way of life for more than 50 years.” Frank Caprise died in 2006 at age 91.
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Warren Matthias

1974

Freeport
Superior Performance

Warren Matthias is perhaps the best bowler ever born and raised on Long Island. The Freeport native was one of a handful of men who met in 1948 and formed the Hempstead Bowling Association (now the ELIBA). He was a charter member of the Professional Bowler’s Association and bowled several national tour stops in the early 1960s.

Matthias entered all 14 Long Island Masters tournaments, making the finals 11 times. He won in 1968 after finishing second in 1961 and 1965. He is a seven-time finalist in the Newsday Eastern Open and has represented Long Island nine times in the U.S. Open (formerly the BPAA All-Star). At one time, Matthias was the only bowler to roll games of 297, 298, 299, and 300 on Long Island.

Matthias has bowled for many years in the Seaboard Classic at Garden City Bowl and the Met Major at Bowlmor in Manhattan, consistently averaging over 200. He owned Werner’s Recreation in Baldwin from 1951 to 1953 and currently owns and operates South Shore Bowl Mart in Rockville Centre.

After being inducted into the LIUSBC Hall of Fame, Matthias continued to bowl at a high level, cashing in several PBA Senior (PBA50) tournaments. When the Newsday Eastern Open held its final tournament in 1986, he was one of only two bowlers to compete in all 39. Warren Matthias died in 1994 at age 73.
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Dick Carmody

1973

Mineola
Meritorious Service

Born in Brooklyn and raised in Elmont, Dick Carmody was a sportswriter for the Long Island Press, the Newark Star-Ledger, and Newsday. He covered a variety of sports, but his dedication to providing Long Islanders with bowling news earned him induction into the LIUSBC Hall of Fame.

Carmody played football and was the editor of the student newspaper at Adelphi University. Upon graduation, Carmody covered high school and college sports part-time for Newsday until he was hired as the sports editor of the Lake County News-Herald in Cleveland in 1951.

He was hired at the Long Island Press in 1952, where he covered harness racing and bowling. Carmody has provided excellence in bowling news to Long Islanders for more than 20 years.

After being inducted into the LIUSBC Hall of Fame, Carmody remained with the Long Island Press until it folded in 1977. He then took a position at the Newark Star-Ledger, where he covered thoroughbred and harness racing. The same year, he began writing a weekly bowling column for Newsday; he continued until 1991, when his eldest son, Larry, took over that duty.

Carmody became the tournament director of the Newsday-Nassau County Bowling Proprietors Association Team Handicap Championships in 1977. By 1980, the tournament attracted more than 1,200 five-person teams and lasted five weekends. Carmody retired from the Star-Ledger in 1992. Dick Carmody died in 1994 at age 67.
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Eleanor Thompson

1973

Bellport
Meritorious Service

Eleanor Thompson spent much of her life serving bowlers. When she lived in Queens, she served as president of the New York City Bowling Association, and later became president of the Suffolk County Women’s Bowling Association (SCWBA).

Thompson was a top-notch bowler. She won the 1955 and 1956 Suffolk County Women’s Championship and the 1959 SCWBA all-events title. However, she is best known for leading the campaign for Suffolk County bowlers to break away from the Nassau-Suffolk Women’s Bowling Association (NSWBA) in 1958.

After moving to Bellport in the early 1950s, she believed that the NSWBA was not meeting the needs of Suffolk bowlers. In 1958, the WIBC granted a charter to the SCWBA. Thompson was elected president of the SCWBA and remains in that position today.

After being inducted into the LIUSBC Hall of Fame, Thompson was elected as a Long Island director for the New York Women’s Bowling Association. She also served in various official capacities with the New York State Bowling Council. Eleanor Thompson died in 1985 at age 76.
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Dick Clemente

1970

Massapequa Park
Meritorious Service

Newsday hired Dick Clemente as their bowling columnist in 1947. The Maryland native eventually rose to the position of sports editor but always ensured that bowling remained at the forefront of the paper’s sports coverage.

His daily column, “Around the Alleys,” covered every aspect of the local bowling scene, including tournaments, leagues, and features on Long Island’s biggest names. In an era when the lines between athletes and sportswriters were not as distinct as they are today, he befriended stars like Joe Falcaro, Andy Varipapa, and George Young. His column became a must-read for every bowler on Long Island.

In 1948, he approached then-sports editor Bob Zellner with an idea. Clemente proposed that Newsday sponsor a tournament, with a similar format as the BPAA All-Star, to determine the champion bowler of Long Island. By the mid-1950s, more than 600 bowlers from around the country ventured to Long Island to compete in the Newsday Eastern Open. Until the founding of the PBA in 1959, the Newsday was the most prestigious tournament east of Chicago and counts among its champions Junie McMahon, Dick Weber, and Johnny Petraglia.

After being inducted into the LIUSBC Hall of Fame, Clemente continued as Newsday’s sports editor until he moved to Cocoa Beach, Florida, in 1972. He served as the sports editor of Florida Today until he retired in 1979. Dick Clemente died in 2007 at age 81.
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Vaughn Gramley

1969

West Hempstead
Meritorious Service

Kenneth Vaughn Gramley was born and raised in central Pennsylvania. He moved to Long Island in the 1930s and became involved in the fledgling Hempstead Bowling Association soon after it was founded in 1948.

Gramley is best known for his tireless work on behalf of junior bowlers. He was instrumental in the founding of the Nassau-Suffolk Junior Bowling Association in 1960 and has been its only secretary since then. By 1966, it became the largest junior bowling association in the country, and the 1966 championship drew 3,000 entries, almost as many as the ELIBA adult championships.

He served as the president of the Eastern Long Island Bowling Association from 1962 to 1964 and is a fixture at the check-in desk for both the Long Island Masters and the Newsday Eastern Open.

After being inducted into the LIUSBC Hall of Fame, Gramley continued as secretary of the renamed Long Island Junior Bowling Association until his retirement in 1977. Vaughn Gramley died in 1981 at age 76.
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Ed Burhop

1967

Valley Stream
Meritorious Service

Born in Bremerhaven, Germany, Ed Burhop moved to the United States as a child and served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. He became the manager of the Sheridan Bowling Academy in 1940 and has remained in the bowling industry ever since.

Burhop purchased Valley Stream Recreation in 1943. He was one of the first proprietors on Long Island to promote junior bowling, and Valley Stream Rec was the first center to host a sanctioned American Junior Bowling Congress league in 1949. To generate interest in bowling, Burhop visited schools, sometimes with pins and balls, and gave demonstrations.

In 1958, the Nassau County Bowling Writers presented him with the Joe Falcaro Memorial award, emblematic of his significant contributions to bowling on Long Island. Burhop served as the tournament chairman for the 1966 PBA National Championship and the 1966 BPAA All-Star, both held at Garden City Bowl.

After being inducted into the LIUSBC Hall of Fame, Burhop continued as the proprietor of Valley Stream Recreation until he retired in 1978. Ed Burhop died in 1987 at the age of 81.
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Andy Varipapa

1965

Plainview
Superior Performance

Born in Italy, 12-year-old Andy Varipapa immigrated to Brooklyn in 1903. By the time he moved to Hempstead in 1943, he was perhaps the world’s most famous bowler. Known for his spectacular trick shots, Varipapa’s 1934 appearance in the short film Strikes and Spares left little doubt that he was bowling’s greatest showman.

Varipapa was an outstanding bowler. In 1946, he won the BPAA All-Star, a 100-game match-game tournament against the best bowlers in the country. What made his feat more remarkable was that Andy was 55 years old. To prove it was no fluke, he won it again in 1947, becoming the All-Star’s first repeat winner.

A charter member of the Professional Bowler’s Association, Varipapa officially retired from competition in 1962 but spends 150 days per year traveling the country, giving exhibitions and clinics. He was named BPAA Bowler of the Year in 1948 and was inducted into the New York City Bowling Association Hall of Fame in 1951 and the American Bowling Congress Hall of Fame in 1957.

After being inducted into the LIUSBC Hall of Fame, Varipapa was voted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame, the New York State Bowling Association Hall of Fame, the Long Island Sports Hall of Fame, and the Bowling Coaches Hall of Fame. Bowlers Journal International named Varipapa their “Person of the Century” in 1988 and the “6th Greatest Bowler of the 20th Century” in 1999. Andy Varipapa died in 1984 at age 93.
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Bob Zellner

1963

Uniondale
Meritorious Service

Bob Zellner was a staff writer for Newsday when it published its first edition on September 3, 1940. In 1942, at just 23, he was named Newsday’s sports editor and has been with the paper ever since. As sports editor, he covered all sports; his weekly “The Right Angle” column was strictly about bowling.

When bowling columnist Dick Clemente approached him in 1948 about starting a professional tournament similar to Chicago’s BPAA All-Star, Zellner embraced the idea and put the promotional machinery of Newsday to work. Initially, only residents were eligible to compete in the Long Island Open Bowling Championship, and entries were sparse. In 1952, Zellner convinced his higher-ups to become the event’s title sponsor and allow all bowlers to enter. Entries soared, and the newly-christened Newsday Eastern Open became the “All-Star of the East.”

Zellner assumed the role of tournament director in 1960 of the event that attracts more than 600 of the country’s best bowlers each year. He has been a steadfast supporter of bowling and continues to serve the best interests of Long Island’s bowlers and proprietors.

After being inducted into the LIUSBC Hall of Fame, Zellner continued to write for Newsday until he retired in 1980. He served as the President of the Bowling Writers Association of America (BWAA) in 1983.

Zellner received the Joe Richards Meritorious Service Award from the Met Bowling Writers in 1980, the Mort Luby Distinguished Service Award from the BWAA in 1992, and the Sam Levine Flowers for the Living Award from the BWAA in 1996. Bob Zellner died in 1998 at the age of 79.
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Bob Benn

1962

Levittown
Meritorious Service

A charter member of the LIUSBC Hall of Fame, Bob Benn ran the Long Island Industrial Bowling Tournament for most of its existence. When team bowling was at its peak, as was the aviation industry on Long Island, Benn was at the center of the action.

The Farmingdale native was a standout athlete at Hofstra University, starring in baseball, basketball, track, and golf. After graduation, Benn worked at Grumman Aircraft for less than a year before enlisting in the Coast Guard. After serving as an assistant gunnery officer, he returned to Grumman in 1946 as the director of the Grumman Athletic Association (GAA).

In 1946, Benn became the director of the Long Island Industrial Bowling Tournament, and thousands of Long Islanders vied to be selected to compete in the month-long tournament. Thanks to Benn’s efforts, the event became the highlight of the bowling season for many employees at Long Island’s largest corporations.

Benn was inducted into the charter class of the Hofstra University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1952 and has served as president of the Long Island Industrial Recreation Association. In 1956, the Nassau County Bowling Writers presented Benn with the Joe Falcaro Memorial Award to honor his many contributions to Long Island’s bowling community.

After induction into the LIUSBC Hall of Fame, Benn directed the GAA and the Long Island Industrial Bowling Tournament until he retired in 1977. Bob Benn died in 1998 at age 83.
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Vic Edwin

1962

West Hempstead
Meritorious Service

A charter member of the LIUSBC Hall of Fame, Henry Victor Edwin was among the men who met at the Freeport Fire House in 1949 to form the Hempstead Bowling Association. Created to attend to the interest of bowlers in Nassau and Suffolk County, Edwin has served those bowlers with distinction.

Edwin served as tournament director of the first-ever association championships in 1950 and was named association secretary later that year. Known as the Eastern Long Island Bowling Association (ELIBA) after 1954, the association grew to include more than 220 centers, 2,500 lanes, and 50,000 bowlers. After outgrowing his kitchen table in West Hempstead, he moved the organization to an office in West Hempstead in 1955 and later to larger quarters in Garden City.

In 1954, Edwin became chairman of the local chapter of the National Bowlers Victory Legion (now known as the BVL) and, not long after, founded the Long Island Bowlers Benefit Tournament. The tournament raises tens of thousands annually to help needy Long Islanders. In 1955, the Nassau-Suffolk Bowling Writers presented Edwin with the Joe Falcaro Memorial Award "in recognition of his untiring and unselfish contributions to bowling."

In 1956, he was appointed to the American Bowling Congress (ABC) executive board and served as the official ABC representative for Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, and northern New Jersey. Along with sponsors Frank Varipapa and Stan Lewis, Edwin founded the Long Island Masters tournament in 1960. He also served as a director of the American Junior Bowling Congress division of the ELIBA.

After being inducted into the LIUSBC Hall of Fame, Vic Edwin served as the executive director of ELIBA and an executive board member of ABC until he died in 1975 at the age of 74. In 1979, the Long Island Masters was renamed the "Vic Edwin Memorial Masters Championship" in his honor.
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Oskar Frowien

1962

Blue Point
Meritorious Service

A charter member of the LIUSBC Hall of Fame and a native of Center Moriches, Oskar Frowein was a driving force behind the popularity of industrial bowling leagues on Long Island in the 1940s and 1950s. After graduating from the University of Michigan, Frowein became the director of recreation sports at Republic Aviation in Farmingdale in 1943.

Frowein arrived at Republic as the Long Island Aircraft tournament entered its second year. The tournament brought together the best bowlers from Long Island’s many aviation companies, including Grumman Aircraft, Sperry Gyroscope, and Liberty Aircraft. Frowein immediately renamed the event the Long Island Industrial Bowling Tournament event and welcomed teams from all industries. By the early 1950s, the event was the highlight of the bowling season for employees of Long Island’s largest companies.

During his tenure at Republic, Frowein was president of the National Industrial Recreation Association and co-founded the Long Island Industrial Bowling Association. The Nassau County Bowling Writers presented him with the Joe Falcaro Memorial Award in 1961 to honor his many contributions to the sport of bowling.

After induction into the LIUSBC Hall of Fame, Frowein directed the recreational sports program at Republic Aviation until 1964. He later served as a work-experience coordinator for the Deer Park school district until retiring in 1980. Oskar Frowein died in 1981 at age 69.
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Lil Oliver

1962

Hempstead
Meritorious Service

A charter member of the LIUSBC Hall of Fame, Elizabeth Oliver has been the face of women’s bowling in Nassau County for more than a decade. She guided the association through turbulent times and an era of unprecedented growth.

Oliver was elected president of the Nassau/Suffolk Women’s Bowling Association in 1951. In 1959, when female bowlers in Suffolk chose to form their own governing body, Oliver searched to find a secretary for the newly formed Nassau County Women’s Bowling Association (NCWBA). When no one stepped forward to volunteer for the job, Oliver took matters into her own hands by resigning as president and becoming association secretary. Later that year, she became the first woman to receive the Joe Falcaro Memorial Award in recognition of her outstanding contributions to bowling.

The NCWBA grew to serve over 34,000 members in the county’s 125 centers. Oliver was instrumental in the founding of the Long Island Women’s Masters tournament and continues to serve as tournament director of the association’s annual championships. She has held various executive positions in the Nassau-Suffolk Bowling Council since its founding in 1952.

After being inducted into the LIUSBC Hall of Fame, Oliver served as secretary of the NCWBA until her retirement in 1977. That same year, the Metropolitan Bowling Writers gave her an award for distinguished service. The following year, the NCWBA awarded the winner of the Long Island Women’s Masters the Lil Oliver Championship trophy. In 1986, she was inducted into the New York State Bowling Association Hall of Fame. Lil Oliver died in 2000 at age 96.
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Buddy Russell

1962

Searingtown
Meritorious Service

A charter member of the LIUSBC Hall of Fame, Oliver “Buddy” Russell managed a bowling center at the age of 21 and has made the industry his life’s work. Born in Manhattan, Russell was a multi-sport athlete who pitched a no-hit, no-run game in high school and later reigned as the Long Island welterweight boxing champion.

Russell was hired at Baldwin Modern Lanes in 1939 and was named manager shortly thereafter. He subsequently managed Milburn Lanes and Sheridan Bowl before purchasing the Village Bowling Club in Manhasset in 1950. In 1952, Russell founded and became the first president of the Nassau-Suffolk Bowling Proprietors Association, a position he held until 1959. He later built two new bowling centers, the 50-lane Garden City Bowl in 1958 and the 42-lane Pine Hollow Bowl in 1959.

The Nassau County Bowling Writers presented Russell with the Joe Falcaro Memorial Award in 1957 for his outstanding contributions to bowling. In 1962, he coordinated a lobbying effort for the Nassau-Suffolk Bowling Council that led the state legislature to lift the ban on children entering a bowling center without an adult. The result was New York State’s first “Junior Bowling Week.”

After induction into the LIUSBC Hall of Fame, Russell brought professional bowling to Long Island. Garden City Bowl hosted the Men’s and Women’s BPAA All-Star tournaments in 1968 and the PBA National Championship in 1970.

However, it was the Long Island Open that made Garden City Bowl famous nationwide. From 1975 through 1986, the event was a mainstay of the PBA Winter Tour when bowling was at its peak of popularity. ABC televised the finals, and Russell presented the winner’s check to all time-greats like Earl Anthony and Dick Weber, as well as to local heroes Don Genalo and Peter Hakim.

He retired after 54 years in the bowling industry, selling Garden City Bowl in 1993. Buddy Russell died in 2004 at age 89.
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