Merced County Bowling HOF nominations close on Saturday

Nominations for the Merced County Bowling Hall of Fame and Pioneer Award have to be submitted by Saturday. The Hall is open for all men and women who bowled in Merced County.

A living candidate for the Hall must have been a sanctioned bowler in Merced County for at least 20 years. There is not a year requirement for posthumous nominees. There are two categories: Meritorious Service and Superior Ability category.

The Pioneer Award nominees must have been involved in bowling through league participation, sponsorships of teams, a league officer, team captain, or been a bowler who has shown a life-long commitment to our sport for at least 30 years. Forms are available at Bellevue Bowl.

The Hall of Fame and scholarship dinner has been rescheduled from April 18 to April 11 at the Atwater Community Center.

Garber wins 6-gamer

A total of 14 bowlers took to Yosemite Lanes last Sunday for the monthly scratch 6-gamer on the PBA Viper pattern. It must have been a tough shot, as only four of the 14 bowlers shot over 1,200. Yosemite manager Wayne Garber rolled for his first 6-gamer win in more than a year by defeating Joe Petrovich of Tracy in the final match, 202-170, and earned $236. Petrovich earned $180.

The next 6-gamer will be on Feb. 15. Check-in begins at 11 a.m. and bowling starts at noon. Coming up on March 28-29 is the Modesto Master at McHenry Bowl.

League highlights

Andre Brice, rolling for the Atwater Medical Group in the Commercial Classic, picked up the 7-9 split. He skimmed the 9 pin and it toppled over and bounced over to hit the 7.

Billy “The Kid” Pimentel in the Monday Night Merchants rolled a 202 game with a 136 average. Gene Wallace was in the groove in the Classic with a 655 after being out for a few weeks with a foot injury.

Nine-pin no-tap

McHenry Bowl is hosting its monthly senior handicap 9-pin, no-tap this Friday with a check-in time of 12:30 p.m.; bowling starting at 1 p.m. Cost is $15, which includes your high game and series pots. Remember, they have a potluck lunch at noon. So bring a dish. See you there.

Oven baked ball

I was reading the Bowling World newspaper about a guy in the Bay Area who said his ball quit reacting in the back and he did not want to buy a new one at this time. So he put the ball in the oven to extract the oil.

He set the oven at 350. You have most likely guessed, the ball melted. What is the proper temperature to set the oven at to extract the oil? You don’t.

Most bowlers are now using some type of heat extractor to remove the oil from their ball to extend the life of the ball. I recommend the NuBall system that is easy to operate and costs very little. The manufacture of the Nu-Ball system has made our association members a great price for the unit. During the month of February, you can purchase the unit for $135 which includes shipping to your home. If you order online, use promo codemercedbowler (no space, all lower case) as the code. You can also call direct at (971) 238-2695. The system works.

10th no-tap tourney

It’s a bit early to announce the 10th Annual Senior No-Tap Handicap Tournament up at Black Oak Lanes in Tuolumne, but you can mark your calendars for the dates of March 6 and 13. The entry fee of $15. Your will use your 2013-2014 book average, or your average as of Jan. 1 if you do not have a book. I have 20 spots reserved for the 1:30 p.m. on March 13. Get in touch with me if you want to roll on that squad. High game pot is paid after every game.

Remember when?

In 1968-69 the winner of the charity bowling event held on behalf of Veteran Hospitals. Winners were William Ploor, Ray Williams, Bea Thompson and Pat Pirtle. Ann Bernard was the BVL chairman and raised $400 with 239 bowlers at Continental Bowl in downtown Merced.

A big thank you

Richard Tweed was touched by the 138 people who attended the celebration of life for his late wife Karen Tweed.

“All the bowlers, Farmers Insurance employees, Club Mercedes and its members for helping me honor her in style,” Tweed said. “The photos, posters, framed picture of her and her tournament buddies that she bowled with were outstanding. A special thanks to Club Mercedes for the lunch.”

Tweed wanted to make sure everyone knew how much it meant to him.

This story was originally published January 28, 2015 at 5:08 PM with the headline "Merced County Bowling HOF nominations close on Saturday."