Albuquerque bowler reaches 50 years at USBC Open Championships
April 02, 2025
BATON ROUGE, La. – Getting to 50 years of participation at the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships certainly is a great accomplishment, and Edwin Case of Albuquerque, New Mexico, now can add his name to the list after his recent appearance at the 2025 event.
Case was recognized for his longevity before his team event Saturday at the Raising Cane’s River Center and received a plaque, chevron and diamond lapel pin.
The 77-year-old started bowling the Open Championships in 1974 during the event’s trip to Indianapolis, and he has only missed one year since his debut, which was back in 1991.
“It’s amazing,” Case said. “When I first started, I had no expectation that I would get this far, and it has turned out really well. I didn’t bowl well, but I had a great time with my team. I have known most of them over 40 years.”
With Case’s 50 years, his team in 2025 – Merrill Lynch – featured 190 years of tournament experience. Steve Conrad joined the 50-Year Club last year and now has 51 appearances, and Case also was joined by Gary Skidmore (39 years), Carl Miller (38 years) and Frank Hennie (12 years).
Case has created a lot of great memories over his 50 appearances, but one of his favorite years was during the 2006 event, when the tournament was held in Corpus Christi, Texas.
“It was one of the few times I had bowled a 700 at the USBC,” Case said.
That year, he also was able to record an all-events total of 2,041 – his highest nine-game total at the Open Championships. His scores included 652 in team, 749 in doubles and 640 in singles. He also was able to bowl a 700 series (704) during doubles at the 2011 event in Reno, Nevada.
Even though that might have been his most memorable year for bowling, his favorite city to visit for the event was Niagara Falls, New York.
“We had never been that far northeast before, and we were able to go into Canada and see Toronto,” said Case, who was able to go to Niagara Falls in 1983 and 1987 for the tournament. “It was a cool experience. Specifically, 1983 was memorable because we went to visit in May, and just after we had left, Buffalo had to close because they were getting hit with a snowstorm. We were the last plane out that day.”
Case said this might be his last year bowling the tournament, but when he talked about reaching 50 years, he said, “This is an accomplishment, and I have reached my goal that I have wanted.”
He also said when he made his 36th appearance was when he realized that his goal was to get to 50.
Case concluded his 50th year of bowling with scores of 459 in team, 500 in doubles and 581 in singles for an all-events score of 1,540. Through 50 years, he has knocked over 84,733 pins for a career average of 190.8.
The Open Championships is celebrating its third trip to Baton Rouge in 2025 and scheduled to feature more than 58,000 bowlers and 11,600 five-player teams competing across 150 consecutive days at the River Center.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships page.
Case was recognized for his longevity before his team event Saturday at the Raising Cane’s River Center and received a plaque, chevron and diamond lapel pin.
The 77-year-old started bowling the Open Championships in 1974 during the event’s trip to Indianapolis, and he has only missed one year since his debut, which was back in 1991.
“It’s amazing,” Case said. “When I first started, I had no expectation that I would get this far, and it has turned out really well. I didn’t bowl well, but I had a great time with my team. I have known most of them over 40 years.”
With Case’s 50 years, his team in 2025 – Merrill Lynch – featured 190 years of tournament experience. Steve Conrad joined the 50-Year Club last year and now has 51 appearances, and Case also was joined by Gary Skidmore (39 years), Carl Miller (38 years) and Frank Hennie (12 years).
Case has created a lot of great memories over his 50 appearances, but one of his favorite years was during the 2006 event, when the tournament was held in Corpus Christi, Texas.
“It was one of the few times I had bowled a 700 at the USBC,” Case said.
That year, he also was able to record an all-events total of 2,041 – his highest nine-game total at the Open Championships. His scores included 652 in team, 749 in doubles and 640 in singles. He also was able to bowl a 700 series (704) during doubles at the 2011 event in Reno, Nevada.
Even though that might have been his most memorable year for bowling, his favorite city to visit for the event was Niagara Falls, New York.
“We had never been that far northeast before, and we were able to go into Canada and see Toronto,” said Case, who was able to go to Niagara Falls in 1983 and 1987 for the tournament. “It was a cool experience. Specifically, 1983 was memorable because we went to visit in May, and just after we had left, Buffalo had to close because they were getting hit with a snowstorm. We were the last plane out that day.”
Case said this might be his last year bowling the tournament, but when he talked about reaching 50 years, he said, “This is an accomplishment, and I have reached my goal that I have wanted.”
He also said when he made his 36th appearance was when he realized that his goal was to get to 50.
Case concluded his 50th year of bowling with scores of 459 in team, 500 in doubles and 581 in singles for an all-events score of 1,540. Through 50 years, he has knocked over 84,733 pins for a career average of 190.8.
The Open Championships is celebrating its third trip to Baton Rouge in 2025 and scheduled to feature more than 58,000 bowlers and 11,600 five-player teams competing across 150 consecutive days at the River Center.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships page.