Illinois bowler achieves 50 years at 2025 USBC Open Championships
May 23, 2025
BATON ROUGE, La. – Competing for 50 years at the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships is an accomplishment to be proud of, and for Wayne Nosse of Crest Hill, Illinois, it’s an achievement he’s been able to complete across 50 consecutive appearances.
Nosse started his journey in 1975, when the tournament was being held in Dayton, Ohio, and he received a plaque, chevron and diamond lapel pin this week at the Raising Cane’s River Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to commemorate his milestone.
When it comes to his performances at the Open Championships, Nosse likes to look back to the 1993 event in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
That year, he was able to come away with a 300 game in singles and finished with a total score of 2,158 in all-events, his highest at the tournament. He had sets of 741 in doubles, 739 in singles and 678 in team. He also tied the record for the most consecutive strikes (21) at the event during the run, which was passed later during the tournament.
“Tulsa was one of my favorite years, because I bowled so well and it was a drivable year,” said Nosse, who noted he liked all the cities he could drive to, with Tulsa having the most meaning to him.
Nosse has put together quite a few strong performances at the Open Championships. He has recorded 16 appearances of posting an all-events score of 1,800 (200 average) or higher over the course of his career at the tournament.
Reaching 50 years wasn’t part of the original plan for Nosse, but once he realized he could get there, he wanted to achieve the feat.
He has dealt with a couple of health issues in recent years, including a heart attack (he bowled a 300 game three months later) and having a tumor removed from his stomach two years ago. Those haven’t stopped him from competing, though.
“Once I got to 40 years, it was the plan,” Nosse said. “Before that, it was just bowling.”
Nosse said that he is “content” on where he has been with his career and the tournament, but he’s not stopping just yet. Nosse said, “I made it to 50, and I am good with that. But if my friends keeping coming, then I’ll keep coming, too.”
He finished his 50th appearance with an all-events total of 1,461 to bring his career pinfall at the Open Championships to 86,620. Over 50 years, he has compiled a lifetime average of 192.4.
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.
Nosse started his journey in 1975, when the tournament was being held in Dayton, Ohio, and he received a plaque, chevron and diamond lapel pin this week at the Raising Cane’s River Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to commemorate his milestone.
When it comes to his performances at the Open Championships, Nosse likes to look back to the 1993 event in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
That year, he was able to come away with a 300 game in singles and finished with a total score of 2,158 in all-events, his highest at the tournament. He had sets of 741 in doubles, 739 in singles and 678 in team. He also tied the record for the most consecutive strikes (21) at the event during the run, which was passed later during the tournament.
“Tulsa was one of my favorite years, because I bowled so well and it was a drivable year,” said Nosse, who noted he liked all the cities he could drive to, with Tulsa having the most meaning to him.
Nosse has put together quite a few strong performances at the Open Championships. He has recorded 16 appearances of posting an all-events score of 1,800 (200 average) or higher over the course of his career at the tournament.
Reaching 50 years wasn’t part of the original plan for Nosse, but once he realized he could get there, he wanted to achieve the feat.
He has dealt with a couple of health issues in recent years, including a heart attack (he bowled a 300 game three months later) and having a tumor removed from his stomach two years ago. Those haven’t stopped him from competing, though.
“Once I got to 40 years, it was the plan,” Nosse said. “Before that, it was just bowling.”
Nosse said that he is “content” on where he has been with his career and the tournament, but he’s not stopping just yet. Nosse said, “I made it to 50, and I am good with that. But if my friends keeping coming, then I’ll keep coming, too.”
He finished his 50th appearance with an all-events total of 1,461 to bring his career pinfall at the Open Championships to 86,620. Over 50 years, he has compiled a lifetime average of 192.4.
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.