New Jersey bowler reaches 50 appearances at Open Championships
March 21, 2025
BATON ROUGE, La. – Bowling is a sport that can take you on a lifelong journey with many trials, tribulations and celebrations along the way.
Paul Kodrasov of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, is a shining example of that as he participated in his 50th consecutive tournament this week at the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships.
Kodrasov became the fourth bowler at the 2025 event – held at the Raising Cane’s River Center – to reach the milestone appearance, and he received a plaque, chevron and diamond lapel pin for his years of dedication to the tournament.
Getting to his 50th year at the USBC Open Championships wasn’t easy for the 74-year-old right-hander, who made his debut at the 1974 event in Indianapolis.
“Coming into my 50th year, I’ve been having a lot of physical health problems, but I have too much time in my life invested into this tournament to just give up and not do my best to hit the lanes,” Kodrasov said. “The first 48 tournaments of my career here were fantastic, but the last two years were challenging for the confidence in my game. I made the best of it by having fun with the guys I bowl with.”
A true journeyman in bowling, Kodrasov has enjoyed his years traveling the country at the Open Championships, with the goal of cementing his family’s legacy in the tournament’s history book and, most of all, making his wife proud.
“My wife Janet put up with a lot of stuff all these years as I bowled in many tournaments and leagues,” Kodrasov said. “She really wanted to be here today for my 50th USBC tournament, but she sadly passed away two years ago.
“My mother and father came here with me from Germany in the 50s, and I am the last bowler in my family with my last name. So, knowing my family name would be in the history book of this tournament means a lot to me.”
Kodrasov has driven thousands of miles to bowl hundreds of tournaments and has bowled in over 570 different centers, as that also was a passion of his throughout his career.
The American Bowling Congress (now USBC) even featured Kodrasov in an edition of American Bowler, a quarterly newsletter sent out to all members of the association.
In his feature, Kodrasov talked about his journey in bowling, ranking that time in his life as a wild ride.
“I have bowled in so many state tournaments, national tournaments, amateur tournaments, leagues, you name it,” Kodrasov said. “I consider myself a bowling center junkie, and I just wanted to experience bowling in all types of settings and arenas to challenge myself.”
While Kodrasov has a decorated career in the bowling world, he’s looking forward to enjoying some new hobbies, too.
“In my opinion, I have nothing left to do here, since this moment is what I have been working toward,” Kodrasov said. “I’ll still always love bowling, but now my family’s name it etched in the history book forever, and I’m grateful for that. I have a new love of horse racing, and I want to devote my time to watching that and going to any derbies or races while I still can.”
In his 50th appearance, Kodrasov only bowled in the team event and brought his career pinfall at the tournament to 74,430 for a lifetime average of 169.9.
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.
Paul Kodrasov of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, is a shining example of that as he participated in his 50th consecutive tournament this week at the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships.
Kodrasov became the fourth bowler at the 2025 event – held at the Raising Cane’s River Center – to reach the milestone appearance, and he received a plaque, chevron and diamond lapel pin for his years of dedication to the tournament.
Getting to his 50th year at the USBC Open Championships wasn’t easy for the 74-year-old right-hander, who made his debut at the 1974 event in Indianapolis.
“Coming into my 50th year, I’ve been having a lot of physical health problems, but I have too much time in my life invested into this tournament to just give up and not do my best to hit the lanes,” Kodrasov said. “The first 48 tournaments of my career here were fantastic, but the last two years were challenging for the confidence in my game. I made the best of it by having fun with the guys I bowl with.”
A true journeyman in bowling, Kodrasov has enjoyed his years traveling the country at the Open Championships, with the goal of cementing his family’s legacy in the tournament’s history book and, most of all, making his wife proud.
“My wife Janet put up with a lot of stuff all these years as I bowled in many tournaments and leagues,” Kodrasov said. “She really wanted to be here today for my 50th USBC tournament, but she sadly passed away two years ago.
“My mother and father came here with me from Germany in the 50s, and I am the last bowler in my family with my last name. So, knowing my family name would be in the history book of this tournament means a lot to me.”
Kodrasov has driven thousands of miles to bowl hundreds of tournaments and has bowled in over 570 different centers, as that also was a passion of his throughout his career.
The American Bowling Congress (now USBC) even featured Kodrasov in an edition of American Bowler, a quarterly newsletter sent out to all members of the association.
In his feature, Kodrasov talked about his journey in bowling, ranking that time in his life as a wild ride.
“I have bowled in so many state tournaments, national tournaments, amateur tournaments, leagues, you name it,” Kodrasov said. “I consider myself a bowling center junkie, and I just wanted to experience bowling in all types of settings and arenas to challenge myself.”
While Kodrasov has a decorated career in the bowling world, he’s looking forward to enjoying some new hobbies, too.
“In my opinion, I have nothing left to do here, since this moment is what I have been working toward,” Kodrasov said. “I’ll still always love bowling, but now my family’s name it etched in the history book forever, and I’m grateful for that. I have a new love of horse racing, and I want to devote my time to watching that and going to any derbies or races while I still can.”
In his 50th appearance, Kodrasov only bowled in the team event and brought his career pinfall at the tournament to 74,430 for a lifetime average of 169.9.
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.