USBC Hall of Famer Cora Fiebig dies at age 91
December 04, 2025
ARLINGTON, Texas – United States Bowling Congress Hall of Famer Cora Fiebig of Madison Heights, Michigan, died Nov. 13 at the age of 91.
Fiebig found success on the international stage during her two appearances on Team USA (1981 and 1987) and became the oldest competitor (51 years old) to win the USBC Queens in 1986. She was inducted for Superior Performance in 2004.
The right-hander collected multiple wins at the local and state levels across Michigan before breaking through with her first run at a Queens title in 1978. Fiebig went undefeated through the bracket to earn the top seed but finished second to USBC and Professional Women’s Bowling Association Hall of Famer Loa Boxberger.
At the 1986 Queens, she qualified fourth for the finals and worked her way up the stepladder – including wins over USBC and PWBA Hall of Famers Betty Morris and Donna Adamek – to advance to the title match. There, Fiebig defeated Barbara Thorberg to claim the tiara and major victory, 223-177.
Fiebig’s career on Team USA started with a win at the 1981 Team USA Trials, which allowed her to represent the red, white and blue in Winnipeg, Canada, later that year at the Federation Internationale des Quilleurs (FIQ) American Zone Championships (now known as the PANAM Bowling Elite Championships).
In Winnipeg, she helped Team USA win gold in the team event and also collected bronze medals in singles and trios competition.
Just a couple months after her win at the Queens, Fiebig – at 52 years old – again was able to navigate her way through a stepladder to earn the title at the 1986 United States National Amateur Bowling Championships and secure her spot on Team USA for 1987.
She traveled with the team to compete at the 1987 FIQ World Championships (now known as the International Bowling Federation World Championships) in Helsinki, Finland, and claimed three more medals – two golds (doubles and team) and one bronze (trios) – for the United States.
The winning scores in doubles (2,566 with Kathy Wodka) and team (6,011) set records for the women’s division that would stand until the 1999 World Championships. Fiebig fired a six-game total of 1,330 during the doubles performance (221.66 average).
Fiebig’s overall showing on the lanes in 1986 helped her earn the distinction of Amateur Bowler of the Year from Bowlers Journal International, and she was named the Athlete of the Year for bowling by the United States Olympic Committee (now United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee) in 1987.
She also was inducted to the Metro Detroit USBC and Michigan State USBC Halls of Fame.
A memorial visitation for Fiebig will be Saturday, Dec. 6 at the A.H. Peters Funeral Home (32000 Schoenherr Rd., Warren, MI, 48088) from 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. A memorial service will take place the same evening at 6 p.m.
Memorial contributions can be made to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, an organization that Fiebig worked closely with over the years.
“I love to give back to the community by working with children,” said Fiebig in 2003. “I started a bowling charity to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation 13 years ago. So far, we have raised approximately $300,000.”
Fiebig found success on the international stage during her two appearances on Team USA (1981 and 1987) and became the oldest competitor (51 years old) to win the USBC Queens in 1986. She was inducted for Superior Performance in 2004.
The right-hander collected multiple wins at the local and state levels across Michigan before breaking through with her first run at a Queens title in 1978. Fiebig went undefeated through the bracket to earn the top seed but finished second to USBC and Professional Women’s Bowling Association Hall of Famer Loa Boxberger.
At the 1986 Queens, she qualified fourth for the finals and worked her way up the stepladder – including wins over USBC and PWBA Hall of Famers Betty Morris and Donna Adamek – to advance to the title match. There, Fiebig defeated Barbara Thorberg to claim the tiara and major victory, 223-177.
Fiebig’s career on Team USA started with a win at the 1981 Team USA Trials, which allowed her to represent the red, white and blue in Winnipeg, Canada, later that year at the Federation Internationale des Quilleurs (FIQ) American Zone Championships (now known as the PANAM Bowling Elite Championships).
In Winnipeg, she helped Team USA win gold in the team event and also collected bronze medals in singles and trios competition.
Just a couple months after her win at the Queens, Fiebig – at 52 years old – again was able to navigate her way through a stepladder to earn the title at the 1986 United States National Amateur Bowling Championships and secure her spot on Team USA for 1987.
She traveled with the team to compete at the 1987 FIQ World Championships (now known as the International Bowling Federation World Championships) in Helsinki, Finland, and claimed three more medals – two golds (doubles and team) and one bronze (trios) – for the United States.
The winning scores in doubles (2,566 with Kathy Wodka) and team (6,011) set records for the women’s division that would stand until the 1999 World Championships. Fiebig fired a six-game total of 1,330 during the doubles performance (221.66 average).
Fiebig’s overall showing on the lanes in 1986 helped her earn the distinction of Amateur Bowler of the Year from Bowlers Journal International, and she was named the Athlete of the Year for bowling by the United States Olympic Committee (now United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee) in 1987.
She also was inducted to the Metro Detroit USBC and Michigan State USBC Halls of Fame.
A memorial visitation for Fiebig will be Saturday, Dec. 6 at the A.H. Peters Funeral Home (32000 Schoenherr Rd., Warren, MI, 48088) from 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. A memorial service will take place the same evening at 6 p.m.
Memorial contributions can be made to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, an organization that Fiebig worked closely with over the years.
“I love to give back to the community by working with children,” said Fiebig in 2003. “I started a bowling charity to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation 13 years ago. So far, we have raised approximately $300,000.”