Wisconsin bowler joins 50-year Club at USBC Open Championships
April 28, 2010
RENO, Nev. - During his five decades at the USBC Open Championships, Wally Ziesch of Sun Prairie, Wis., has shared the tournament lanes with many teammates, but none have been more special than the family members who joined him at the National Bowling Stadium on Tuesday.
The group was in Reno celebrating Ziesch's 50th appearance at the Open Championships. He became the 127th bowler in history, and second in two days, to join the elite 50-Year Club as he made his milestone march down Center Aisle. He received a plaque, chevron and diamond lapel pin to commemorate the achievement, which meant a lot to him.
"I really enjoyed the ceremony today," said Ziesch, who is a member of the Madison (Wis.) USBC Hall of Fame. "I worked hard for this moment, and I really love bowling. I was afraid I wasn't going to make it because many of my teammates stopped bowling. For a while, I was having problems picking up bowlers, so I really wasn't sure if I was going to make it."
With it becoming harder and harder to field a full team in recent years, Ziesch turned to his family to help him complete his journey. Four years ago, his daughter, Cher, and her husband, John, decided to bowl with him. This year, he also was joined by his grandson Beau and granddaughter Bobbi.
"My daughter decided to take the team over," Ziesch said. "I was losing bowlers, and my family stepped in. This is something that not everybody gets a chance to do. We used to bowl with a team from Colorado, and one of their members decided he would bowl with me. He bowled with me for three years because he wanted to help me reach my goal. Everyone wanted to see me reach 50 years, and without them, I wouldn't have made it."
Ziesch made his Open Championships debut at the 1959 event in St. Louis after the owners of Madison's Dream Lanes decided to sponsor a team. Ziesch was a member of one of the top teams from the center and was asked to take part.
The tournament has provided him with many good memories and the opportunity to see various parts of the country. He has driven to almost all of the host cities, including Reno, and the only reason he missed the two years he did (the 1964 event in Oakland, Calif., and the 1972 tournament in Long Beach, Calif.) was because of the driving distance between Wisconsin and California.
This year, Ziesch shot 501 in singles, 479 in team and 432 in doubles for a 1,412 all-events total.
In 50 tournament appearances, he has knocked down 78,692 pins for a 180.9 career average. His highest series on championship lanes is 720, which came in singles at the 2000 event in Albuquerque, N.M., and his best all-events effort was 1,822 at the 1992 tournament in Corpus Christi, Texas.
"I was treated very well today," Ziesch said. "I thought everything was nice and it was great to have my family here. Next to my hall of fame induction, reaching this milestone is right up there."
Presenting sponsors for the 2010 USBC Open Championships are Circus Circus, Eldorado Hotel Casino and Silver Legacy Resort Casino in Reno, Nevada. Other sponsors include Sands Regency Casino Hotel, official brackets sponsor, Kegel, official lane maintenance provider, US Steltronic, official scoring system, and supporting sponsors Storm Bowling Products, UPS, Nationwide Insurance, Atlantis Casino Resort and Spa, Harrah's Reno Casino and Hotel and Peppermill Hotel Casino.
The group was in Reno celebrating Ziesch's 50th appearance at the Open Championships. He became the 127th bowler in history, and second in two days, to join the elite 50-Year Club as he made his milestone march down Center Aisle. He received a plaque, chevron and diamond lapel pin to commemorate the achievement, which meant a lot to him.
"I really enjoyed the ceremony today," said Ziesch, who is a member of the Madison (Wis.) USBC Hall of Fame. "I worked hard for this moment, and I really love bowling. I was afraid I wasn't going to make it because many of my teammates stopped bowling. For a while, I was having problems picking up bowlers, so I really wasn't sure if I was going to make it."
With it becoming harder and harder to field a full team in recent years, Ziesch turned to his family to help him complete his journey. Four years ago, his daughter, Cher, and her husband, John, decided to bowl with him. This year, he also was joined by his grandson Beau and granddaughter Bobbi.
"My daughter decided to take the team over," Ziesch said. "I was losing bowlers, and my family stepped in. This is something that not everybody gets a chance to do. We used to bowl with a team from Colorado, and one of their members decided he would bowl with me. He bowled with me for three years because he wanted to help me reach my goal. Everyone wanted to see me reach 50 years, and without them, I wouldn't have made it."
Ziesch made his Open Championships debut at the 1959 event in St. Louis after the owners of Madison's Dream Lanes decided to sponsor a team. Ziesch was a member of one of the top teams from the center and was asked to take part.
The tournament has provided him with many good memories and the opportunity to see various parts of the country. He has driven to almost all of the host cities, including Reno, and the only reason he missed the two years he did (the 1964 event in Oakland, Calif., and the 1972 tournament in Long Beach, Calif.) was because of the driving distance between Wisconsin and California.
This year, Ziesch shot 501 in singles, 479 in team and 432 in doubles for a 1,412 all-events total.
In 50 tournament appearances, he has knocked down 78,692 pins for a 180.9 career average. His highest series on championship lanes is 720, which came in singles at the 2000 event in Albuquerque, N.M., and his best all-events effort was 1,822 at the 1992 tournament in Corpus Christi, Texas.
"I was treated very well today," Ziesch said. "I thought everything was nice and it was great to have my family here. Next to my hall of fame induction, reaching this milestone is right up there."
Presenting sponsors for the 2010 USBC Open Championships are Circus Circus, Eldorado Hotel Casino and Silver Legacy Resort Casino in Reno, Nevada. Other sponsors include Sands Regency Casino Hotel, official brackets sponsor, Kegel, official lane maintenance provider, US Steltronic, official scoring system, and supporting sponsors Storm Bowling Products, UPS, Nationwide Insurance, Atlantis Casino Resort and Spa, Harrah's Reno Casino and Hotel and Peppermill Hotel Casino.