Best bowlers in Championships history
Tens of thousands of bowlers lace up their striking shoes each year for the USBC Open Championships and Women's Championships, and with the variety of events, there's room for many competitors to find the spotlight, or for a select few to begin their legacies.
Since both achievement and dedication are recognized and rewarded, there are multiple ways to earn a place in the record books. Some bowlers have managed to excel over a lifetime, while others found quick and memorable success.
A look at of some of the most notable bowlers to ever take the lanes at USBC's national tournaments.
USBC OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
William Knox, Philadelphia - The inaugural Open Championships was held in 1901, and Knox was among the first to find success on the championship lanes. In 1913, he rolled the first 300 game in the event's short history. A decade later, he claimed the all-events crown with a 2,019 total, a record that stood until 1933.
Bill Doehrman, Fort Wayne, Ind., and Joe Norris, San Diego - The USBC Hall of Famers earned acclaim through their dedication to the sport and the Open Championships, participating in a record 71 tournaments. Doehrman, whose appearances were consecutive, started in 1908. He became a team champion in 1922 and knocked down 109,566 pins in his career. Norris, the career pinfall leader (123,770), started in 1926 and owns three titles (team in 1934 and 1954 and Team All-Events in 1954).
Bill Lillard Sr., Houston - Lillard (left) has enjoyed a lifetime of success at various levels of the sport but solidified his place in Open Championships history when he became the first bowler to win four titles in a single year (team, doubles, all-events and Team All-Events in 1956). The USBC Hall of Famer has won eight times in his 66 consecutive appearances and is the active pinfall leader at the Open Championships with 121,434. Ed Lubanski (1959) and Mike Neumann (1990) also won four titles in one year.
Nelson Burton Jr., Stuart, Fla. - With nine titles, including the USBC Masters in 1976, Burton collected more wins than any bowler in history. All of his wins came between 1965 and 1979, though he bowled for 25 total years from 1959-1992. He and his brother, Neil, combined for a record 11 victories, and their father Nelson Sr., added one win of his own. Bill Lillard Sr. and Fred Bujack are next on the wins list with eight apiece.
Recent standouts - A handful of bowlers still are relatively early in their tournament careers, but forever will be recognized in tournament lore. In 2011, Matt Weggen of Muscatine, Iowa, became the first bowler in tournament history with back-to-back 800 series. He shot 806 in doubles and 826 in singles to win Regular Singles and Regular All-Events (2,268). Matt McNiel of Prior Lake, Minn., claimed the 2010 Regular All-Events title with a record score of 2,326, which included an 806 series in singles. He added an 822 set in 2011 and 847 effort in 2012 to become the first person with three 800s at the Open Championships. His streak also included Regular Doubles and Regular All-Events titles in 2012. John Janawicz of Winter Haven, Fla., the 2004 Regular Singles and Regular All-Events champion (at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nev.), returned to the NBS in 2013 and delivered the three strikes that capped off the highest team score in 110 years of Open Championships competition. He helped Lodge Lanes Too of Orlando, Fla., to the Regular Team title with a 3,538 total, one pin better than the mark set in 1993. ... Professional Bowlers Association champion and two-time Open Championships titlist Mike Shady of Fairview, Pa., has surpassed the 1,900 all-events mark in all 18 of his Open Championships appearances.
USBC WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIPS
Emma Jaeger, Toledo, Ohio - Jaeger was the first dominant player in tournament history, winning nine titles between 1919 and 1929. She won four Classic All-Events titles and also won the Classic Singles crown three years in a row (1921-23). No other bowler in Women's Championships history has reached either mark.
Dorothy Miller, Chicago - Miller has won more titles than any competitor in Women's Championships history, earning 10 from 1928 through 1948. She holds the record for team titles in a career, helping six squads to the Classic Team championship. Her lone individual title came in 1938, when she won Classic All-Events with a 1,843 total.
Dorothy Fothergill, Center Ossippee, N.H., and Mildred Ignizio, Rochester, N.Y. - These teammates nearly took home every title between 1970 and 1973. Fothergill captured two Classic Team and Classic Doubles titles with Ignizio and claimed the 1970 Classic Singles and Classic All-Events crowns to complete the career grand slam (a title in team, doubles, singles and all-events). Ignizio also won the 1972 Classic All-Events title, giving the duo 11 titles in a four-year stretch.
Virginia Norton, Cypress, Calif. - Norton collected six Women's Championships titles - three Classic All-Events, two Classic Team and a Classic Singles win - between 1974 and 1983. She won multiple titles in 1981 and 1983.
Recent standouts - These competitors each own five titles on the championship lanes: Carolyn Dorin-Ballard of Keller, Texas, has three Classic Team titles, a Classic All-Events victory and recorded the highest doubles score in tournament history (1,498) with Lynda Barnes to win the 2004 Classic Doubles title. Michelle Feldman of Auburn, N.Y., and Leanne Hulsenberg of Roseville, Calif., each have completed the career grand slam. Feldman rolled the highest set (816) in tournament history in winning her second Classic Singles title in 2009, and Hulsenberg went on a tear from 2005-2007, capturing one of each title to go along with her Classic All-Events crown from 1987.