Bob Goike celebrates 50 consecutive years at USBC Open Championships
June 25, 2023
RENO, Nev. – It’s easy to appreciate and understand the passion Bob Goike of Canton, Michigan, has for the sport of bowling, the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships and his family, and all three have played a major role in helping the USBC Hall of Famer reach another milestone in his incredible career.
Goike, a three-time Eagle winner at the USBC Open Championships, celebrated his 50th consecutive tournament appearance Wednesday at the National Bowling Stadium in a moment he was able to share with friends, family and longtime teammate and friend, Mitch Jabczenski of South Lyon, Michigan, who joined him in the 50-Year Club at the 2023 event during the same squad.
The 69-year-old right-hander was presented with a plaque, chevron and diamond lapel pin to recognize his longevity on the championship lanes.
“This tournament, to me, has always been the greatest tournament in the world to bowl,” Goike said. “You only get one time a year to try, and when we first started, you only got two practice balls in the team event and none in doubles and singles. You are bowling your national championship, and you only get one time every year to bowl.
“In the last 10 years, getting to 50 together has been our goal. Mitch and I were teammates for a long time, and he’s been my friend and insurance agent for 45 years. It couldn’t have worked out better. Bowling with Mitch has been phenomenal.”
He got his start at the 1973 tournament in Syracuse, New York, and his breakthrough performance took place in Reno during the 1984 event. After some struggles the previous year in Niagara Falls, New York, Goike set the tournament’s all-events record to capture his first Eagle with a 2,142 total. The score stood as the top all-events total in the Regular Division until 1989.
He rolled sets of 760 in singles, 710 in doubles and 672 in team.
“As a kid, my dream was to always win an event and have an Eagle, but I never thought I would ever attain that,” Goike said. “Then all of a sudden in 1984, it showed up.
“It’s funny how the world is. In 1983, I had my worst event to that point. I came in 1984, and I break the record. I didn’t even know I was breaking it when it was happening.”
Goike had taken the all-events lead in February, and he quickly was reminded while still in Reno about the long wait ahead to see if his score would hold against the field.
“In the older days, they had the board where they put the names at, and they always had someone watching the board in a red coat to make sure nobody played with the names or numbers,” Goike said. “I shot this score in February and am still in disbelief. We walk over to look at it, and the guy in the red coat walks over and asks if that’s my score. I told him yes. He told me it was a pretty good score, but to wait until the good bowlers get here. I’m sitting there shooting this score in February, and I have to wait until July. As it turned out, nobody really got close. That was the start of a tremendous 20-year run. The things that happened were absolutely phenomenal.”
The top-10 finishes started to add up at the Open Championships for Goike, and he quickly saw his name make its way to the top of the tournament’s multiple average lists. He became the first competitor at the event to record four sets of 2,000 or higher in all-events.
He posted 27 consecutive games of 200 or higher from 1989-1992 to set another record at the tournament, which was tied in 2012 by five-time champion Matt McNiel and surpassed in 2018 by Professional Bowlers Association Tour champion Jakob Butturff (32 games).
In 1996, he was inducted to the USBC Hall of Fame.
“It was unbelievable,” Goike said. “I personally never had thought I would get into that hall of fame. Now, I’m in that hall of fame and my plaque is downstairs (at the satellite location for the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame inside the NBS). I look at my numbers every time I doubt myself, and the numbers say I should be in. They put me in with one Eagle. I broke every average record. But, the biggest honor of all was getting elected by my peers. That honor will never be topped.”
Prior to his induction, Goike earned a spot as the first alternate to Team USA in 1995. His experience with Team USA also allowed him to meet an up-and-coming star in Chris Barnes, which eventually led to one of the greatest runs in the history of the Open Championships.
The members of Lodge Lanes won back-to-back Team All-Events titles in 1997 (10,293) and 1998 (10,421), with Barnes also winning Regular All-Events (2,151) and John Gaines earning the Regular Singles title (814) at the 1998 tournament in Reno.
The team featured Goike and three future USBC Hall of Famers in Barnes, Gaines and Patrick Healey Jr., with 1990 PBA Rookie of the Year Brad Kiszewski helping round out the team.
Although the team had a different look in 1999, they finished as the runner-up in Team All-Events by a single pin, and new addition and future PBA Hall of Famer Tommy Jones captured the Regular All-Events title with a 2,158 total.
Lodge Lanes at the 1998 Open Championships (from left): Patrick Healey Jr., Bob Goike, Chris Barnes, Brad Kiszewski and John Gaines
“It’s pretty funny how life happens,” Goike said. “You have a 42-year-old guy meet a 20-something Chris Barnes on Team USA. We got to know each other and were riding the bus one time, and he asked me if I ever thought about putting together a team. I had been with the same group from back home for years, but he asked if we could put a team together. Basically, that’s what happened. The first year, we didn’t bowl that great in Salt Lake City, and then, we went nuts for two years. Even the next year, when Chris went on tour, we picked up Tommy when he was like 19 years old, and he won all-events that year.
“As I look back, two of my best friends now are Chris and John. Here’s a kid from Wichita, a 42-year-old guy from Detroit and a guy who now lives in Florida but used to live in Baltimore. A friendship that you never would have thought of.”
Through his continued success on the lanes, Goike also has had great support from his family at home. He and his late wife, Gloria, had four children – Bobby, Michael, Justin and Kristin (Jacobs) – and one of Goike’s favorite experiences at the Open Championships was getting to bowl with all of his children at the 2012 event in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
All four of his children, along with Bobby’s wife, Nicole, were in Reno to celebrate his 50th tournament.
“My daughter is here, and I’m glad she got to be here for it, especially with losing my wife eight years ago,” Goike said. “I was able to bowl with my three sons, and one of my biggest thrills was when I bowled with all four of them in Baton Rouge. That always was a dream – to bowl with my kids, so I could introduce them to this.
“To have that happen as a father … I love my children and live for my children. Family is the most important thing to me.”
Goike continues to stay busy at home with a pair of bowling centers – Lodge Lanes and Town N Country Lanes – and he’s proud of the history he’s built locally with both facilities and the success the Lodge Lanes name has had at the Open Championships.
In addition to the success the name has had with Goike at the helm, the bowling world was able to see it in lights once again at the 2013 event in Reno as Lodge Lanes Too – featuring Gaines, Jabczenski, USBC Hall of Famer John Janawicz, Vernon Peterson and Scott Newell - was able to win the Regular Team title with a then-record total of 3,538.
Throughout it all, Goike admits to having some superstitions during his career, and it was important for him to make sure his team was only getting their photo taken at one place.
“In 1983, I had my worst year,” Goike said. “We always had taken a team picture, and I had always taken a picture on the stub lane. In 1984, I decided to change things up and not take any pictures, and then I shoot 2,142. So, I didn’t take a picture again until I bowled with my kids in 2012.
“We used to tell them the only way you’re taking our picture is when we’re holding up the trophy, but it was just the superstition of it, nothing else but that. We’re all superstitious in our own ways, and when things are going well, you really don’t want to change it.”
In his 50th appearance at the Open Championships, Goike had a 1,650 all-events total to bring his career pinfall to 89,827 for a lifetime average of 205.
The 2023 Open Championships kicked off March 4 and will conclude July 24. The 143-day tournament will feature more than 9,700 five-player teams and nearly 50,000 bowlers making their way to compete in The Biggest Little City in the World.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships page.
Goike, a three-time Eagle winner at the USBC Open Championships, celebrated his 50th consecutive tournament appearance Wednesday at the National Bowling Stadium in a moment he was able to share with friends, family and longtime teammate and friend, Mitch Jabczenski of South Lyon, Michigan, who joined him in the 50-Year Club at the 2023 event during the same squad.
The 69-year-old right-hander was presented with a plaque, chevron and diamond lapel pin to recognize his longevity on the championship lanes.
“This tournament, to me, has always been the greatest tournament in the world to bowl,” Goike said. “You only get one time a year to try, and when we first started, you only got two practice balls in the team event and none in doubles and singles. You are bowling your national championship, and you only get one time every year to bowl.
“In the last 10 years, getting to 50 together has been our goal. Mitch and I were teammates for a long time, and he’s been my friend and insurance agent for 45 years. It couldn’t have worked out better. Bowling with Mitch has been phenomenal.”
He got his start at the 1973 tournament in Syracuse, New York, and his breakthrough performance took place in Reno during the 1984 event. After some struggles the previous year in Niagara Falls, New York, Goike set the tournament’s all-events record to capture his first Eagle with a 2,142 total. The score stood as the top all-events total in the Regular Division until 1989.
He rolled sets of 760 in singles, 710 in doubles and 672 in team.
“As a kid, my dream was to always win an event and have an Eagle, but I never thought I would ever attain that,” Goike said. “Then all of a sudden in 1984, it showed up.
“It’s funny how the world is. In 1983, I had my worst event to that point. I came in 1984, and I break the record. I didn’t even know I was breaking it when it was happening.”
Goike had taken the all-events lead in February, and he quickly was reminded while still in Reno about the long wait ahead to see if his score would hold against the field.
“In the older days, they had the board where they put the names at, and they always had someone watching the board in a red coat to make sure nobody played with the names or numbers,” Goike said. “I shot this score in February and am still in disbelief. We walk over to look at it, and the guy in the red coat walks over and asks if that’s my score. I told him yes. He told me it was a pretty good score, but to wait until the good bowlers get here. I’m sitting there shooting this score in February, and I have to wait until July. As it turned out, nobody really got close. That was the start of a tremendous 20-year run. The things that happened were absolutely phenomenal.”
The top-10 finishes started to add up at the Open Championships for Goike, and he quickly saw his name make its way to the top of the tournament’s multiple average lists. He became the first competitor at the event to record four sets of 2,000 or higher in all-events.
He posted 27 consecutive games of 200 or higher from 1989-1992 to set another record at the tournament, which was tied in 2012 by five-time champion Matt McNiel and surpassed in 2018 by Professional Bowlers Association Tour champion Jakob Butturff (32 games).
In 1996, he was inducted to the USBC Hall of Fame.
“It was unbelievable,” Goike said. “I personally never had thought I would get into that hall of fame. Now, I’m in that hall of fame and my plaque is downstairs (at the satellite location for the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame inside the NBS). I look at my numbers every time I doubt myself, and the numbers say I should be in. They put me in with one Eagle. I broke every average record. But, the biggest honor of all was getting elected by my peers. That honor will never be topped.”
Prior to his induction, Goike earned a spot as the first alternate to Team USA in 1995. His experience with Team USA also allowed him to meet an up-and-coming star in Chris Barnes, which eventually led to one of the greatest runs in the history of the Open Championships.
The members of Lodge Lanes won back-to-back Team All-Events titles in 1997 (10,293) and 1998 (10,421), with Barnes also winning Regular All-Events (2,151) and John Gaines earning the Regular Singles title (814) at the 1998 tournament in Reno.
The team featured Goike and three future USBC Hall of Famers in Barnes, Gaines and Patrick Healey Jr., with 1990 PBA Rookie of the Year Brad Kiszewski helping round out the team.
Although the team had a different look in 1999, they finished as the runner-up in Team All-Events by a single pin, and new addition and future PBA Hall of Famer Tommy Jones captured the Regular All-Events title with a 2,158 total.
Lodge Lanes at the 1998 Open Championships (from left): Patrick Healey Jr., Bob Goike, Chris Barnes, Brad Kiszewski and John Gaines
“It’s pretty funny how life happens,” Goike said. “You have a 42-year-old guy meet a 20-something Chris Barnes on Team USA. We got to know each other and were riding the bus one time, and he asked me if I ever thought about putting together a team. I had been with the same group from back home for years, but he asked if we could put a team together. Basically, that’s what happened. The first year, we didn’t bowl that great in Salt Lake City, and then, we went nuts for two years. Even the next year, when Chris went on tour, we picked up Tommy when he was like 19 years old, and he won all-events that year.
“As I look back, two of my best friends now are Chris and John. Here’s a kid from Wichita, a 42-year-old guy from Detroit and a guy who now lives in Florida but used to live in Baltimore. A friendship that you never would have thought of.”
Through his continued success on the lanes, Goike also has had great support from his family at home. He and his late wife, Gloria, had four children – Bobby, Michael, Justin and Kristin (Jacobs) – and one of Goike’s favorite experiences at the Open Championships was getting to bowl with all of his children at the 2012 event in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
All four of his children, along with Bobby’s wife, Nicole, were in Reno to celebrate his 50th tournament.
“My daughter is here, and I’m glad she got to be here for it, especially with losing my wife eight years ago,” Goike said. “I was able to bowl with my three sons, and one of my biggest thrills was when I bowled with all four of them in Baton Rouge. That always was a dream – to bowl with my kids, so I could introduce them to this.
“To have that happen as a father … I love my children and live for my children. Family is the most important thing to me.”
Goike continues to stay busy at home with a pair of bowling centers – Lodge Lanes and Town N Country Lanes – and he’s proud of the history he’s built locally with both facilities and the success the Lodge Lanes name has had at the Open Championships.
In addition to the success the name has had with Goike at the helm, the bowling world was able to see it in lights once again at the 2013 event in Reno as Lodge Lanes Too – featuring Gaines, Jabczenski, USBC Hall of Famer John Janawicz, Vernon Peterson and Scott Newell - was able to win the Regular Team title with a then-record total of 3,538.
Throughout it all, Goike admits to having some superstitions during his career, and it was important for him to make sure his team was only getting their photo taken at one place.
“In 1983, I had my worst year,” Goike said. “We always had taken a team picture, and I had always taken a picture on the stub lane. In 1984, I decided to change things up and not take any pictures, and then I shoot 2,142. So, I didn’t take a picture again until I bowled with my kids in 2012.
“We used to tell them the only way you’re taking our picture is when we’re holding up the trophy, but it was just the superstition of it, nothing else but that. We’re all superstitious in our own ways, and when things are going well, you really don’t want to change it.”
In his 50th appearance at the Open Championships, Goike had a 1,650 all-events total to bring his career pinfall to 89,827 for a lifetime average of 205.
The 2023 Open Championships kicked off March 4 and will conclude July 24. The 143-day tournament will feature more than 9,700 five-player teams and nearly 50,000 bowlers making their way to compete in The Biggest Little City in the World.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships page.