EL PASO, Texas - Before the 1991 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships, Skip Hintz of Punta Gorda, Florida, invited 18-year-old John Janawicz to join his team and make his tournament debut in Toledo, Ohio.

Janawicz, who will celebrate his 25th USBC Open Championships appearance next month, has become one of the most prolific competitors in tournament history, and he made a special trip to El Paso this week to surprise Hintz and help him celebrate his 50th appearance on the championship lanes.

The 70-year-old right-hander was the 10th of 12 bowlers scheduled join the 50-Year Club at the El Paso Convention Center this year, and he also was able to share the experience with his son, Chris Hintz, and daughters, Charlene Harmon and Corrine Ham.

Ham, the 2008 Classic Singles champion at the USBC Women's Championships, escorted her father down the famed Center Aisle, after which, Hintz was presented with a plaque, chevron and diamond lapel pin to commemorate the milestone.

"They all came together just for this occasion," said Hintz, who made his Open Championships debut at the 1965 event in St. Paul, Minnesota. "It was a marvelous feeling and almost brought tears to my eyes. And to have JJ fly all the way here for this event, it really was a great feeling."

Hintz and Janawicz bowled together at the Open Championships for 19 years, and Hintz was able to witness Janawicz's breakout performance at the National Bowling Stadium in 2004, when he fired games of 300, 279 and 279 for a then-record 858 series, on his way to the Regular Singles and Regular All-Events titles.

"I've had a lot of good memories," Hintz said. "I had a motorhome, and we would all go together to different ABCs. We had a lot of good, clean fun. The memory that really pops out, though, is when JJ bowled 858. I'm just proud of him. He's a hard worker, and it gave me goosebumps to see him here. It was a total surprise."

Janawicz added a third eagle and another record performance at the 2013 Open Championships, also at the NBS, when he threw three strikes in the final frame to help Lodge Lanes Too of Orlando, Florida, break the tournament's team series record by a single pin.

"Skip asked me to bowl my first tournament back in 1991 in Toledo," Janawicz said. "I was 18 years old at the time. I bowled in youth leagues at his center and worked for him for probably seven or eight years. He's always been great to me, and that's the reason I wanted to be here for him today."

Hintz had hoped to make his run to five decades at the event without missing a year, but he had to miss the 2011 event after 46 consecutive appearances due to rotator cuff surgery.

Although he has fought several injuries in the past few years, Hintz is ready to continue working on his game, and now that he's reached 50 years, he's thinking about a new goal at the world's largest participatory sporting event.

"I had 46 in a row," Hintz said. "I had a rotator cuff problem, ended up needing surgery and missed a year. I wish I had made 50 consecutive tournaments, but it's still 50. Maybe I'll shoot for 60 now."

In his 50th appearance, Hintz only bowled in the team event, rolling a 358 series. He has knocked down 80,431 pins at the Open Championships for a career average of 186.1.

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