Las Vegas bowler shares memories of 50 years at USBC Open Championships
June 28, 2018
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Patrick Holseth of Las Vegas has enjoyed countless friendships and unforgettable moments during his time at the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships, and he reached a special milestone Wednesday as he made his 50th consecutive appearance.
The 70-year-old right-hander made his tournament debut at the 1969 event in Madison, Wisconsin, and he was presented with a plaque, chevron and diamond lapel pin at the Oncenter Convention Center to commemorate his longevity.
Although the 1969 event served as his first USBC Open Championships appearance, Holseth already was familiar with the championship atmosphere.
He had competed in an event as a junior bowler on the specially constructed lanes at the 1965 event in St. Paul, Minnesota, and followed it up with an appearance at the Association of College Unions International (ACUI) Championships in 1968 in Cincinnati.
The visit for the ACUI Championships also resulted in a national title for Holseth, who bowled for the University of Minnesota. He teamed with Florida State's Jerry Steere to win the doubles title. His recovery from a slow start, and the attention it received, served as one of his favorite memories on the championship lanes.
"I opened doubles with a 130-something game," Holseth said. "I was hitting one lane, but not the other. I made an adjustment to start the next game and had five consecutive strikes on the way to a 230 game. Jerry and I ended up winning, and the next day, as part of AMF being part of the program, we met (USBC Hall of Famer) Dick Ritger. He was there to congratulate everybody, but he pulled me aside to tell me he was watching me the previous day. He knew I made an adjustment, but he couldn't figure out what it was. I told him I was throwing a full roller on the lane I was hitting but switched to a three-quarters roller on the other lane. I felt it was a compliment that he couldn't tell the difference in my release."
Holseth looked forward to starting his Open Championships career the following year with Madison being less than 300 miles away. He ended up finding much more that year as he joined the staff at the Bowlers Journal Championships presented by USBC.
Holseth went on to work at the Bowlers Journal Championships for 34 years, serving most of those years as the tournament director.
"I latched onto a team in 1969, but I was driving to Madison every weekend to bowl in the Bowlers Journal and watch the (American Bowling Congress) lanes," Holseth said. "After many, many weekends, Chuck Wintersteen, who ran the Bowlers Journal, told me he needed some help. I asked how much it paid, and he said not very much, but you'll work a lot of hours, so I became his assistant."
Holseth's time at the Bowlers Journal not only let him see familiar faces and make new friends, but he also got to know many of the greatest bowlers in the world on a personal level.
"I made friends from all over the country and got to meet most of the all-time greats, like Bill Lillard, Don Ellis, Glenn Allison and Joe Norris," Holseth said. "Joe was such a neat guy, and he liked peanuts. I would know when he was coming to bowl, so I'd go and buy a jar of peanuts and put them in one of my file cabinets. Even if I wasn't there, he'd come to the office and find them. By the time I would get back, half of the jar already was gone."
Allison, a USBC and Professional Bowlers Association Hall of Famer, joined Holseth on the lanes in Syracuse as he made his 67th appearance at the event Wednesday. The four-time Open Championships titlist added on to his lifetime pinfall total and sits fourth overall with 118,992.
"This was a wonderful thing," Allison said. "We've known each other for so long and have spent so much time together on the lanes and on the golf course, too."
Holseth also has given back to the sport for more than 40 years through The Metro Bowler, a bowling publication, with his wife, Juette, and his dedication to the sport earned him induction in the Minneapolis USBC and Minnesota State USBC Halls of Fame.
His family has been instrumental along his journey, and Holseth credits his daughter, Jodi, in helping him enjoy the sport the right way.
"When my daughter was 3, she wanted a bowling ball," Holseth said. "She would push it down the lane, and it would end up falling into the gutter one way or another. She threw 36 zeros in a row. On the 37th shot, she gets the 7 pin to wiggle but not fall down. She came running back to the scoring table and said, 'I really got it now, Dad.' When I saw her get so excited by showing that improvement, I knew I could never get mad at bowling again. Since then, I have not lost my temper because of bowling. I made a vow to accept whatever happens."
In his 50th appearance, Holseth only competed in the team event, rolling a 417 series. In his five decades at the Open Championships, he has knocked down 69,340 pins for a career average of 186.4.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships Facebook page.
The 70-year-old right-hander made his tournament debut at the 1969 event in Madison, Wisconsin, and he was presented with a plaque, chevron and diamond lapel pin at the Oncenter Convention Center to commemorate his longevity.
Although the 1969 event served as his first USBC Open Championships appearance, Holseth already was familiar with the championship atmosphere.
He had competed in an event as a junior bowler on the specially constructed lanes at the 1965 event in St. Paul, Minnesota, and followed it up with an appearance at the Association of College Unions International (ACUI) Championships in 1968 in Cincinnati.
The visit for the ACUI Championships also resulted in a national title for Holseth, who bowled for the University of Minnesota. He teamed with Florida State's Jerry Steere to win the doubles title. His recovery from a slow start, and the attention it received, served as one of his favorite memories on the championship lanes.
"I opened doubles with a 130-something game," Holseth said. "I was hitting one lane, but not the other. I made an adjustment to start the next game and had five consecutive strikes on the way to a 230 game. Jerry and I ended up winning, and the next day, as part of AMF being part of the program, we met (USBC Hall of Famer) Dick Ritger. He was there to congratulate everybody, but he pulled me aside to tell me he was watching me the previous day. He knew I made an adjustment, but he couldn't figure out what it was. I told him I was throwing a full roller on the lane I was hitting but switched to a three-quarters roller on the other lane. I felt it was a compliment that he couldn't tell the difference in my release."
Holseth looked forward to starting his Open Championships career the following year with Madison being less than 300 miles away. He ended up finding much more that year as he joined the staff at the Bowlers Journal Championships presented by USBC.
Holseth went on to work at the Bowlers Journal Championships for 34 years, serving most of those years as the tournament director.
"I latched onto a team in 1969, but I was driving to Madison every weekend to bowl in the Bowlers Journal and watch the (American Bowling Congress) lanes," Holseth said. "After many, many weekends, Chuck Wintersteen, who ran the Bowlers Journal, told me he needed some help. I asked how much it paid, and he said not very much, but you'll work a lot of hours, so I became his assistant."
Holseth's time at the Bowlers Journal not only let him see familiar faces and make new friends, but he also got to know many of the greatest bowlers in the world on a personal level.
"I made friends from all over the country and got to meet most of the all-time greats, like Bill Lillard, Don Ellis, Glenn Allison and Joe Norris," Holseth said. "Joe was such a neat guy, and he liked peanuts. I would know when he was coming to bowl, so I'd go and buy a jar of peanuts and put them in one of my file cabinets. Even if I wasn't there, he'd come to the office and find them. By the time I would get back, half of the jar already was gone."
Allison, a USBC and Professional Bowlers Association Hall of Famer, joined Holseth on the lanes in Syracuse as he made his 67th appearance at the event Wednesday. The four-time Open Championships titlist added on to his lifetime pinfall total and sits fourth overall with 118,992.
"This was a wonderful thing," Allison said. "We've known each other for so long and have spent so much time together on the lanes and on the golf course, too."
Holseth also has given back to the sport for more than 40 years through The Metro Bowler, a bowling publication, with his wife, Juette, and his dedication to the sport earned him induction in the Minneapolis USBC and Minnesota State USBC Halls of Fame.
His family has been instrumental along his journey, and Holseth credits his daughter, Jodi, in helping him enjoy the sport the right way.
"When my daughter was 3, she wanted a bowling ball," Holseth said. "She would push it down the lane, and it would end up falling into the gutter one way or another. She threw 36 zeros in a row. On the 37th shot, she gets the 7 pin to wiggle but not fall down. She came running back to the scoring table and said, 'I really got it now, Dad.' When I saw her get so excited by showing that improvement, I knew I could never get mad at bowling again. Since then, I have not lost my temper because of bowling. I made a vow to accept whatever happens."
In his 50th appearance, Holseth only competed in the team event, rolling a 417 series. In his five decades at the Open Championships, he has knocked down 69,340 pins for a career average of 186.4.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships Facebook page.