Thiel celebrates 65 years at USBC Open
March 26, 2010
RENO, Nev. - The USBC Open Championships is based on 107 years of history and tradition, and Sylvester Thiel of Lake City, Minn., added to his personal legacy at the National Bowling Stadium on Thursday night.
The energetic 87-year-old right-hander moved into a new category in the record books as he became the fourth bowler in tournament history to compete for the 65th time.
Thiel's ascent into the top-tier of Open Championships participation places him in good company. He joins late USBC Hall of Famer Joe Norris of San Diego and the late Bill Doehrman of Fort Wayne, Ind., who each competed in a record 71 tournaments. The final member of the elite group is active participation leader, Les Berry of Wooster, Ohio, who is scheduled to make his 67th Open Championships appearance this year.
For reaching the milestone, Thiel received a plaque, chevron and the first custom 65-year ring, which was introduced to the Open Championships awards program in 2009. As the other living member of the club, Berry will receive a ring when he competes on May 16.
"It's an accomplishment for me," said Thiel, who is a retired bowling proprietor. "It's a reward for something that I have accomplished after all these years. To me, it means that I just haven't been bowling for pleasure."
Thiel also is one of 11 members of the tournament's 100,000-Pin Club, which he joined while celebrating his 60th trip to the Open Championships in Baton Rouge, La., in 2005. Norris tops the career pinfall list with 123,770. In all, 13 bowlers have competed in 60 or more tournaments.
In his 65th team event Thursday, Thiel rolled games of 108, 127 and 146 for a 381 series and helped Syl Thiel's 5 to a 2,317 total. Those scores may have bothered Thiel several years ago, but he now looks at every Open Championships in a different way.
"Since I have gotten older, I have a lot of fun," said Thiel, who added 357 in doubles and 319 in singles for a 1,057 all-events total Friday. "Three years ago, I learned to accept my lower scores because I am not the bowler I used to be. I carried a 223 and a 225 average in Detroit, and I have the scoresheets to prove it."
Thiel made his debut at the 1940 Open Championships in Detroit at the age of 18 and has been to every tournament since 1965.
"My teammates are one of the reasons that I continue to come back," Thiel said. "We have never had an argument, and we all get along."
In 65 tournament appearances, Thiel has knocked down 107,711 pins for a career average of 184.1.
Thiel was well-known in the 1950s and 60s when bowling was at the forefront of the sports world. He was involved in "action" bowling in Detroit, appeared in many televised bowling competitions and bowled with and against many of the career pinfall leaders at the Open Championships, including Norris, Bill Lillard, Dick Weber and Don Ellis.
Thiel has had many memorable Open Championships moments, but there are two in particular that stick out in his mind.
"One of my memorable moments came in Syracuse in 1958," said Thiel, who served in the U.S. Air Force during World War II. "I bowled my highest scores there."
Thiel posted his best all-events total of 1,917 at that event, but it is the 1965 tournament in St. Paul, Minn., that he remembers every day. That in when he met his wife, Phyllis.
"I met my wife in St. Paul in 1965 when she worked for the ABC Tournament, and two years later, we got married," Thiel said. "She is a great bowler, too, and has been to every tournament with me since 1966. We have been married for 43 years."
Thiel understands his place in history and is thankful for the wonderful people he has had the chance to meet through bowling.
"The one thing I can say through all my years of bowling is that I have met a lot of friends," Thiel said. "I can go to various cities, look in the phone book and call Bill Lillard or Don Ellis for example, because I have met so many friends throughout the country."
Presenting sponsors for the 2010 USBC Open Championships are Circus Circus, Eldorado and Silver Legacy Hotel/Casinos in Reno, Nev. 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 energetic 87-year-old right-hander moved into a new category in the record books as he became the fourth bowler in tournament history to compete for the 65th time.
Thiel's ascent into the top-tier of Open Championships participation places him in good company. He joins late USBC Hall of Famer Joe Norris of San Diego and the late Bill Doehrman of Fort Wayne, Ind., who each competed in a record 71 tournaments. The final member of the elite group is active participation leader, Les Berry of Wooster, Ohio, who is scheduled to make his 67th Open Championships appearance this year.
For reaching the milestone, Thiel received a plaque, chevron and the first custom 65-year ring, which was introduced to the Open Championships awards program in 2009. As the other living member of the club, Berry will receive a ring when he competes on May 16.
"It's an accomplishment for me," said Thiel, who is a retired bowling proprietor. "It's a reward for something that I have accomplished after all these years. To me, it means that I just haven't been bowling for pleasure."
Thiel also is one of 11 members of the tournament's 100,000-Pin Club, which he joined while celebrating his 60th trip to the Open Championships in Baton Rouge, La., in 2005. Norris tops the career pinfall list with 123,770. In all, 13 bowlers have competed in 60 or more tournaments.
In his 65th team event Thursday, Thiel rolled games of 108, 127 and 146 for a 381 series and helped Syl Thiel's 5 to a 2,317 total. Those scores may have bothered Thiel several years ago, but he now looks at every Open Championships in a different way.
"Since I have gotten older, I have a lot of fun," said Thiel, who added 357 in doubles and 319 in singles for a 1,057 all-events total Friday. "Three years ago, I learned to accept my lower scores because I am not the bowler I used to be. I carried a 223 and a 225 average in Detroit, and I have the scoresheets to prove it."
Thiel made his debut at the 1940 Open Championships in Detroit at the age of 18 and has been to every tournament since 1965.
"My teammates are one of the reasons that I continue to come back," Thiel said. "We have never had an argument, and we all get along."
In 65 tournament appearances, Thiel has knocked down 107,711 pins for a career average of 184.1.
Thiel was well-known in the 1950s and 60s when bowling was at the forefront of the sports world. He was involved in "action" bowling in Detroit, appeared in many televised bowling competitions and bowled with and against many of the career pinfall leaders at the Open Championships, including Norris, Bill Lillard, Dick Weber and Don Ellis.
Thiel has had many memorable Open Championships moments, but there are two in particular that stick out in his mind.
"One of my memorable moments came in Syracuse in 1958," said Thiel, who served in the U.S. Air Force during World War II. "I bowled my highest scores there."
Thiel posted his best all-events total of 1,917 at that event, but it is the 1965 tournament in St. Paul, Minn., that he remembers every day. That in when he met his wife, Phyllis.
"I met my wife in St. Paul in 1965 when she worked for the ABC Tournament, and two years later, we got married," Thiel said. "She is a great bowler, too, and has been to every tournament with me since 1966. We have been married for 43 years."
Thiel understands his place in history and is thankful for the wonderful people he has had the chance to meet through bowling.
"The one thing I can say through all my years of bowling is that I have met a lot of friends," Thiel said. "I can go to various cities, look in the phone book and call Bill Lillard or Don Ellis for example, because I have met so many friends throughout the country."
Presenting sponsors for the 2010 USBC Open Championships are Circus Circus, Eldorado and Silver Legacy Hotel/Casinos in Reno, Nev. 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.