Wisconsin bowler makes 50th appearance at Open Championships
March 11, 2024
LAS VEGAS – Although the celebration may have been a little different than he originally thought, Dave Erickson of McFarland, Wisconsin, appreciated every moment as he joined the 50-Year Club at the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships.
The 71-year-old right-hander made his 50th consecutive appearance at the event after getting his start at the 1974 tournament in Indianapolis. He received a plaque, chevron and diamond lapel pin to recognize his longevity.
Erickson, who is managing 14 teams at the 2024 event, usually makes his annual appearance at the end of April, alongside several other groups from Wisconsin.
While his teams still are making their way to the South Point Bowling Plaza at that time, Erickson found a different team to join a little earlier to make sure he was able to celebrate his 50th appearance, since he’ll still be coming back from treatment in his fight with leukemia when the group descends on Las Vegas.
There may not have been as many familiar faces as he’s used to seeing during his trip to the USBC Open Championships this year, but a group made their way out to support Erickson for his achievement, including his wife (Paula), son (Scott) and daughter (Michelle).
“I had leukemia about five years ago, and we did chemo on it and everything worked out well, but the doctor said it would come back,” said Erickson, a Madison Area USBC and Petersen Classic Hall of Famer. “It came back in November, and it came back a little different, so I had to do chemo again. After I get home from this trip, I have another week of shots, and then they’re going to do a stem cell transplant. I have to go to the hospital for three weeks to a month, and that’s on April 2.
“There’s a lot of people here in April. We have 14 teams, my nephew bowls with a big group with Mike Hoffman, and Jeff Richgels’ squad is going to be there, and I know most of those guys. It would have been 100-150 people, which would have been really nice. But, the people that flew out just to watch this week, they’re pretty great friends.”
The group on-site at the Bowling Plaza donned custom shirts in support of Erickson, and he was able to make his ceremonial march across the lanes for his presentation with his family by his side.
“It was special,” Erickson said. “I wasn’t sure if my daughter was going to make it because she’s a schoolteacher and they don’t get a lot of time off work this time of the year, but she worked it out to where she could come out. The four of us probably haven’t been on a vacation together in 25 years, because they both have kids now, so that was fantastic. It was perfect.”
As his years of participation started to add up at the Open Championships, he noted one of his favorite moments was getting to see Scott join him on the championship lanes during the 2000 event in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Scott is scheduled to make his 24th tournament appearance in April and has carried a tournament average of 206.1.
“For a while, we didn’t bowl on the same squad because I always wanted to watch him,” Erickson said. “I’m a squad coordinator now, so we’re always next to them and I can watch him when we bowl. It’s fun. They’re in a different league than we are. They work together so well and have so much talent.”
Dave Erickson has put together his fair share of strong sets at the Open Championships, too. He posted a high set of 737 in singles at the 1989 event in Wichita, Kansas, and his top overall performance came during the 1999 tournament in Syracuse, New York, when he finished with a 1,943 all-events total.
Erickson has enjoyed the chance to collect memories with all of his teammates throughout the years as he made his annual appearance at the Open Championships and Petersen Classic.
“I think it was just the guys I bowled with when I started,” Erickson said. “I have all the pictures – every picture for all 50 years. But it’s always been this and the Petersen every year. Those are the two tournaments I bowl every year, and I haven’t missed either one in 50 years. This will be 51 at the Petersen if I can bowl this year.
“Dave Shaw might be the guy I bowled with the most, and he came out here to watch this week. That was pretty special, too.”
With his 50th appearance wrapped up in Las Vegas, Erickson now will focus on his health as he looks to keep his participation streak intact moving forward.
“Most people can’t do something 50 years in a row – things come up in life where you just have to miss, and I’m so lucky,” Erickson said. “I’m lucky to have everyone supporting me, and giving up was never an option. We were never giving up.”
Erickson had sets of 515 in team, 484 in singles and 444 in doubles for a 1,443 total in his 50th appearance to bring his career pinfall to 85,122 for a lifetime average of 189.1.
The 2024 Open Championships got underway Feb. 23 and will run through July 29 at the South Point Bowling Plaza. The tournament is scheduled to feature more than 11,000 teams and 55,000 bowlers making their way to compete in Las Vegas.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships page.
The 71-year-old right-hander made his 50th consecutive appearance at the event after getting his start at the 1974 tournament in Indianapolis. He received a plaque, chevron and diamond lapel pin to recognize his longevity.
Erickson, who is managing 14 teams at the 2024 event, usually makes his annual appearance at the end of April, alongside several other groups from Wisconsin.
While his teams still are making their way to the South Point Bowling Plaza at that time, Erickson found a different team to join a little earlier to make sure he was able to celebrate his 50th appearance, since he’ll still be coming back from treatment in his fight with leukemia when the group descends on Las Vegas.
There may not have been as many familiar faces as he’s used to seeing during his trip to the USBC Open Championships this year, but a group made their way out to support Erickson for his achievement, including his wife (Paula), son (Scott) and daughter (Michelle).
“I had leukemia about five years ago, and we did chemo on it and everything worked out well, but the doctor said it would come back,” said Erickson, a Madison Area USBC and Petersen Classic Hall of Famer. “It came back in November, and it came back a little different, so I had to do chemo again. After I get home from this trip, I have another week of shots, and then they’re going to do a stem cell transplant. I have to go to the hospital for three weeks to a month, and that’s on April 2.
“There’s a lot of people here in April. We have 14 teams, my nephew bowls with a big group with Mike Hoffman, and Jeff Richgels’ squad is going to be there, and I know most of those guys. It would have been 100-150 people, which would have been really nice. But, the people that flew out just to watch this week, they’re pretty great friends.”
The group on-site at the Bowling Plaza donned custom shirts in support of Erickson, and he was able to make his ceremonial march across the lanes for his presentation with his family by his side.
“It was special,” Erickson said. “I wasn’t sure if my daughter was going to make it because she’s a schoolteacher and they don’t get a lot of time off work this time of the year, but she worked it out to where she could come out. The four of us probably haven’t been on a vacation together in 25 years, because they both have kids now, so that was fantastic. It was perfect.”
As his years of participation started to add up at the Open Championships, he noted one of his favorite moments was getting to see Scott join him on the championship lanes during the 2000 event in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Scott is scheduled to make his 24th tournament appearance in April and has carried a tournament average of 206.1.
“For a while, we didn’t bowl on the same squad because I always wanted to watch him,” Erickson said. “I’m a squad coordinator now, so we’re always next to them and I can watch him when we bowl. It’s fun. They’re in a different league than we are. They work together so well and have so much talent.”
Dave Erickson has put together his fair share of strong sets at the Open Championships, too. He posted a high set of 737 in singles at the 1989 event in Wichita, Kansas, and his top overall performance came during the 1999 tournament in Syracuse, New York, when he finished with a 1,943 all-events total.
Erickson has enjoyed the chance to collect memories with all of his teammates throughout the years as he made his annual appearance at the Open Championships and Petersen Classic.
“I think it was just the guys I bowled with when I started,” Erickson said. “I have all the pictures – every picture for all 50 years. But it’s always been this and the Petersen every year. Those are the two tournaments I bowl every year, and I haven’t missed either one in 50 years. This will be 51 at the Petersen if I can bowl this year.
“Dave Shaw might be the guy I bowled with the most, and he came out here to watch this week. That was pretty special, too.”
With his 50th appearance wrapped up in Las Vegas, Erickson now will focus on his health as he looks to keep his participation streak intact moving forward.
“Most people can’t do something 50 years in a row – things come up in life where you just have to miss, and I’m so lucky,” Erickson said. “I’m lucky to have everyone supporting me, and giving up was never an option. We were never giving up.”
Erickson had sets of 515 in team, 484 in singles and 444 in doubles for a 1,443 total in his 50th appearance to bring his career pinfall to 85,122 for a lifetime average of 189.1.
The 2024 Open Championships got underway Feb. 23 and will run through July 29 at the South Point Bowling Plaza. The tournament is scheduled to feature more than 11,000 teams and 55,000 bowlers making their way to compete in Las Vegas.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships page.