John Wonders Sr. (pictured) of Florissant, Mo., added his name to the record books at the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships when he became the 129th bowler in history to compete in 50 tournaments.

The 75-year-old right-hander has competed in 33 cities in 20 states and made his ceremonial march down Center Aisle surrounded by family and friends at the National Bowling Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Overall, his five decades on the championship lanes have been memorable.

"It's been fun," said Wonders, who bowls league at Camelot Bowl in Collinsville, Ill. "I have done a lot of traveling throughout my time at the tournament. We used to travel in motor homes across the country, and I always looked forward to traveling to the next city."

While Wonders was making his 50th appearance, his brother Rich, a USBC Hall of Famer, was celebrating 45 years. Although the brothers did not share the lanes for team Saturday, Wonders was joined by his niece, Jenny, who has competed in eight USBC Open Championships.

Their companion team included his sons, James (15 tournaments), Jason (14), Joshua (12) and John Jr. (five). His other son, Jeffrey, was unable to make the trip, but has made 13 Open Championships appearances. Together, the group has combined for 162 years at the tournament.

"I have bowled doubles with each of my sons at least once," Wonders said. "I have also bowled with my niece. It is always nice to bowl with your family."

Wonders has been a major player in the bowling industry for much of his life, and he was a co-founder of the Hammer bowling ball brand, which still is a recognizable name on the lanes.

"The Hammer brand was a huge success," Wonders said. "My partner and I got into the business because we wanted to make bowling balls, and we wanted to make a living. We wanted to make the best bowling balls available, and we did for that for a long time. It was a very good run for the company."

After selling the company, Wonders and his sons decided to start a new project and created Visionary Bowling Products. He credits his sons for the Visionary idea.

"My sons are really the company," Wonders said. "They wanted to do it. When they graduated from college, they put their heads together and decided they wanted to make bowling balls. They are all very smart, and each of them brings something unique to the table. All of them were around when I was making bowling balls, so they decided to do the same thing. The company is really about them."

Now that Wonders has joined the 50-year Club at the Open Championships, his sons will have the chance to follow in his footsteps on the lanes, too.

"There is no reason why they shouldn't keep bowling," Wonders said. "The goal is to have fun, and hopefully, they continue to do so. If they choose to keep bowling, it will be their decision. It has been an exciting experience for me, and I know they enjoy it, too."

Wonders, who made his tournament debut at the 1960 event in Toledo, Ohio, finished his milestone appearance with 577 in doubles, 569 in singles and 501 in team for a 1,647 all-events total. He also teamed up with Rich for a 1,182 doubles total Sunday.<
In 50 years on the tournament lanes, Wonders has knocked down 83,355 pins for a career average of 186.4.

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.

 

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107th USBC Open Championships

National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nev., United States (Feb. 20 - July 5, 2010)

REGULAR DIVISION

Top 10 division leaders with hometown and pinfalls

 

Team
1, Bowlers Edge Pro Shop (Brad Kuhr, Timothy Rice, Dan Paul, Kenny Kempf, Jason Wendt), Neenah, Wis., 3,408. 2, Linds Lakers 1, Minneapolis, 3,390. 3, KR Strikeforce, Decatur, Ill., 3,386. 4, Armstrong Printing 1, Naperville, Ill., 3,382. 5, Bowlers Universe 2, Rockford, Ill., 3,381. 6, Northern Lanes Pro Shop, Sanford, Mich., 3,355. 7, S & B Pro Shop, Clinton Township, Mich., 3,347. 8, The Bowling Store 1, Omaha, Neb., 3,343. 9, STORM, Pritchett, Colo., 3,321. 10, Lakeview Lanes, Baldwinsville, N.Y., 3,313.

Doubles
1, Steve Bohn, Norwood, Minn./John Kreyer Jr., Fridley, Minn., 1,514. 2, Jeffrey Mersch, Orlando, Fla./Erik Vermilyea, Mansfield, Texas, 1,507. 3, Patrick Tiller, Orlando, Fla./Clint Roth, Orange City, Fla., 1,499. 4, Tom Milton, St. Petersburg, Fla./David Taylor, Seminole, Fla., 1,498. 5, Jeff Nimke, Oshkosh, Wis./Chad Maas, Brookfield, Wis., 1,480. 6, Jason Waters, Macedonia, Ohio/Steve Waters, Northfield, Ohio, 1,449. 7, Craig Auerbach, Sunrise, Fla./Michael Gaither, Tulsa, Okla., 1,446. 8, Luke Voaklander, St. Bonifacius, Minn./John Eiss, Orono, Minn., 1,444. 9, Dale Williams, West Valley, Utah/Jimmy Jensen/Magna, Utah, 1,441. 10, Kenneth Stephens, Frankfort, Ky./Randall Montoya, Albuquerque, N.M., 1,434.

Singles
1, Terrence Syring, Bay City, Mich., 833. 2 (tie), Earon Vollmar, Toledo, Ohio, and Eric Traylor, Cypress, Texas, 811. 4, Jason Munkberg, Redding, Calif., 807. 5, Matt McNiel, Chanhassen, Minn., 806. 6, Jimmy Johnson, Pataskala, Ohio, 804. 7, Dave Wodka, Chatsworth, Calif., 795. 8, Bill Froberg, St. Joseph, Mich., 791. 9, Dan Gould, East Hampton, Mass., 783. 10 (tie), Dave Stenger, East Peoria, Ill., and Dave Smalley, Louisville, Ky., 781.

All-Events
1, Matt McNiel, Chanhassen, Minn., 2,326. 2, Brett Wolfe, Tempe, Ariz., 2,245. 3, John Bauerle Jr., Indianapolis, 2,225. 4, Dave Wodka, Chatsworth, Calif., 2,211. 5, John Kreyer Jr., Fridley, Minn., 2,184. 6 (tie), Sam Lantto, Eden Prairie, Minn., and Earon Vollmar, Toledo, Ohio, 2,174. 8, Matt Tomsu, Papillion, Neb., 2,173. 9, Chuck Tompkins, Galloway, Ohio, 2,168. 10, Dan MacLelland, Saginaw, Mich., 2,166.

Team All-Events
1, Northern Lanes Pro Shop (Bo Goergen, Derwin Pitre, Dale Hofmeister, JR Raymond, Dan MacLelland), Sanford, Mich., 10,284. 2, Linds Lakers 1, Minneapolis, 10,187. 3, Red Carpet Lanes, Greenfield, Wis., 10,131. 4, STORM, Pritchett, Colo., 9,975. 5, S & B Pro Shop, Clinton Township, Mich., 9,920. 6, Junior Team USA Support, Orlando, Fla., 9,893. 7, Bowlers Zone 1, Gilbert, Ariz., 9,864. 8, Armstrong Printing 1, Naperville, Ill., 9,826. 9, Team Pabst, Madison, Wis., 9,819. 10, The Bowling Store 1, Omaha, Neb., 9,814.

 

CLASSIFIED DIVISION

Team
1, Southeast Paint (Mark Montoya, Frank Marrelli, Joe Juliano, Gary Nelson, Ed Howa), Price, Utah, 2,808. 2, Rivercat Five, Rancho Murieta, Calif., 2,793. 3, Huikko's Bowling Center 3, Buffalo, Minn., 2,730. 4, EWI/NPS/Denny's, Mentor, Ohio, 2,699. 5, Team Six, Fresno, Calif., 2,689. 6, We Don't Know, Columbia, S.C., 2,687. 7, Wothe Bait 1, Perham, Minn., 2,684. 8, Garden Center Lanes 2, Alexandria, Minn., 2,683. 9, Kahoka Bowl, Ottumwa, Iowa, 2,681. 10, Razorback Rollers, Stuttgart, Ark., 2,668.

Doubles
1, Robert Blum, Huntington Beach, Calif./Frank DeFrancesco, Poway, Calif., 1,200. 2, Gary Nelson/Ed Howa, Helper, Utah, 1,189. 3, Bill Ausburn, Hayden Lake, Idaho/Dale Motz, Post Falls, Idaho, 1,185. 4 (tie), Cassondra Geller/Doug Geller, New Haven, Ind., and Tyson Sims/Scott Wilcox, Georgetown, Idaho, 1,182. 6, John Bishop/Dan Mosteller, Tooele, Utah, 1,175. 7, Wayne Doney, Lamar, Colo./Jim Matusek, Hartland, Wis., 1,174. 8, Pat Fitzgibbons, Colorado Springs, Colo./Pete Fitzgibbons, Goodland, Kan., 1,173. 9, Gary Perry, Ontario, Canada/Dale Cheer, Commerce, Mich., 1,172. 10, Chris Nugent, Mays Landing, N.J./Jason Campbell, Galloway, N.J., 1,171.

Singles
1, David Garcez, Merced, Calif., 669. 2, Gerald Faires, Collinsville, Ill., 661. 3, Dan Palmer, Byers, Colo., 658. 4, Sara Oszuscik, Plymouth, Ind., 654. 5, Blake Sandidge, Lead, S.D., 653. 6, Aaron Gilliam, Rifle, Colo., 648. 7, Joseph Buggs, Honolulu, 647. 8, Miguel Sanchez, Chicago, 646. 9, Mark Plute, Montrose, Colo., 644. 10, Doug Hackman, Columbia, Mo., 635.

All-Events
1, Ken Iredale, United Kingdom, 1,810. 2, Harry Arnold, Falls City, Neb., 1,796. 3, Geoff Bryant, Courtney, British Columbia, 1,789. 4, Steve Miller, Roanoke, Ill., 1,775. 5, Richard Eisenhut, Downers Grove, Ill., 1,766. 6, Shane Rice, Charlotte, N.C., 1,748. 7, Scott Lehman, Celina, Ohio, 1,744. 8, Harry Berg, Eau Claire, Wis., 1,743. 9, Matt Tschann, Paynesville, Minn., 1,742. 10, Paul Daniels, Bonner, Mont., 1,739.