Sneeringer recalls 24-hour bowling marathon

By Barry Sparks

Ed Sneeringer

            The aches and pains of bowling on a team for 24 continuous hours are still fresh in Ed Sneeringer's mind 30 years after the marathon.

            Sneeringer, 68, was one of six bowlers who set the Guinness Book of World Records for most pins knocked down in a 24-hour period over the Labor Day weekend in 1988.

            Other team members included Buck Martin, Matt Smyser, Pat Hunter, Jeff Rishel and Corky Spencer.

            The squad tallied 82,053 pins from 6 p.m., Friday, Sept. 1, through 6 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 2, at Colony Park Lanes North.  They eclipsed the previous record at 5:27 p.m., slightly more than 30 minutes before the deadline.

            "Unfortunately, our record only held up for about a week," recalled Sneeringer, while competing in the Friday morning senior league at Suburban Bowlerama.  "I believe a team from Japan broke our record."

            Even though one bowler got to sit out every fifth game, Sneeringer, a York right-hander, said bowling for 24 hours was much harder than he anticipated. 

            "There was plenty of coffee and No Doz consumed," he said.  "It was difficult mentally and physically.  After a while, we were all hurting.  It would have been easy to give up, but we kept after it."

            Sneeringer said his elbow throbbed, his cuticles were split, his fingers and wrist ached and his thumb was swollen and bloody.  He rolled 87 games, equivalent to almost a full bowling league season, in a 24-hour period.

            "I would say the final 18 hours were pure drudgery," he said.  "We were all definitely looking forward to the end."

            Sneeringer recalled that Martin couldn't bowl for the final two hours because his thumb was rubbed practically raw, and it was swollen so much that it would no longer fit in the ball.

            After the 24-hour marathon, he went home and collapsed in his bed.  Two hours later, he woke up with his body in an excruciating knot from muscle cramps in every conceivable spot.

            "I had to have someone help me out of bed," he said.  "I was sore for days.  I lived on over-the-counter pain medication, and I couldn't bowl in any of my leagues that week."

            Sneeringer is reminded of the feat every day by a plaque, which was presented to each team member by Terry Brenneman, proprietor of Colony Park Lanes North.  The plaque is displayed in Sneeringer's home office.

            "The thought of competing in a 24-hour marathon has never entered my mind since," he said.

           

ALLEY OOPS SETS COUNTY 4-MAN RECORD

Alley Oops team members, from left to right, are Tanner  Laughman, Eric Smith, Jacob Hawkins and Paul Wolfram.

By Barry Sparks

The night got off to an ugly start for the Alley Oops bowling team in the Yorktowne Match Play league at Suburban Bowlerama as Tanner Laughman's first ball hit his ankle and ended up in the gutter.

Things got better, much better, however, as the night progressed.  The 4-man team of Laughman, Eric Smith, Jacob Hawkins and Paul Wolfram tallied a 3,013 match, which set the York County record and rates as the second highest in the country this season.  A team from Lexington, Ohio,  boasts a 3,057 total.

Smith set the pace with an 810 series, while Wolfram finished with a 795.  Hawkins added a 713 and Laughman chipped in with a 695.  All four bowlers average 225 or higher.

"We have a lot of talent on our team," said Wolfram.  "Everything just clicked for us.  We kept pushing each other, and we fed off of each other.  It was a super night."

At one point in the match all four bowlers struck for four consecutive frames.  Smith put together a string of 20 consecutive strikes, stretching from the second to the third game.

"We have good team chemistry," said Smith.  "We are very competitive, but we have fun, too.  Although no one was aware of what the county record for a 4-man team was, we knew we must have been close."

Hawkins believes the 3,013 match is even more impressive because it wasn't bowled on a fresh lane condition.  Alley Oops competes in a league that starts at 8:30 p.m., after a league has already rolled at 6 p.m.

"We never know what the lane condition is going to be like when we bowl," he said.  "That's always a challenge.  We have to figure out the condition as quickly as possible and make the necessary adjustments."

Laughman said once team members start striking, it becomes infectious.  "It's a lot of fun when everyone is striking.  You don't want to be the guy not to strike."

Can Alley Oops improve upon its 3,013 match?

"Getting to 3,000 is difficult," stressed Wolfram.  "But, we do have a lot of potential."

Laughman is more convinced than Wolfram that the team could improve its record.  "All I have to do is keep the ball out of the gutter," he said.

ALLEY OOPS

Tanner Laughman      248      233      216      695

Eric Smith                  241      290      279      810

Jacob Hawkins           233      254      226      713

Paul Wolfram             279      237      279      795

                                                           Total    3013

REHMAN ROLLS 764 TO SET LION BOWL RECORD

By Barry Sparks

Joy Rehman of Dallastown recently set the Lion Bowl high series record for women.  She rolled games of 247, 270 and 247 for a 764 series.

Joy Rehman

Rehman, who averaged 188 in two leagues last season, said everything clicked on her record-setting night.

"I was consistently in the pocket, and I was carrying the corner pins," she said.  "I had no idea I had set the house record until Mike Zelger, one of the proprietors, mentioned it to me.  That made me feel good."

Rehman said she wasn't paying attention to her scores because she was helping another bowler most of the night.

"I was helping an opponent and giving him tips about how to read the lanes," she said.  "I enjoy the teaching aspect of bowling.  One of my goals is to become a certified coach."

"Joy is a very modest bowler," said Tim Zelger.  "She's a perfectionist who is always striving to do better."

Rehman got her start on the lanes bowling duckpins with her mother at Bowl America in Dundalk.  When she moved to York County in 1986, she switched to ten pins.  She credits the late Bob "Pop" Horn for helping her to improve her game at Lion Bowl.

Rehman, a right-hander, said one of the keys to improving is learning to adjust to the various lane conditions.  As a game progresses the oil pattern is reconfigured by the balls carrying the oil down the lanes and moving it around.

"I tell bowlers they have to listen to the lanes," said Rehman.  "You have to watch how your ball reacts and then make adjustments."

The adjustments may include moving left or right on the approach, increasing or decreasing your ball speed or changing your release point.

Rehman admits she still has more to learn about the game.  And, perhaps that additional knowledge will help her achieve her goal of an 800 series.

AFTER 63 YEARS, O'DONNELL TASTES PERFECTION, TWICE

Tim O'Donnell

By Barry Sparks

Tim O'Donnell figured he would die before he rolled a 300 game.

After all, the 78-year-old right-hander had been bowling 63 years without chalking up a perfect game. 

Sometimes a bucket list item becomes unattainable.

Sure, he had had chances for a 300 game.  In fact, he owned a pair of 299 games.  Close, but not good enough.

He had rolled 12 strikes in a row before, but across two games.  Nice feeling, but not worthy of the record book.

O'Donnell had rolled thousands of games, all shy of perfect.  He had watched teammates and opponents rack up 300 games, exchange high fives and celebrate.  He had seen the elation, but he had never experienced it.

That all changed on Oct. 26, 2017, (O'Donnell remembers the date as if it was his birth date) in the Friday Morning Seniors League at Suburban Bowlerama.

After the first nine strikes to start the first game of the morning, O'Donnell started to think about the possibility of a 300 game.  He also started to get nervous.

But, he calmly added strikes 10 and 11. 

"Prior to the last ball, I'm thinking to myself, 'Make sure you get the ball out over the foul line," said O'Donnell.  "I knew if I was short, the ball would go high."

A lifetime dream was on the line. 

O'Donnell tried to stick to the same routine he used for the previous 11 shots.  That's easier said than done. 

He approached the line, released the ball and hoped for the best.  The ball was solid in the pocket, scattering all 10 pins.

The strike unleashed a flood of emotions and wiped away years of lingering frustration.  Finally, O'Donnell was the center of high fives, back slaps and congratulations.

"I felt great relief," he said.  "The 300 game sunk in right away.  It was a great feeling."

With his bucket list a little shorter, O'Donnell figured his bowling career was complete. 

On Jan. 17, 2018, three days after his 79th birthday, however, O'Donnell recorded his second career 300. 

"I was very surprised," he said.  "I figured one 300 game in a lifetime was it for me.  Who would have thought it would take me 63 years for my first 300 and three months for my second?"

O'Donnell, who is averaging 218 this season, said he was more relaxed en route to his second 300.

"I guess my advice to others is 'never give up.'  You never know what'll happen," he said.

BOWMAN AND NEFF TO ENTER BOWLING HALL OF FAME

By Barry Sparks

Gary "Bo" Bowman of Spring Grove and Jerry Neff of York will be inducted into the York-Adams USBC Hall of Fame on Saturday, Feb. 17, at Porters Sideling Fire Company, Spring Grove.

Gary "Bo" Bowman

"I couldn't believe it when I got the phone call that I had made the Hall of Fame," said Bowman, who admits the news brought tears to his eyes.  "I had never seriously thought about it.  I am very humble and grateful to receive such recognition."

Bowman has earned a reputation as one of the hardest working bowlers in the area.  In addition to competing in three leagues, he typically practices two days a week.

Bowman has a long list of accomplishments, many of them earned since he started competing in senior leagues and tournaments.

He earned his first state senior scratch singles title in 1999-2000 and added another scratch singles title in 2013.  He rolled a scratch 847 series, his personal best, in the state team event in 2013.  That was the highest score registered among the 6,600 participants and one of only two 800 series.

In addition to a number of county titles, Bowman has recorded 14 perfect games, five 800 series and a high average of 232.

Jerry Neff

Neff has fashioned a bowling career that includes 15 perfect games, an 825 series and a high average of 225. 

"I was surprised when I received word I had been voted in the Hall of Fame," he said.  "I never thought I would be worthy."

Although Neff is a well-known senior bowler, he earned many of his bowling accolades while in the United States Air Force from 1970 to 1991.  He was very active with his base's bowling team when he was stationed in Germany.

Neff has the distinction of rolling perfect games in three countries--the United States, Germany and Denmark.

Neff was named to the All-Air Force team in 1978; captured the Worldwide Military Championships in 1982 and 1990; won the European Masters in 1986 and was a member of the winning European All-Stars team in 1984 and 1985.

His more recent honors include winning the Pennsylvania State seniors scratch doubles title with Dane Slenker in 2014 and the York County Bowling Association's all-events scratch championship in 2000-2001.