Surprise for the Holiday Doubles


by Dennis Hacker, Webmaster


Holiday DoublesCAHOKIA, IL (December 8, 2011)--For years, when December rolled around, Kathy McGarry would playfully jab at the management of Cahokia Illinois' Red Bird Lanes.

You see, the Christmas season has long been the timeframe for the Holiday Doubles, a very prestigious tournament with over a 30-year history of showcasing some of the best bowlers in the metro St. Louis area. Formerly Knittig's Bowl, Red Bird Lanes is known in recent years as the home of PBA and USBC Hall of Famer Pete Weber. The tournament has a history of attracting national PBA Champions: Steve Wunderlich, Rowdy Morrow, Ron Williams, Leroy Bornhop, and Randy Lightfoot from years past, and recent champions Mike Mineman and Jeff Carter.

Kathy McGarry has bowled leagues at Red Bird for decades, and every year when tournament time came around, she'd start on her familiar mantra: "Sign me up with Parker, we're bowling this year."

Although she's never met him personally, Parker Bohn III is and has been Kathy's bowling idol for nearly his whole career. "He's my idol, my hero, and the King," posted Kathy on one of her numerous Facebook statuses today.

Jerry Anderson, Red Bird manager and tournament official, explained it further: "We'd put up a poster behind the counter every year, and sign the teams up for the squads so everyone could see who was bowling. Kathy would sneak behind the counter, and add hers and Parker's names to the list." And then they'd have to erase them—and so the game went, year after year. "You have Parker and me signed up?" she'd ask. "Don't shut us out…"

This year was no different. The back and forth banter took place. However, where the tournament might not have filled to its 72-team maximum in recent years, Jerry had decided to tackle this year's event and make it what it once was. He partnered with Mike Flanagan at InsideBowling.com, an upstart bowling promotions venture with just a year under its belt, and arranged for live streaming over the web during every squad of the tournament. Flanagan's technology-based spider web of influence has grown in the short time, and they're reaching more bowlers because of it. As a result, this year's tournament will undoubtedly fill.

Always the helper and coordinator, Jerry had asked Kathy to come to the lanes early this week to help with logistics. Where would the InsideBowling.com booth and cameras be stationed? Where would brackets be managed and results posted? So, while she was running around Red Bird Lanes making plans on Monday evening, her cell phone rang with an unknown number in the 732 area code.

"Hello, is this Kathy?" said the voice on the phone. "This is Parker Bohn." Kathy described the beginning of the conversation, replying to whoever it was that the joke is funny and all, but this is her idol, and she hoped they were having a good time. "But then, as I listened to the voice, I recognized that it was really him," she told me. "Imagine my shock when he asked me to bowl in the tournament with him!"

Kathy's husband John and Dennis Wagner teamed with Jerry to arrange this surprise. They emailed and called Parker, made the arrangements, and set it up for him to call. Kathy's birthday is December 19, and with gifts for Christmas and whatever other occasions due soon after, she's now the recipient of what many bowling fans across the country could only dream about. She'll be bowling in a nine-game doubles event with her "hero, her idol, the King," Parker Bohn III. Parker is making the trip to St. Louis by plane on Friday, December 16th. They'll be bowling on A Squad, one of 24 teams, and their ultimate goal is to be one of the top 16 teams when the three squads on Saturday, December 17 are over. Those 16 teams will bowl a traditional round-robin match play schedule on Sunday, with bonus pins awarded for each match win.

This year's field will also boast big name entries: Pete Weber will be bowling again, teamed up with Eddie Byrd from the St. Louis area; Jeff Carter, Mike Wolfe, and current USBC Masters Champion Tom Hess will also be shoeing it up for at least one squad of competition on that day.

As stated before, live streaming of all the squads and the finals will be hosted at InsideBowling.com, and results will be updated as the day progresses. Undoubtedly, Parker and Kathy will find their way into the booth for an interview after they bowl on Saturday, so tune in and see the results.



Fields, Orensky Take Top Honors at Parker's Junior Scholarship Tournament

Parker Bohn IIISeptember 04, 2011--Diante Fields of Mt. Royal, NJ, and Sara Orensky of Freehold, NJ won the Scratch and Handicap Divisions of the 12th Annual Parker Bohn III Junior Scholarship Tournament.

Held each year at Howell Lanes in Howell, NJ, Parker's Junior Scholarship Tournament has awarded over $50,000 in scholarship funds to junior bowlers, and provides competition for young bowlers of all abilities.

Fields, who qualified 2nd in the Scratch Division after 6 games emerged from the five-game round-robin Match Play in the lead, and waited for the other qualifiers to battle it out before winning the final match of the Stepladder Finals over Ross Whitehead of Walden, NY.  He has $1,000 to his credit towards his further education, with Whitehead credited with $500.

Orensky also led the field on the Handicap side, narrowly edging out Justin Bohn by four pins.  She maintained her stronghold on First Place during the five-game round-robin, and also won her final match over Ambrose Shirk of Fredricksburg, PA, 138-112.  Sara has $750 in her scholarship account as a result.

Qualifying results for the Handicap and Scratch divisions can be viewed by clicking the division name, and the finals are here.


Parker Bohn III Receives BPAA's Dick Weber Bowling Ambassador Award

Parker Bohn IIIJune 27, 2011--PBA Hall of Famer Parker Bohn III joined a short list of outstanding individuals who have been named recipients of the Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America Dick Weber Bowling Ambassador Award during BPAA’s annual meeting in Grapevine, Texas, on June 27.

Bohn’s contributions to the sport, on and off the lanes, exemplify the contributions made by the late bowling legend.

“Receiving this award will go among the best achievements of my career,” Bohn said. “When I think of Dick Weber, I think of a class act, an honorable, true gentleman and a great ambassador for our sport.”


Parker Helps Jeff Gordon Honor Cancer Survivors from Riley Hospital for Children

Parker Bohn III

INDIANAPOLIS, IN (July 28, 2011) – Jeff Gordon Children's Foundation celebrated 10 years of support for Riley Hospital for Children during a news conference in the hospital's atrium this afternoon. The four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion was joined by 10 Riley Hospital cancer survivors from each of the years the bowling tournament has been held and by 7-year-old Emily Hampton of Simi Valley, Calif., whose life was saved because of research led by Riley physicians. Read more.