105-year-old bowling his age

[Dr. Jack]

Although he can no longer see the pins, Bill Hargrove knows where to throw the ball
105-year-old bowling his age

By KATE BRUMBACK
Associated Press

CLEVELAND, GA. - With his mouth wide open and one arm in the air, Bill Hargrove leaned to the right as he faced the bowling lane, seeming to silently will his ball to roll in that direction.

Moments later, at the ball return, he turned to his good friend, Tom Smith, and asked, "How many did I get?"

Placing his hands on Hargrove's shoulders, Smith leaned in to tell him which pins were still standing.

At 105, Hargrove, of Clermont, Ga., is the oldest bowler certified by the United States Bowling Congress, and his eyesight has deteriorated dramatically over the past year.

He can no longer see the pins, but after more than 80 years of bowling — he started in 1924 — Hargrove has a mental picture of the pin configuration and knows where to throw his red and blue marbled 10-pound ball when told which pins remain.

"He's as accurate as he can be and if he had a little more power in his swing, he'd bowl more strikes," said his 58-year-old daughter, Sandra Carnet.

Hargrove, who has a 106 average, bowls two mornings a week in two different senior leagues, one of which is named after him.

Most of the bowlers in the leagues are about 30 years his junior. Smith and his wife, Vangie, both in their mid-70s, round out his Monday team at Yonah Lanes in Cleveland, Ga. The team's name? Billy and The Kids.

In 1991, at the spry age of 90, Hargrove took first place in the singles competition at the Georgia State Senior Championships.

When he turned 105 on May 9, Hargrove tied the late John Venturello of Sunrise, Fla. — who also bowled at the age of 105 in 1993 — for the record of oldest certified bowler.

"It's an honor to be doing something nobody else can do," Hargrove said. "It's just upsetting that there's nobody else in my age group that is still bowling."

Though he is competitive, his friends said, he never fails to cheer on a teammate — or even a rival — who throws a good shot, offering his trademark encouragement, "Best I ever saw."

On a recent Monday morning, Vangie Smith watched as one of Hargrove's balls made its way down the lane, veering to one side. "Oh, he's off there," she said, shaking her head.

But as the ball wobbled back toward the center and knocked down seven pins, she couldn't believe it.

"Look at the pins he got out of that!" she said.

"He's amazing. I think his ball is magic."

[WildKat]

He can't average 120, what a slacker.................hehe