Friday, May 25, 2012

A LONGTIME CANDLEPIN FAN

A presentation of Christus Vincit Sports!

The Good Lord knows that I've been a fan of Candlepin bowling since I was about 10 years old.  I may have mentioned it once or twice on this here blog.  How can one detect a longtime candlepin fan?  Simple.  When you hear one rattle off such names as:

Dick Ewell
Max Valentin
The late great Stacia Czernicki
Tony Czernicki (her widower - still living to tell the tale)
Ed Czernicki (her son, who holds the WCVB-TV Channel 5 Candlepin Bowling record for highest single on the show with a whopping 197)
John Czernicki (her other son - also a helluva bowler)
Dot Petty
Toni-Marie Baldinelli
Tom Olszta (my all-time favorite - he has the most wins of anyone on Channel 5)
Paul Berger (who holds Channel 5's record for the highest three-string total on the show - 500 even!  Strings of 158, 149, and 193!)
Joe Donovan
The late great Don Gillis (Channel 5's announcer)
Bob Fouracre (announcer on Bay State Bowling on Worcester MA's former WSMW-TV Channel 27)
Mike Sargent
Chris Sargent (Mike's son, who tied Ralph Semb's record for the highest candlepin single ever last year - 245!  NO ONE has ever bowled a perfect 300 in candlepin!)
The Brothers Morgan (Mike and his late brother Tom - two great bowlers who were also quite comical together!)
Craig Holbrook
John "Urbie" Kafalas (the only Rhode Islander I ever got to watch bowl candlepins on TV, although there was another guy who lived in Massachusetts but worked in Rhode Island - his name eludes me at the moment!)
Steve Renaud
Peter Flynn
Charlie Jutras
Dick Smus
Fred Spintig, Jr.
Scott Williams
Steve Popuolo (who had an interesting wind-up, but managed to tear up the lanes)
Brian Fuller
Jack Quinn
Rich "Hawk" Hallas
Jim Barber
Dave Barber (Jim's son, who shot a record 192 on the short-lived Candlepins for Dollars show on Channel 56)
Bob Kelly
Don Richmond
Joe Tavernese
Tom Surette
Peter Surette (Tom's brother)
Jeff Surette (Tom's son)

Anyone wanna run some other names by me?
Peace,
BMP

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