STAR BOWLERS-TURNED-BUSINESSMEN PASS 3 WEEKS APART

Two bowling stars of the mid- to late-20th century who would enter the business side of the game passed away within three weeks of each other in mid-September and early October.

Glenn Allison, who rolled the first 900 series in sanctioned league play but never was granted official recognition for it by the American Bowling Congress or United States Bowling Congress, died on Oct. 7 at age 95. Jimmy Schroeder, who ranked fourth on the all-time ABC Tournament/USBC Open Championships career pinfall list, died on Sept. 17 at age 96.

As his professional career waned during the 1970s, Allison became a bowling proprietor in Los Angeles. Glenn Allison Lanes was located just minutes from and within earshot of Los Angeles International Airport.

Schroeder would become a long-time pro shop operator in Buffalo, as well as a trusted ball tester and Special Olympics bowling proponent.

And even though they lived on opposite sides of the country, Allison and Schroeder were great friends and occasional doubles partners.

Allison began his celebrated journey at the ABC/USBC Open during the 1947 event in Los Angeles. He returned for a second appearance in 1950 and made his annual trek to compete at each edition of the event from 1954 to 2024 to set the tournament’s participation mark with 72 appearances.

He joined the 100,000-Pin Club during his 55th appearance in 2006 and finished his career in third place on the all-time list with 123,341 pins across 72 years for a lifetime average of 190 at the tournament. He was 430 pins away from passing USBC Hall of Famer Joe Norris (123,770) for second and 747 pins shy of going around USBC Hall of Famer Bill Lillard Sr. for the pinfall record (124,087).

Allison was inducted into the Superior Performance category of the ABC (now USBC) Hall of Fame in 1979, three years before he rolled the 900 series heard ’round the world. The charter member of the Professional Bowlers Association was inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame in 1984.

Schroeder was inducted into the ABC Hall 1990 in the Veterans category. He competed in the ABC/USBC Open for 68 consecutive years beginning in 1949, knocking down 119,015 pins in 631 games for a career average of 188 and fourth place on the career pinfall list. Like Allison, he spent time as a member of the fabled St. Louis Falstaffs team.

Highly respected as both a bowler and a ball driller, Schroeder was part of the group selected to take part in a secret testing of a new AMF bowling ball that would hit the marketplace as the Ultra Angle.

But his legacy may well be the role he played in creating the partnership between Special Olympics and the ABC Tournament, which led to the first Special Olympics National Unified Tournament taking place on the tournament lanes in 1991. That event marked its 33rd edition this year as part of the USBC Open Championships in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.