Decatur USBC WBA

A Bit of History

The Decatur Women's Bowling Association is rich in history, including those who have made their mark with outstanding scores and those who have provided leadership for the members of the association.
On February 29, 1932 the Decatur Women's Bowling Association became a reality. It was a mere sixteen years after Women's International Bowling Congress (WIBC) organized in 1916 that Decatur women decided they too would like to have their own women's organization, and become a part of the parent organization, WIBC. In the late twenties the sport of bowling was considered a ''man's game" and not proper for female participants, but that didn't stop the women.  They donned their middies and bloomers and went to the bowling alley.  They would sneak in during the afternoon when the men were not using the lanes, and then the doors would be locked to keep the men out.  Only two men were allowed in the area when the women bowled - the proprietor and a gentleman to keep score.   They perfected their skills and encouraged other women to take up the sport.  By the time 1932 rolled around they had enticed some 125 women to form leagues and bowl regularly.  Bowling cost $.10 per game, and league play cost a whoppin' $.50 for three games. Decatur had lots of bowling lanes in the mid to late-twenties -- some were in pool halls, some were in church basements, and school gymnasiums, but Hill's Alleys was known as the 'hot spot' for the women bowlers.    Ray Hill leased four lanes that were located in the basement of the Citizens Bank Building.  Women bowled at Hill's for four years before moving to the new Hill's lanes at 242 E. William Street.  In 1946 Paul Schaefer Sr. and Paul Jr. purchased the lanes from Ray Hill and changed the name to Schaefer's Lanes.   From 1932 to 1950 Hill's (Schaefer's) ranked as the largest bowling parlor in the city with 12 lanes. In the early days very few bowlers owned their own equipment.  The wooden bowling balls used prior to 1905 had been replaced with hard rubber balls.   The newer balls had three unique characteristics:   1) They all were black,   2) They all weighed 16 pounds, and   3) They were all drilled to fit a man's hand span.  Bowling shoes were not required or even available for ladies when they first started bowling.  Most women wore sandals, and some wore rubber-soled shoes, however; the rubber soles made marks on the approach and the other bowlers would stick, so the rubber soles were soon barred. Pro shops were non-existent in Decatur prior to 1950.   The nearest Pro Shop was in Peoria, IL.  If you wanted your own ball you had to have the proprietor measure your hand span and finger sizes, and send the measurements to Peoria, IL.  It took a couple weeks for the ball to be returned, and you just had to hope it would reasonably fit your hand when received.   Pro Shops were introduced in Decatur in 1950. Rules.   In the early years women made up their own league rules.  For instance, if you left the 7 - 10 split, you just took one pin for your score and didn't bother to shoot at the spare.  A similar rule for the big-four split - take two pins and sit down.  They figured no one ever picked them up, so why waste the time and energy to shoot at it. (All that changed after the women became a part of WIBC!)  The Review Girls was the first league formed in the city in the late twenties.  Before long another competitive league emerged, known as the City Girls league.  The City Girls league had the reputation of being the 'hot shot' women's league.  Additionally, in the late twenties the Wabash Ladies formed a league as did the Staley Girls, and a new comer league known as the Independent league, which was thought of as a beginner's league.  The more enthusiastic, and sometimes better bowlers, were bowling in more than one league each week so ’bragging rights' was always up for grabs as to which league had the best bowlers.  The City Girls held the distinction of being the oldest league in the city - 74 years!  They moved to Eldorado Bowl after Schaefer’s closed, then to Pla-Mor.  The league is now dissolved.
STRANGE BUT TRUE
...Peggy Milo may have been the only Decatur woman to bowl on grass (like in the yard).  Peggy was so intent in learning how to release the ball she took an old bowling ball and practiced the release in her backyard.  (Scoring was not the object of the exercise) ...Ruth Allen remembered bowling at Decatur Parlors in the thirties.  She said: "Every time it rained you could expect water on lane five".  When asked what they did about that she said: "Oh, we just bowled through it". ...Eileene Pfeifer wanted a new ball but was short of cash back in the early forties - but she did have some chickens.  So, she bought the ball on credit, prayed the chickens would keep laying, and used the egg money to pay off the ball.                                                                           ...Babe Adams had never picked up a bowling ball until she was sixty years old.  Babe was so thrilled with the game she constructed a makeshift bowling lane in her basement.  Babe said: "I filled bleach bottles with water and set them up like pins at one end of the basement, and then I stood at the other end and practiced with an old bowling ball".  (It must have worked!  Babe was still bowling in two leagues at the age of 92, and loving every minute of it.)
BOWLING MILESTONES
In 1929 eight Decatur ladies bowled in the state tournament in Chicago – the year IWBA was organized.  They paid $.25 dues to the state organization for the privilege of participating.  Universal state dues were not required until 1944-45. In 1971 Janice Cox was the first woman from Decatur to capture an IWBA State Championship title.   Jan's handicap score of 739 won the Singles event. In 1975 Judy Jones and Sandy Neilson were the IWBA handicap Doubles winners. Marlene Coffman bowled the first 700 series for a Decatur bowler - a 702 series, bowled on February 17, 1975.   After an especially busy day Marlene took to the lanes and fired games of 222-213-265.  (So, don't worry about having to bowl when you are tired - might help!) In 1981 Diane Doty became the second woman from Decatur to bring home the IWBA handicap Singles title. Eileene Pfeifer and Shirlene Wilkin were the first two women inducted into the Decatur Bowling Association Hall of Fame - Eileene for 'Meritorious Service' and Shirlene for 'Outstanding Bowler'. Decatur bowlers Diane Reedy & Barbara Reedy won the IWBA handicap Doubles in 1985 and the following year, 1986, Donna Funk and Mary K. Bonn were the IWBA Doubles winners. Karen Floyd and Tammy Jones won the scratch Doubles in the 1992 IWBA state tournament with a score of 1,228. Angela Pribble was the first Decatur woman to shoot an 800 series.  Angela bowled 803 on February 23, 1993 Eileene Pfeiffer was the first woman from Decatur to be honored as IWBA 'Member of the Year' in February 1993. In 1997 Tammy Jones captured the All-Events title with a 1,949 total. In 2000 Sheila Queen and Tammy Jones won the scratch Doubles in the IWBA Championship tournament. Tammy Jones was the first woman bowler from Decatur to be inducted into the IWBA Hall of Fame in the Outstanding Bowler category. The honor was bestowed on February 15, 2002 at the IWBA annual meeting in Effingham, IL.    On March 11, 2001 Tammy Jones bowled an 815 scratch series, with games of 300-279-236 in the singles event in the IWBA state tournament in Bloomington, IL, setting a new tournament record. The feat won her the scratch and handicap Singles event.  Tammy's 300 was only the fifth perfect game in IWBA tournament history, and the 815 was an all-time high for the Singles event. Marlene Coffman received national notoriety in 2002 when she went to microphone #7 at the WIBC annual meeting in Milwaukee, and made a motion to delay the vote on SMO until 2004 'because there was not sufficient information to make an intelligent decision’.   Jim Dressell, writer for Bowlers Journal, described it as follows: "In Wisconsin, it was like a cheese flambé hitting the fan."  Others have called it by another name - (starts with 's') Decatur WBA hosted their first IWBA State Tournament in 1956.  Their goal was to have 1,000 teams to set an all-time high tournament entry.   They almost made it - 872 teams entered.  The 1956 tournament in Decatur broke all previous records.   In Rockford, 1954 (the 25th Silver Anniversary), team entries went over the 800 mark with 835 teams entered.  (Decatur WBA members were mighty proud to break Rockford’s record with 872 teams just two years later!)   At the close of the 2004-2005 season, Tammy Jones had racked up more 300 games that any other woman bowler in USBC history.  Tammy had an amazing ELEVEN (11) 300 games.