Since its inception 10 years ago, the Butler County Bowling Association Hall of Fame has showcased the sport's history of excellence in this area.

Lance Rihn, Ed Kellerman Jr. and Mike Coyle have done the same. Now, that trio and the BCBA Hall are one and the same.

Rihn, Kellerman and Coyle increased the Hall's membership to 22 when they were inducted at the BCBA's annual Hall of Fame Dinner June 18 at the Tanglewood Center.

"All three of these guys are very deserving," BCBA president Larry Parenti said. "Lance and Ed are among the best bowlers around and words can't describe what Mike's meant to bowling in Butler County."

Rihn and Kellerman entered the Hall on bowling ability. Rihn, who now lives in Fort Myers, Fla., was a BCBA member for 30 years and is the county's all-time leader in perfect games with 16.

His highest career series is 832 and his highest single-season average is 226.

Kellerman has been a BCBA member for 32 years and owns six 300 games in his career. His highest series is 806 and his highest single-season average is 225."It's special to me to be inducted with Lance Rihn because he was my first doubles partner in an ABC Tournament," Kellerman said. "And we bowled against each other for 25 years in the Imperial League."Kellerman is a former president of the City League and the Traveling League. He was a teammate of Rick McKain's for the first 19 years of the Traveling League, but he and McKain are leaving that circuit to join the Imperial League this fall.An employee at Armco in 1969, Kellerman began league bowling in the Midnighters League at Lyndora Lanes."We bowled twice a month at the end of our 3 to 11 p.m. shift," he said. "That's what got me into league bowling."It means a lot to me to go into the Hall this soon. About half the members are in there for meritorious service, about half for bowling ability. To be one of the first 10 to 12 inducted for bowling ability is an honor because there are a lot of great bowlers in this town."BCBA secretary and former Pennsylvania State Bowling Association president Jim Bowser agreed."With Lance and Ed going in now, this will open the door for a lot of deserving bowlers," Bowser said. "Their time will come shortly."Bowling is a sport and these people deserve to be recognized for their consistent abilities in it."Rihn bowled in six leagues in Butler, is a former BCBA president and served as the county tournament chairman for several years."I already miss the competitiveness up there," he said. "All of those years bowling against the Henrys, the Ordys, the Crowes, Ed Kellerman... You had to be on your game if you were gonna stay with those guys."No doubt, they made me better. Even if I was bowling against them, they'd help me on the lanes, suggest I try this or try that. I always picked their brains... They were the true masters of the game."Rihn had bowled so many 300 games in his career that he once contemplated trying to miss his 12th consecutive strike."I didn't have a ring for a 299 and I wanted one," he recalled. "I was standing on the approach before my final shot, turned around and asked Dwight Crowe how I could leave one of the corner pins."He told me to shut up and bowl - and I got another perfect game."Rihn wound up with eight honor scores of 299 or 298 before moving to Florida two years ago.

Coyle entered the Hall for meritorious service. He has been a BCBA member for 25 years and a bowler for 40 years.His bowling numbers certainly aren't bad - he has a high game of 290 and high series of 751 - and he's been a BCBA singles and team tournament champion.His biggest claim to fame is his service to the sport locally. Coyle helped to bring the state tournament to Butler in 1994 and was instrumental in getting it back in 2004. He has been the BCBA's delegate to the state convention for years.Coyle was BCBA president for eight years before yielding that position to Parenti this year."Mike's still very active on the board," Parenti said. "As a source of guidance, I go to him for help. I know he'll be there for a long time to come."Coyle was among the BCBA board members who developed the criteria for Hall of Fame selection."We wanted to set it up so only the highest of ability and service could get in," Coyle said. "We wanted to preserve the quality of the Hall."Never in my wildest imagination did I believe I'd be selected. I was totally shocked. I'm still in awe of the whole thing."Other individuals recognized at the dinner were Brian Marcellus as Director of the Year and Jim Hepler for receiving the Ike Pawk Memorial Award.

Here are the 22 members of the Butler County Bowling Association Hall of Fame, by year of induction:<B>1995 -</B> Tony Betty, Michael "Ike" Pawk, Hal Phillips, Mike Surkalo<B>1996 -</B> Charlie Michaels Sr.<B>1998 -</B> Charlie Kurtz, Ray Henry<B>1999 -</B> William Rock<B>2000 -</B> Ralph Henry<B>2001 -</B> Jim Bowser, Jack "Bo" Ordy<B>2002 -</B> Dwight Crowe, Dave Hutchison, Lyle MacDonald, Joe Rosenberg<B>2003 -</B> Ron Brandon, Wayne Giesler Jr.<B>2004 -</B> Richard "Pooch" Ordy, Dr. Michael Pawk<B>2005 -</B> Mike Coyle, Ed Kellerman Jr., Lance Rihn </B>