Bowling HOF adding 2
BUTLER TWP — Two longtime and dedicated Butler County Bowling Association members will be inducted into the organization's Hall of Fame this fall.
Carl Vinroe, 64, and Jim Hepler, 52, will swell the Hall's membership to 42. Site and date of the induction banquet will be announced.
“I've been a member of the board since its inception,” Hepler said. “I was one of the guys who helped form the Hall of Fame.
“I've been to all of the dinners, done a few of the (introductory) speeches for the inductees. I'm very honored to be going in myself.”
The inaugural BCBA Hall of Fame inductions took place in 1995.
“I was shocked when I got the word,” Vinroe said of his induction. “I've been fortunate enough to bowl with some of the best in the county, guys like Tom Fry and Ron Henry, but I'm not part of that premier class.
“There's only about four or five guys in that Hall of Fame that I've never bowled with.”
Hepler and Vinroe's bowling roots go back a number of years.
Hepler said he was a Cub Scout, no older than 10, when his troop leader decided to have a bowling outing for the kids.
“There were maybe 12 of us,” Hepler recalled. “He said he'd give a trophy to the kid with the highest score and I was all in. I wanted that trophy.”
Hepler bowled a 103 and got the trophy.
“I bowled in the youth program at Family Bowlaway. Coaches Eunice Wilson and Tim Kelly were great people and great influences on me,” he said.
Vinroe took a bowling class at Slippery Rock State College and didn't begin bowling a lot until he hung around friend Roger Kadunce after graduating from college.
“Roger's father owned Bon Aire Bowl and I started bowling with Roger quite a bit,” Vinroe said. “It took about 10 years before I really started to take the game seriously.”
Both Hepler and Vinroe have accomplished plenty on the lanes since their younger days.Hepler has bowled two 300-games, six 299's and two 800-series. One of his 300's and 800's were bowled during a Butler County tournament in the late 1990's, the year he teamed with Jeff Foringer to win the county doubles title.He bowled a 299 at the state tournament five years ago in Allentown.“That happened during singles play, so the guys I went to the tournament with said I wasn't a team player,” Hepler said, laughing.Hepler has won virtually every category of the Butler County tournament at least once. His highest single-season average was 225, posted in 1986.“That was second highest in the county that year, about a half-pin behind Lance Rihn,” Hepler said. “He's in the Hall of Fame, though, so that's not so bad.”Hepler also served as an assistant coach for four years with the Butler High School bowling team. He was on the coaching staff during the Golden Tornado's state championship season of 2013, his daughter Autumn's senior year.“Being part of that ranks up there with anything I've done in the sport,” Hepler said.Vinroe has been a bowler for more than 40 years. He served on the BCBA board for 20 years and is a past president of the association.He rolled a perfect game at Sherwood Lanes in 1994, rolled an 802 series there and carried a 216 average during the late 1980's.“I still bowl in two leagues a week,” Vinroe said. “I used to bowl four nights a week.”Vinroe was part of the winning team in the county tournament on multiple occasions and won the county doubles with Fry one year. He's bowled in the national tournament for 25 years — in 15 different cities — and received an award for that participation.“I was fortunate to bowl with some of the best ever,” Vinroe said.“Carl's brother and nephew were on my team in a league this year,” Hepler said. “It's an honor to be going into the Hall of Fame with him.”
