It took 20 years, but Rich Minto finally has his matched set.

A longtime bowler and golfer, Minto, 72, rolled a 300 game at Sherwood Lanes in 1986.

"I always dreamed of attaining a hole-in-one to go with that,"the Butler resident said. "Those are my two sports and those are the two biggest achievements you can get in them.

"After a while, I figured time had passed me by for the hole-in-one."

Not quite.

While playing at Oakview Golf Club recently with former football coach and fellow Butler Area Sports Hall of Famer Paul Uram, Minto used a 6-iron to tee off on the par-3, 146-yard No. 16 hole.

"You hit up a hill and the pin placement was at the front of the green,"Minto said. "The ball hit in front of the green and was rolling toward the pin when we lost sight of it.

"Paul thought it went in the hole. I figured it rolled off the green."

When the two arrived at the green, they saw the ball resting in the cup.

"I couldn't believe it. I was so happy. ... I've waited 60 years for that,"Minto said.

Minto began golfing when he was 12, the year he started caddying at Butler Country Club.

"I grew up in Lyndora and a lot of us kids used to hitchhike up to the country club and caddy to make money during the summer,"he said. "They'd let us play for free on Mondays and let us use a couple of clubs to hit balls with at the driving range.

"That's how I learned to play."

Minto had back surgery two years ago and had a partial knee replacement done this year.

Still, he plays golf three times a week and carries an 11 handicap at Oakview. He still bowls in the Imperial and City leagues at Sherwood Lanes and averages in the 180s.

Minto's wife of 46 years, Brenda, is also a longtime golfer and bowler. She is still a member of the Lady Duffers League at Stoughton Acres and shot a hole-in-one of her own two years ago on the par-3 No. 3 hole at Stoughton Acres at age 62.

"I don't have to listen to that anymore, finally,"Minto said.

"I still beat him to it,"his wife responded. "But I'm excited for him. A hole-in-one is something you talk about all day, all week. You tell everybody you know."

Minto never became serious about golf until his stellar baseball career ended. He wound up getting tryouts as a pitcher with the Pirates and Baltimore Orioles, but was never offered a contract.

He recalled pitching three innings against the Class AButler Tigers in an exhibition game at Pullman Park.

"I struck out seven in three innings and (Pirates general manager)Branch Rickey was in the stands,"Minto said. "He told somebody Ilooked good, but was too small and that he'd never offer me a contract.

"I was only 5-foot-9 and weighed maybe 150 pounds at the time."

After a few years of pitching in the Eagle County League, Minto turned his attention to golf.

And the hole-in-one has arrived at last.