MARCH 9 • 2023 | 33
R
on Rycus has turned a
sad ending into a happy
beginning. All it took was
a 15-year-old bowling ball and a
perfect 300 game.
The sad ending involved
the 75-year-old B’nai B’rith
bowling league in Lansing. It
shut down in December, the
victim of dwindling interest
and participation. It was down
to four three-man teams, and
some of those bowlers weren’t
showing up to bowl.
“One of the guys on my team
had been bowling in the league
for more than 60 years,
” Rycus
said. “It was a sad situation.
”
Here’s the happy beginning
portion of the story. Rycus
joined a UAW bowling league
last year, bowling first as a sub-
stitute and then fulltime. The
East Lansing resident is bowl-
ing fulltime again this season in
the league, which has a strong
roster of 14 five-man teams.
On Feb. 20, during a league
night, Rycus rolled a 300 game.
At age 77.
It was the third 300 game of
his career. The previous two were
in 2010 and 2017, in the B’nai
B’rith league at City Limits East
Lansing Sports Grill & Bowling
Center. This one was at Spare
Time Entertainment Center in
Lansing.
The perfect games are almost
seven years apart. And there’s
another connection to the past.
Rycus used the same ball he
used for the 2010 perfect game in
his most recent 300, a 15-pound
red Brunswick Ebonite Mission.
“I bowled 225 and 200 in my
first two games (Feb. 20),
” Rycus
said. “I needed a change, so I
went with that ball. I’ve had it
forever. I use it mostly for spares
right now.
”
He didn’t need to use it for a
spare on this night. He had solid
pocket hits the entire game.
About half the league was still
at the lanes as Rycus got ready
for the 10th frame, and those
bowlers came over to watch.
“I was so focused,
” he said. “
As
I got to the 12th ball, I said to
myself, ‘just do the same thing
you did the last 11 balls.
’ I did. It
was a thing of beauty.
”
Rycus, who said he started
bowling about the time he was
a bar mitzvah and has had a
dozen 279 games during his
career, enjoys bowling in the
UAW league.
“I’m quite certain I’m the only
Jew in the league and certainly
one of the oldest guys. If not,
I’m very close, probably in the
top 5%,
” he said. “Most of my
teammates are half my age, but
no matter ... I showed them that
experience, a positive mental atti-
tude and a little mazel is all you
need to bowl great.
”
Rycus compared his change
from bowling in the B’nai B’rith
league to the UAW league as
going from a “bagels and cream
cheese league” to a “pizza and
beer” league.
His team, called the 13th
Frame, is in first place. The team
is sponsored by Bob Stephenson,
the pro at City Limits. Rycus calls
him his mentor. He’s purchased
all his bowling balls from him.
Rycus has lived in East
Lansing for 50 years. He owns
Rycus Flooring (“You’ll Like Us
at Rycus”), a family-owned and
run business since 1990, along
with his son BJ. The Lansing
store has a 5,000-square-foot
showroom.
Send sports news to stevestein502004@
yahoo.com.
Ron Rycus, 77, rolls his third 300
game ... using the same ball he
used for his 2010 perfect game.
STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
A Repeat Feat
SPORTS
This isn’t the
bowling ball Ron
Rycus used for
his most recent
300 game. It was
a gift from his
brother Jeff.
The sign says it all at Spare Time Entertainment Center in Lansing.
RON RYCUS
BJ RYCUS