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

