T

here were eight bowlers 
on the two teams in the 
playoff championship 
match of the Brotherhood-Eddie 
Jacobson B’nai B’rith bowling 
league.
Seven had previously won 
a playoff championship. Rick 
Woolman was the outlier. Not 
anymore.
The 600 Club team, 
anchored by Woolman, beat the 
FlashDancers 15-9 for the title 
on April 24 after being tied 7-7 
through two games. Points are 
awarded through match play and 
team scores.
“Rick bowled out of his mind,
” 
said Gary Klinger, a member of 
the FlashDancers.
Indeed, he did.
The 65-year-old chiropractor 
from Waterford bowled the high-
est series of his life (227-269-260 
—756) at a perfect time. His 214 
average this season also was his 
lifetime best. His previous high 
series and season average were 
748 and 209.
Woolman had a great battle 
against his good friend and 
sometimes doubles partner Ben 
Shapiro in the anchor spot in the 
playoff championship match.
Shapiro started the second 
game with eight straight strikes. 
Woolman began the game with a 
spare and seven straight strikes. 
Each ended up bowling a 269.
Woolman started the third 
game with a strike, spare, strike 
and spare and finished with eight 
strikes in a row for 260. Shapiro 
had a 192-269-202 — 663 series.
The playoff championship 

was a long time coming for 
Woolman, who began bowling in 
the Brotherhood-Eddie Jacobson 
league in 1985. He was out for 
about five years but returned.
“It meant a lot to win the 
championship,
” Woolman said. 
“I didn’t want to lose and still be 
the only guy (among the eight 
bowlers in the match) without a 
championship.
”
This was the first time 
Woolman bowled in a 
Brotherhood-Eddie Jacobson 
playoff championship match. He’
d 
gotten to the semifinals previous-
ly but hadn’t moved on.
Woolman enjoys participating 
in the weekly league, which bowls 
Monday nights at Country Lanes 
in Farmington Hills.
“The league is competitive, but 
the camaraderie is fantastic,
” he 
said. “We have bowlers of all skill 
levels. Everyone wants to win, of 
course, but we root for each other. 
And it’s the best-run league I’ve 

ever been in.
”
Woolman said his bowling 
game has “come together” the 
past few years. He took some 
lessons before this season and 
learned some things he didn’t 
know, he said.
While he had his lifetime-best 
series in the playoff champion-
ship match, Woolman was quick 
to point out that the match wasn’t 
all about him. Like it has all sea-
son, he said, the 600 Club’s suc-
cess was a team effort.
The 600 Club had the highest 
combined average in the league 
(828), and it won its division 
championship in both halves of 
the regular season.
Also on the team were Rob 
Greenfield of Huntington 
Woods, Mike Lieberman of West 
Bloomfield and Hassan Fatouhi 
of Commerce Township.
Greenfield had a 209 aver-
age. Lieberman was at 204 and 
Fatouhi at 201.

“I’ve been bowling on the 
same team with Rob and Mike 
for about five years,
” Woolman 
said. “Hassan joined our team on 
a full-time basis this year. He’
d 
previously filled in as a substitute. 
He came through in the clutch 
several times this season.
”
The FlashDancers had the 
league’s third-highest average 
(812). The team was made up 
of Aubrey Topper (189), Klinger 
(205), Matt Rappaport (208) and 
Shapiro (210).
Team Lebowski and the 
Hassholes lost in the playoff semi-
finals to the FlashDancers and the 
600 Club, respectively. Howard 
Halpern, Jay Weiss, Phil Ross and 
Gary Shurman were on Team 
Lebowski. Matt Kushner, Rick 
Spalter, Isaac Pickell and Ken 
Folkoff were on the Hassholes.
After missing six weeks of 
league play with an injured finger, 
Klinger returned to action and 
won the league’s bracket and high 
over-average tournaments that 
were held over the same three-
week period as the playoffs.
Klinger bowled a lifetime-best 
257-258-263 — 778 series in 
Week 2. He defeated Howard 
Waxer 233-164 on April 24 to 
win the bracket tournament. 
Earlier in the night, Klinger 
beat Greenfield 222-179 and 
Waxer beat Steve Lotzoff 189-181 
in the semifinals. Also in the Elite 
Eight of the bracket tournament 
were Jeff Berlin, Rick Sherline, 
Yale Weiner and Rappaport.
Klinger was 280 pins over aver-
age in that three-week tourna-
ment. He was 78 pins over aver-
age in Week 1, a whopping 163 
pins over average in Week 2 and 
39 pins over average in Week 3.
Harold Grossbart and Howard 
Mertz also had big nights in 
Week 2. Grossbart had a 298 
game and 768 series, and Mertz 
rolled the highest game (276) and 
series (672) of his life. He was 125 
pins over average for the night. 

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42 | MAY 4 • 2023 

SPORTS

Join the Club

Rick Woolman’s lifetime-best 756 series helps the 600 
Club win the Brotherhood-Eddie Jacobson B’nai B’rith 
bowling league’s playoff championship.

STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Meet the 600 Club, the Brotherhood-Eddie Jacobson B’nai B’rith bowling 
league’s playoff champion. From left are Mike Lieberman, Hassan 
Fatouhi, Rick Woolman and Rob Greenfield.

GARY KLINGER

