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.
Send sports news to stevestein502004@
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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