48 | FEBRUARY 15 • 2024 J
N
quick hits
BY STEVE STEIN
H
ouse balls are a staple of
every bowling establishment.
Racks hold dozens of
worn-down, sometimes pock-marked
balls of all colors and weights, used
by bowlers of all ages and expertise
levels.
Rarely is a house ball mentioned in
the same sentence as the pinnacle of
bowling, the perfect 300 game.
Much less two 300 games. But
that’s how many perfect games
Ken Folkoff has bowled in the
Brotherhood-Eddie Jacobson B’nai
B’rith Bowling League using the same
house ball from Country Lanes in
Farmington Hills, the league’s home
base.
The 41-year-old Farmington Hills
resident’s first 300 game in the league
was bowled in 2015.
“Country Lanes gave me the house
ball I used that night,
” Folkoff said.
“Now it’s the only ball I own.
”
Folkoff gets some good-natured
ribbing from other bowlers in the
league because he uses his house ball
every week of league play. But he
always has the last laugh.
His latest 300 in the league was
rolled Jan. 29 at Country Lanes. It
was his first game of the night. He
bowled 200 and 191 in his next two
games for a season-high 691 series
that raised his average from 197 to
199.
He didn’t need any luck on his 12
strikes in the 300 game.
“Every ball was perfect,
” he said.
“I didn’t have any Brooklyn hits
or a shot where pins needed to be
carried.
”
Even though he had been bowling
well lately in the league, with several
series in the 600s, rolling a 300 game
wasn’t on Folkoff’s mind that night.
Brotherhood-Eddie Jacobson B’nai B’rith League
bowler Ken Folkoff has racked up a pair of
perfect games using the same ball.
One House Ball,
Two 300 Games
STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
SPORTS
Ken Folkoff gets
a high-five after
bowling a 300
game Jan. 29.
GARY KLINGER
Better Late Than Never ... Dennis Horwitz Rolls His First
700 Series Since 2019
Dennis Horwitz was on a hot streak in the weekly Brotherhood-Eddie Jacobson B’nai B’rith Bowling
League as the first month of 2024 ended.
Horwitz rolled a 700 series (215-226-259) on Jan. 29 at Country Lanes in Farmington Hills, his first
700 in the league since pre-COVID days, specifically May 2019. He had a 696 series on Jan. 22, just
four pins shy of the magic 700 mark.
His 700 was the highest series in the 24-team league Jan. 29, and he also had the highest
over-average series in the league (109 pins).
The second-highest series Jan. 29 was rolled by Lyle Schaefer (677) and the second-highest
series over average was bowled by Bruce Myers (640, 106 pins).
Also notable Jan. 29 was Andy Cohen’s highest game ever in the league, a 237.
The four division leaders in the league Feb. 5 were The Motley Crew, Ruby’s Rollers, Mertz’s
Bakery and Hey Gary. Horwitz’s team, X Marks the Spot, was just behind Mertz’s Bakery in second
place in the Earl Anthony Division.
Here are important dates for the rest of the league season: March 25 is the end of the second
half. Playoffs begin and end April 1 and 15. After two weeks off for Passover, the annual league ban-
quet and golf outing will be May 6.
Dennis Horwitz (second from left) and
his X Marks the Spot teammates (from
left) Howard Keller, David Little and Dave
Shanbaum.
GARY KLINGER