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