Bowling: Dixon's Wolfe gets call to the hall

DIXON – Skip Wolfe got his start in bowling in a Saturday morning league at Plum Hollow Lanes some 40 years ago.

It put him on a path that few in life achieve – a hall of fame career.

Wolfe, 52, will be inducted into the Illinois State Bowling Hall of Fame in a ceremony slated for Saturday, Oct. 21 at Jumer’s Hotel and Casino in Rock Island. It begins at 7 p.m.

Voting was conducted by the hall of fame board on Friday, March 3, and Wolfe received a letter and a phone call a few days later about his induction. He described his emotion as “thrilled beyond belief.”

“When you start out bowling as a kid, you don’t remotely think about being inducted into any hall of fame,” Wolfe said. “To go into the state hall of fame is an incredible honor. I’m thrilled and humbled and honored all at the same time to go in.”

Wolfe paid his dues in the sport to get to where he is now. He won United States Open qualifiers four times (1990, 1991, 1998 and 1999) in Rockford. In 1991, he won the 40-game qualifier by a record 511 pins.

In 1991 and ’92, he qualified for the National Resident Pro Tournament in Corpus Christi, Texas. He won the Midwest Regional title in 1991 to advance to the national event. As a young pro at the time, it was an eye-opening experience against top-notch competition.

“When I started going to the PBA regionals, I literally would bowl practice sessions, and then go back to the centers and watch the pro-ams in the evening because I was bowling against some of the greatest bowlers that have ever lived in our region,” Wolfe said. “We bowled against Pete Weber and Parker Bohn and Mike Shady and Marc McDowell – we bowled against PBA hall of famers every week in the region. For me to get started at that level, the first few years were pretty rough. I didn’t cash very often, that’s for sure. The fields were full of hall of fame bowlers every week.”

In the United States Bowling Congress national tournament, Wolfe was on a Midwest Region team with fellow pros Mike Soper, Tom Carter, Mark Barker and Ed Cetwinski that earned second place in 2006, 11th place in 2007 and ninth place in 2008.

“It’s phenomenal what we were able to accomplish together,” Wolfe said.

As Wolfe got older, raising three boys (Blake, 14; Kyle, 12; and Garet, 8) with his wife, Kimberly, became a priority, as did working for Bob’s Business, which sells goods and services to bowling centers throughout the midwest. He travels throughout Illinois, ordering up and providing whatever the centers might need. His boys are all active in baseball and golf, and Wolfe happily encourages those endeavors when at home.

Still, Wolfe finds time to bowl and compete, and a few career highlights have come the last 2 years.

In 2015, Wolfe placed 13th in the PBA Senior United States Open. In 2016, he placed 25th at USBC Masters. It was against fields that included the best 50-and-over bowlers in the country.

“Those were dreams come true for me, to be able to compete well at the best level,” Wolfe said. “I loved that part of it.”

Wolfe earned some prize money at those events – enough to pay for lodging, travel and meals – but it was the competition he thrived on.

“For me, you have a dream as a kid to hopefully work your game up to the level where you can compete with some of those guys,” Wolfe said, “and it took a lifetime of hard work, but I finally got to the point where I could compete a little bit out there. I just absolutely love the competition of bowling head-to-head matches many times in my career against some of the greatest bowlers that have ever lived.”

Note: The 2017 Illinois State Bowling Hall of Fame class also includes bowlers Mike Nape and Steve Jaros of Yorkville; Vince Biondo III of Carpentersville; and John Weltzien of Wellington, Fla.; and service to the game inductees Bill Slateritz of South Holland and Darryl Hixon of Rock Island.