RENO, Nev. - Indianapolis' Helen Kidwell has shared her passion for the sport of bowling with others for many years, and her longevity in the sport was celebrated this week as she made her 50th appearance at the United States Bowling Congress Women's Championships.

The 89-year-old right-hander started her journey at the event at the 1967 event in Rochester, New York, and she's been to 33 cities and 24 states over the course of her tournament career.

She was presented with a plaque, chevron and necklace Saturday at the National Bowling Stadium to commemorate her accomplishment.

Kidwell credits her start at the USBC Women's Championships to her husband, Wesley. Before he died in 2009, Wesley had made 53 USBC Open Championships appearances.

"My husband was a 20-year member of the ABC (American Bowling Congress) Board of Directors," Kidwell said. "He did everything ABC had to offer, and ever since, I have been very active in bowling."

Kidwell has enjoyed many memories at the event, but the first one that always comes to mind was when her hometown of Indianapolis won the bid to host the 1975 Women's Championships.

"I was a director for the women's organization for more than 10 years and traveled with the tournament," Kidwell said. "I was overjoyed when it was announced that the tournament was coming to my hometown."

She received that news while serving as a delegate at the 1974 event in Houston.

"That was the year it was announced the next tournament would be in Indianapolis," Kidwell said. "The Woman Bowler magazine came and took our picture. It was a black and white photo. We all had hats on, and I still have that magazine."

In addition to her work on the administrative side of the sport, Kidwell also was active in local youth programs, taking youth bowlers to and from tournaments all over the United States.

Kidwell's dedication to the sport earned her induction into the Indianapolis USBC Hall of Fame in 2004 and the Irene Wiese Award of Appreciation in 2017.

Kidwell was joined by family and friends for her milestone appearance, and she was even surprised during her special moment.

"My husband had family in San Francisco, and they came to see my 50-Year presentation," Kidwell said. "It was so nice for them to take time out of their lives to come and see me bowl. It really meant a lot."

In her 50th appearance, Kidwell rolled scores of 455 in singles, 378 in team and 346 in doubles for a 1,179 all-events total.

"We had 20 bowlers come with us this year, which is the largest group we've ever had," Kidwell said. "My first game of singles, I beat them all with a 162. But it is great to see them all come out and continue to want to bowl this tournament for years to come."

Credit: USBC Communications

RENO, Nev. - Raymond Jensen of Greenwood, Ind., briefly put his United States Bowling Congress Open Championships career on hold to help raise his family, but his dedication since his return a decade later helped him become the 166th bowler to reach 50 years on the championship lanes.

The 83-year-old right-hander was joined at the National Bowling Stadium on Monday by his teammates and his wife, Phyllis. He received a plaque, chevron and diamond lapel pin to celebrate the milestone.

On Sunday night, the members of Ray's 50th Team of Indianapolis presented Jensen with a special bowling shirt to wear for his memorable march down Center Aisle and surprised him once again before hitting the lanes at the NBS by having matching shirts in his honor.

"I was a little teary eyed when they presented me the shirts at dinner last night," said Jensen, who bowls regularly at Greenwood's Southern Bowl. "I was shocked, and I appreciated everything they did for me. I was very humbled by everything."

Jensen began his USBC Open Championships career at the 1955 event in Fort Wayne, Ind., because of its close proximity to home, but he didn't return to the tournament until the 1965 event in St. Paul, Minn. Since 1965, he has made all but one tournament appearance.

"Being from Indianapolis, my first tournament was in Fort Wayne, so it was close to home," Jensen said. "In 1965, a gentleman asked if I would like to go to the ABC with his group, and I said I would be honored. One thing led to another after that, and the only one I missed since then was in Billings, Mont. (2002)."

One of Jensen's favorite tournament memories was rolling his highest Open Championships all-events total of 1,780 at the 2000 event in Albuquerque, N.M.

Although the scores have come and gone throughout the years, the camaraderie shared between Jensen, his teammates, and especially his wife, has helped him come back each year.

"Bowling comes second, because it's about the camaraderie shared with everyone I'm with," Jensen said. "My wife is my inspiration, she really is. She's behind me all of the time. People ask her if she has ever bowled, and she tells them she's never thrown a ball. When they ask why not, she tells them she might be better than me, and then I would quit. She's my little sweetheart. We'll be married 59 years this August."

Jensen recently rolled his fourth perfect game and continues to work as a coach to help children learn the sport. While he helps usher in the next generation of bowlers, he also looks forward to competing on the lanes and still has some big games saved up for down the road.

"I'm still a youngster," Jensen said. "I'm only going to be 84 later this year, but I really enjoy it. I'll keep bowling to the best of my ability as long as I'm enjoying it."

In his 50th appearance, Jensen put together sets of 490 in team, 466 in doubles and 456 in singles for a 1,412 all-events total. For his tournament career, he has knocked down 77,550 pins for a lifetime average of 172.3.

 Credit: Matt Cannizzaro and Aaron Smith 

RENO, Nev. - Don Mitchell of Indianapolis became the 125th bowler to reach 50 years of participation at the USBC Open Championships on Thursday night.

The 78-year-old right-hander made his first Open Championships appearance at the 1950 event in Columbus, Ohio, and made his milestone march down Center Aisle in front of his family, friends and fellow bowlers at the National Bowling Stadium.

"It was an extremely big deal," said Mitchell, who rolled his career-high series of 704 at the 1996 event in Salt Lake City. "It was very elaborate. The ceremony was a lot bigger than I thought it would be. It was really amazing to be the 125th bowler to reach 50 years."

For Mitchell's big night, his daughter, Donna Leimgruber, and her husband, Charles, made the 450-mile drive from Las Vegas to be a part of the festivities, which included an escorted march, a plaque, chevron and diamond lapel pin to commemorate the achievement. Mitchell was the third of eight bowlers who will join the elite club during the 2010 event.

"Bowling has been his life," Leimgruber said. "This was a great accomplishment for him because he really wanted to reach 50 years. He has been in pretty bad health as of late, and we weren't sure if he was going to be able to make it to the tournament. It was really special for him and special for me to see it as well. It seems as if he has reached the top."

Mitchell has missed a few tournaments over the years for various reasons, but he has a great appreciation for the Open Championships. Even though his health only allowed him to complete a few frames Thursday, nothing could've kept him from this year's event.

"I love the tournaments," Mitchell said. "I have fun every year, and I just love coming. I have had some pretty good scores before as well. It was just nice to see the ceremony tonight. Everything was wonderful."

Since he was young, Mitchell has been around the sport of bowling. He lived next door to a bowling center growing up and had the opportunity to learn about the game while he worked as a pin boy. He always would ask his father for a quarter to bowl two practice games when time allowed.

Mitchell later spent time as a bowling proprietor. He owned Woodland Bowl, Western Bowl, Southern Bowl and Expo Bowl, also known as Royal Pin Leisure Centers in Indianapolis. He was a very dedicated proprietor, sometimes working 24 hours a day and seven days a week during the early days of the business. He retired from his position in 1998 after 38 years of hard work.

"I loved working at the centers," said Mitchell, who bowled his career-high all-events total of 1,830 at the 1962 event in Des Moines, Iowa. "I have been very lucky because I got to do the one thing in my life that I loved the most, which was running a bowling center. I felt like a sports icon because I was paid to do what I loved. I loved my customers, my employees and especially the game of bowling. It has been very good to me."

Credit: Matt Cannizzaro and Emil Williams