Joy Chappell and Sam Smith, who have loved bowling for decades, never saw this coming: They’ve been selected for the 2016 Virginia Peninsula USBC Hall of Fame.
“Shocked” was the reaction of Chappell when first informed of the huge honor. For Smith, it was “quite a surprise.”
Both will be inducted at the association’s awards ceremony Nov. 5 — Chappell in the Bowling Achievement category and Smith in the Meritorious Service category.
Chappell, 55, said she was shocked because she knew about all of the great all-star women’s bowlers that had been inducted in the past — like Renee Brubaker and Karen Shuler — and she didn’t see herself as that caliber of a bowler.
“It a phenomenal honor,” she said.
Chappell’s achievements speak for themselves. She has bowled two perfect games, numerous 700 series, posted league averages as high as 200-plus and competed at state and national tournaments.
Her biggest achievement came in the 2001 State Women’s Tournament at AMF York. She won the all-events title, the doubles with Melody Diamontopulos, and rolled her first 300 at the event.
The 300 was the first by a local female bowler at York. She sandwiched the 300 with games of 274 and 162 for a 736 series.
In recent years, the Seaford resident hasn’t lost her touch. She bowled a 300 in 2013 and has made the senior women’s all-star teams the past two seasons with composite averages of 189.82 and 189.54.
The only woman to finish ahead of her on those all-star teams was Brubaker, one of her idols, with averages of 198.87 and 202.72.
Chappell, who says she bowls for fun but still has a competitive spirit, is looking to elevate her game this season. She’s carrying about a 199 average on Mondays at York and around 190 at Sparetimes on Tuesdays.
Smith, a Hampton resident, has had a passion for bowling for more than 30 years, having served on the Board of Directors for the Hampton Roads Bowling Association and the Virginia Peninsula USBC.
As a 66-year-old retiree, he’s best known these days for promoting the sport by serving as the webmaster and designer for the local association, getting news to the Daily Press and updating the association’s Facebook page.
“If I can introduce one person to the sport of bowling and they find the same passion and friendships I have, then life is good,” he said.
His contributions haven’t gone unnoticed. He received the Charles W. Woods Jr. Award of Merit for the 2007-08 season and the Al Watlet Service Award for 2012-13, but he easily ranks his Hall of Fame selection as his biggest honor.
Smith also is an accomplished bowler, having rolled games of 299 in 2006 and a 300 game in 2004. He’s also a member of the 700 Club and looks forward each week to bowling in the Seniors League on Mondays and the Hampton Handicap Men’s League on Wednesdays at Century Lanes.
Semipro football
The top-seeded Virginia Crusaders aren’t about to let their guards down when they take on the Southern Virginia Raiders in the Mason-Dixon Football League South Conference title game at 7 p.m. Saturday at Darling Stadium.
“Our guys are hungry and eager to play. They know what happened last year,” Crusaders coach Larry Stith said on Monday.
What happened was a 41-28 loss in the conference championship game to the Hampton Roads Redskins, a team they had beaten twice earlier in the season.
There’s a similar scenario for Saturday’s game. The Crusaders (8-2) have already beaten the Raiders twice this season, 14-0 and 23-6, but the Raiders are capable of pulling off an upset. On Sunday, the Virginia Beach team knocked off the defending champion Redskins 14-6 in double overtime in a conference semifinal.
If the Crusaders win, they’ll advance to the MDFL title game against the Virginia Titans.
A long layoff could hurt the Crusaders, who haven’t played a game since beating the Redskins 14-8 Sept. 17. They were scheduled to play Sept. 24 but the Palmetto (S.C.) Hurricanes forfeited that game. Then they received an opening-round bye in the playoffs.
Golf
Jim Gallagher of Yorktown made a strong showing, but the Virginias team lost to the Carolinas 251/2 to 221/2 at the 71st Captain’s Putter Matches in Manakin-Sabot Friday and Saturday.
Gallagher and Mike Krulich won one match and halved another in four-ball and foursomes play on opening day and Gallagher won his singles match on the final day, 2 and 1. Dave Pulk of Williamsburg had a 1-2 record in his matches.
