THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 29, 1995 TAG: 9501270737
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 18 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Sports
SOURCE: Bill Leffler
LENGTH: Medium: 98 lines
The nation's largest bowling chain is now based in Virginia.
AMF Bowling Centers, headquartered in Richmond, has acquired controlling interest in Fair Lanes Inc.
AMF already owned 108 bowling centers across the United States and 79 outside this country. Fair Lanes has 106 centers, including about 30 in the Baltimore and Washington areas.
Brunswick, based in Illinois, previously was the top owner in the country with 125 centers.
Reportedly, the merger of AMF and Fair Lanes will produce annual revenue exceeding $200 million.
A spokesman said there are no plans to close any Fair Lanes centers.
The lone local Fair Lanes center, Fair Lanes Military, was sold to Dwight Mitchum in July, 1993. Mitchum, who lives in Virginia Beach, owns the Pinboy's chain.
Fair Lanes operates the Hidenwood center on the Peninsula, and AMF now plans to renovate it.
AMF currently operates eight centers in Virginia, 14 in North Carolina and 11 in South Carolina.
For the first time, AMF also will operate duckpin centers. A spokesman said 15 of the Fair Lanes centers include duckpins - three split houses and 12 with only duckpins.
``The purchase by AMF will help bring more consistency to the sport,'' said Mitchum. ``Fair Lanes had attempted a new way of operation and obviously it was not successful.''
All of Mitchum's centers except two are AMF-equipped. Pinboy's of Lynnhaven and Pinboy's of Military have Brunswick equipment.
Most of the Fair Lanes centers are Brunswick equipped. Actually, some of the current centers operated by AMF also have Brunswick equipment. AMF Bowling Inc. manufactures bowling balls, machines and other equipment and operates independently from AMF Bowling Centers although the stockholders are the same.
BOWLER OF THE WEEK honors go to Rusty Martin.
Martin backed up 700 series in three different tenpin leagues. He fired 721 in the Sunday Nite Mixed League at Pinboy's of Norfolk and came back with a pair at Pinboy's of Lynnhaven, tossing 713 in the Strikers loop and 723 in the Masters League.
For the nine games, he averaged a sparkling 239.7.
TENPIN TOPICS: Rodney Moody was in that perfect swing again, tossing another 300 in the Military Doubles League at Fair Lanes of Military. Moody sandwiched the 300 between games of 267 and 248 for a blistering 815 series. . reporting a record local league triplicate for Earl Stutz. Stutz pitched three 257 games en route to his blistering 771 in the Charles Peete League at Pinboy's of Norfolk. . . . Kim Knapp is taking bows for her first 200 game with 202 in the Plaza Strikers League at Plaza Bowl. . . . Virginia bowlers contributed $34,438.65 to the BVL Fund the past year. . . . Alice Raber converted the 6-7-10 in the Saturday Classic Mixed League at Pinboy's of Chesapeake. . . . After 10 in a row, the No. 4 pin refused to fall for J.D. Wills en route to his 289 game in the Tuesday Mixed Majors at Plaza Bowl. . . finest game by a female bowler (259) in the Sunday Nite Mixed League at Pinboy's of Norfolk. . . . Prime Sports Network taped the Ladies Pro Bowlers Tour Showdown, a 'Skins game competition featuring the LPBT's top four bowlers, for a later showing. It offers $10,000 in prizes. If only one of the four bowlers strikes in the 10th frame, that pitch will be worth $2,000. . . . The American Bowling Congress will hold a training program for volunteers in Virginia at Roanoke April 22-23.
DUCKPIN DATA: In winning the first Portsmouth Match Game Championship, Paul Wetherbee racked up a 7-1 record in the double-elimination tournament. He won $300. . . . Rumors persist that Bowlarama, a 32-lane center on Sewells Point Road in Norfolk, is for sale at $900,000. Not true, says owner Pat Sheets. ``If somebody hands me $900,000, maybe I'll think about it,'' she said. . . . Andy Hite won the Virginia Pro Tour's January stop at Charlottesville. Local bowler Ronnie Sult was among the finalists, qualifying in second place. . . . The Virginia Ladies All-Stars come to Victory Lanes on Feb. 24-26. Claudia Bach won the January tour in Richmond. . . . Don Ferguson racked up a record 178 game in the Elimination Doubles League. It was the highest game he has ever bowled. . . . Wedding bells rang for Wayne Haddock and Laure Nickerson. A scheduled June wedding was moved up to January. . . . Donnie Long is making bids to move back to the area's top ranking that he held in 1990. Ranked fifth last year, Long presently sports the top average in both the Tidewater Pro League and the Industrial League. . . . Longtime bowler Audrey Sult, now a resident of Augusta, Ga., was a recent visitor at Victory Lanes. . . . Paul Sandefur needed 30 pins in the final frame to get his team a victory in the Tidewater Pro League and proceeded to post a triple strike. . . . Kendra Allen, who just may finish up the season with more 400 series than 90 percent of all other women bowlers in the area combined, slammed 428 in the Victory Youth League. A 178 game featured the latest outburst. . . . Harry Smith has resigned as executive director of the National Duckpin Bowling Congress. Marge Chaney is serving as acting director. by CNB