Still bowling them over at 99: Grafton man, World War II vet part of weekly league
Pictured Is: Bill Beckett. Story Courtesy Of The Chronicle-Telegram.
Dylan Reynolds
The Chronicle-Telegram
Nov 18, 2019 6:00 AM
NORTH RIDGEVILLE — Bill Beckett still has a consistent bowling form. He picks up his ball from the ball return, walks up to the lane, stops just short and sends the ball spinning down the right side of the lane. It edges close to the gutter before the spin carries it back across the lane and it hits just left of the headpin.
Many times, it’s a strike, or at least close to it.
At 99, the Grafton resident still makes the trip to Brunswick Zone North Ridgeville Lanes in North Ridgeville every week to bowl for the “Stella’s Fellas” team in the Tuesday Zumpstein Seniors league. And, until recently, he drove himself there. The great-great-grandfather said he enjoys playing in the league because it keeps him active.
“Sure, I like to bowl,” he said. “If you don’t do anything, you’re done.”
Linda Gargasz, Beckett’s daughter, goes with him to cheer him on. On Tuesday, she watched him get off to a decent start, knocking down nine pins on each of his first two frames but failing to convert either into a spare. When he threw one attempt into the gutter, he smiled and waved his hand dismissively at the gutter.
“Come on Dad, get a strike!” Gargasz shouted.
On his fourth frame of the day, Beckett finally delivered, knocking all 10 pins down and earning a high-five from one of his teammates.
Beckett used to average a score of 189, Gargasz said, but he is down to a still-impressive 110.
“He’s always liked bowling,” she said, adding that Beckett has been playing the game since he was 20. “It keeps him going.”
In addition to being a fine bowler, Beckett is a World War II veteran who saw combat in the Battle of the Bulge with the 101st Airborne Division. In 2012, he was named the Lorain County Veteran of the Year by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1079 in Elyria. In 33 years on the honor guard, he has participated in more than 1,500 veteran burials.
One story Beckett enjoys telling from his service in the Army is about the time he met the German vice-chancellor’s daughters. While fighting in the Ruhr Pocket of Germany toward the end of the war, Beckett met two sisters who spoke perfect English and invited him and another soldier inside their house to rest. When one of the sisters noticed Beckett looking at a portrait in the room, she told him it was her father, Franz von Papen, who happened to be the former chancellor of Germany and former vice-chancellor under Adolf Hitler.
Beckett will turn 100 on March 26.
Contact Dylan Reynolds at (440) 329-7123 or dreynolds@chroniclet.com.
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