Bowling World Aug/Sep 2019

Aug/Sep 2019 - www.bowlingworld.com 5 The Stuff That Legends Are Made Of… Leanne Hulsenberg Personifies All That Is Right In Bowling by Dave Williams It’s easy to quantify exactly what makes Leanne Hulsenberg a legend in the game of bowling and in life. We are accustomed to associating success with num- bers in bowling, and what she has done in her lifetime reads like a who’s who in the annals of the Professional Women’s Bowling Association (PWBA). At the tender age of 19, she embarked on a professional career that included three victories in her very first year, and the subsequent Rookie of the Year hon- ors. She followed that up with a total of 7 titles in her first three years, and 16 championships in ten years. At last count she had amassed 27 titles in a career that was shortened by the dissolution of the PWBA in 2003. Leanne has also garnered other major accomplishments along the way that have made her the consummate female professional, rivaling the likes of male and fe- male greats like Walter Ray Williams Jr., Dick Weber, Liz Johnson, and the legen- dary Marion Ladewig. Yes, she is that good! Along with all those PWBA victories, Hulsenberg has also made more than 100 television appearances, been named to the Bowlers Journal All-American Team a record 12 times, has five United States Bowling Congress (USBC) Women’s Championships, was voted PWBA Player of the Year on three different occasions, and was recipient of the PWBA’s Sportsmanship Award on two occasions. What’s really so astonishing about Leanne’s career is that when the PWBA ceased operations in 2003, she was only 36, and in the prime of her bowling years. Projecting her average of 1.8 championships per year from her first 16 years, that would place her at 56 titles today. She’s also one of only three women to earn over $1,000,000 on tour, and if you project her yearly average of $62,500 from her fist 16 years, that would place her at over $2,000,000 today. Considering the fact that the women do not compete in as many events as the men, nor do they vie for the larger purses afforded the men’s tour, you can begin to see why it’s so easy to quantify Leanne as a bowling legend. Now we get to the stuff that legends are made of… As if it wasn’t enough to be inducted into the PWBA Hall of Fame on the evening of Wednesday, May 15th, 2019, Leanne started off the day by rolling in the Dou- bles and Singles events of the USBC Women’s Championships at Northrock Lanes in Wichita. She began slowly in the Doubles with a 188, before connecting for the fourth 300 game of the 2019 tournament. She continued with a 259 tally in game three for a 747 series. Leanne added sets of 707 in the Singles and 689 in the Team event, for a commendable 2143 All Events total. In a telephone interview with Leanne, she added, “The Doubles event kicked off at 7:00 AM, making for a very long day, as my induction speech was the last of the four inductees, at about 9:00 PM.” My immediate question was that in worrying about the induction ceremony later that evening, she may have been somewhat preoccupied with her speech, allow- ing the 300 game to be secondary and thus easier to accomplish. “Not really,” she replied. “Every 300 game is difficult.” An appropriate and self- effacing comment from a woman that has 71 perfect games in PWBA and USBC competition. Yes, she really is that good.