At 79, Welches Bowler George Gambee Rolls His Way to a National Title

By Marie Kennedy, The Mountain Times

George Gambee had never competed in a national bowling tournament. Then, at 79, the Welches resident entered one and won it.

Gambee became the first documented two-handed bowler to win the Open 75-and-older division at the United States Bowling Congress Senior Championships, held Aug. 4 through 7 at Ashwaubenon Bowling Alley in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

He represented Oregon after winning a state qualifying tournament at KingPins. At the national championships, Gambee led his division after six games of qualifying, finishing with a combined scratch and handicap score of 1,402.

That made him the No. one seed among the six bowlers advancing to the championship round and gave him 50 bonus pins going into the finals.

Gambee remained steady through the final three games, rolling scores of 176, 164 and 180 for a scratch series of 520. With handicap and bonus pins added, he finished with 756, 50 pins ahead of the second-place bowler.

“I decided to put my calm face on,” he said.

His wife, Nora, said that calm was not necessarily what she expected.

“I expected him to be upset and nervous,” she said. “He wasn’t. He was fine.”

George tried to stay focused and avoid getting caught up in the conversation and activity around him.

“It worked out,” he said. “It was just my time, I guess.”

Bowling has not always come easily for George. When he was 19, an accident damaged his hands, making a traditional bowling grip difficult.

He bowled in a league for a few years while in his 20s, using what he describes as a claw grip.

“I was lucky if I got 120,” he said. “Bowling was really difficult for me.”

Bowling did not become a serious part of his life again until about eight years ago, when he and Nora stopped at Mount Hood Lanes in Gresham and decided to give it another try.

As arthritis developed in his fingers, George began to wonder whether he would have to stop. Then he saw younger bowlers using a two-handed release, which supports the ball differently and does not require a traditional thumb grip.

Nora encouraged him to try it.

“I was able to do it,” George said. “It surprised me that I got onto it so quick.”

That was about three years ago. Since then, he has studied the technical side of the sport, including how bowling balls are drilled to match an individual bowler’s release and positive axis point.

George owns about a dozen bowling balls and generally takes six to competitions, choosing among them according to lane conditions. All weigh 16 pounds, although many senior bowlers use 12- or 14-pound balls.

The ball he used to win the national championship is about four years old.

Richard Lorey, owner of The Pro Shoppe, encouraged George to enter the Oregon qualifying tournament after George said he wasn’t sure he belonged in the competition.

“He said, ‘You know, you should do that. I think you’d do OK,’” George recalled.

George and Nora turned the championship trip into a 7,000-mile journey through 16 states. Nora’s sister, Felicia, joined them, and the two women became George’s cheering team.

Nora did all the driving while the family visited friends and relatives along the way. They also had to make room for six 16-pound bowling balls.

“She wouldn’t let me drive,” George said.

“He’s an old man,” Nora answered.

Nearly 400 bowlers from across the United States and Canada competed in the Senior Championships. The tournament included open and women’s divisions, each divided into six age classifications.

For George, bowling has become more than competition. A self-described homebody, he said it is one of his primary opportunities to socialize.

This year, rather than remaining in a senior league, he is bowling in a more advanced commercial league with younger competitors. The games run later into the evening, but they offer him another challenge after his national victory.

Nora said they have met many good friends through the sport, something neither expected when they made that spontaneous stop at the bowling alley eight years ago.

“I’m glad we stopped,” she said smiling.