6
- May 2017
SERVING THE BOWLING INDUSTRY SINCE 1967
OZIO, SHADY INDUCTED INTO USBC HALL OF FAME
By
LAS VEGAS -
The United States Bowling Congress Hall of Fame welcomed two new
members and celebrated their accomplishments Wednesday at The Orleans Hotel
and Casino.
The 2017 USBC Hall of Fame Class includes David Ozio of Beaumont, Texas, in the
Superior Performance category and Mike Shady of Girard, Pennsylvania, for Out-
standing USBC Performance.
Ozio, 63, is an 11-time Professional Bowlers Association Tour titlist, including the
1991 PBA Tournament of Champions, part of a four-win year that ended with PBA
Player of the Year honors.
He went on to find success on the PBA50 Tour, earning two victories, the first of
which was the 2004 Senior U.S. Open on the way to being named PBA50 Rookie of
the Year.
"The honor tonight is beyond measure," said Ozio, who was ranked 34th on the
PBA's list of the 50 Greatest Players in PBA History (2009). "When you think back to
the dedication and the things it took to get here, was it worth it? By all means. I
would've done it again 10 times over."
Shady, 51, has experienced an unprecedented run of success at the USBC Open
Championships, which includes two wins on the championship lanes - Team All-
Events (2005) and Regular Team (2011) - and 13 additional top-10 finishes.
He also is the tournament's lifetime average leader for competitors with a minimum
of 20 years of participation, with a mark of 222.28 in 21 appearances (189 games).
He has posted an all-events score of 1,900 or better in 20 of those years.
The right-hander's resume includes first-team All-America honors while competing
for Nebraska during the 1986-1987 and 1987-1988 seasons and a win at the 1985
Intercollegiate Team Championships, while bowling for the University of Wisconsin-La
Crosse.
Shady went on to claim one PBA Tour title at the 1992 Earl Anthony PBA Open in
Dublin, California.
"Tonight, I am truly honored and humbled to be in the same category as everybody
who walked through that door earlier," Shady said. "I'm filled with gratitude and just
very humbled."
Through 2017, there are 419 members of the USBC Hall of Fame - 218 in Superior
Performance, 117 in Meritorious Service, 50 in Veterans, 20 in Pioneers and 14 in
Outstanding USBC Performance.
The USBC Hall of Fame was created in 2005 by merging the former American Bowl-
ing Congress and Women's International Bowling Congress Halls of Fame.
MATT O’GRADY ESCAPES SERIOUS INJURY AFTER
LEAGUE BOWLING ACCIDENT
By Bill Vint
PBA member
Matt O’Grady
of Rahway, N.J., escaped serious injury when he
was struck in the head by his own bowling ball and knocked unconscious during a
recent league bowling accident.
After leaving a 4-6-10 split, O’Grady said he was trying to throw his spare ball
hard in hopes of bouncing a pin out of the pit, but the ball hung up on his thumb.
His hand went straight up, poked a hole in
the ceiling and the ball came loose, strik-
ing him in the head. He said he lost con-
sciousness momentarily and remembers
waking up in a nearby hospital trauma
center.
Two weeks later, he’s still suffering from
periodic headaches and bouts of nausea,
but nothing serious enough to keep him
from bowling in the PBA Al Jones Memo-
rial Eastern Open where he finished sec-
ond to Patrick Allen.
―During roll call before our squad, I knew
I was getting the 2016 East Region Player
of the Year award from (PBA East Region
manager)
Russ Mills
,‖ O’Grady said, ―but
he also presented me with a hard hat with a Storm logo. Everybody got a good
laugh, including me. It was pretty funny.‖
Ironically, less than two weeks earlier, two-time PBA Tour titlist and periodic
PBA50 competitor
Kent Wagner
of Bradenton, Fla., had a similar experience dur-
ing the USBC Open Championships in Las Vegas. In a widely-distributed video
seen on social media outlets, Wagner’s ball also stuck on his thumb, went straight
up in the air and just missed hitting him in the head.
Lynda Norry Barnes: Now this was a fun group to bowl with in the PWBA Pro-Am
at Double Decker lanes. We are so lucky to get to do what we love and have a
little fun along the way! More photos in the June issue of Bowling World.
