Oak Crest man bowled over with excitement for the game

By Danielle Rexrode
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

You’ll be hard pressed to find anyone who loves bowling more than Rob Howard. He’s been a regular on the lanes for more than 70 years now.

“I started as a kid working at the Imperial Bowling Alley on Park Heights Avenue. I would set up the pins and was paid four cents a game,” says Rob.

A father of five and grandfather of 24, Rob gave up setting up the pins a long time ago but has never stopped knocking them down. Now he heads the Bowling League at Oak Crest where he’s lived for the last ten years.

“We bowl every Monday at 12:30 at the Brunswick Parkville Lanes. We strive to have six teams of three for a total of 18 people. Its $7.70 to bowl and we take $1.30 of that money and put it toward prize money at the end of the season. We award cash prizes for first through sixth place,” he says.

Although bowling may have lost its cache during the 1990s, it now seems to be making a comeback across Baltimore County.

“There’s no question that life is getting better for Baltimore County bowling centers, thanks in large part to the changing marketing schemes,” says Kathleen Perry, president of Maryland Bowling Proprietors, in a Baltimore Sun article. “I’ve been involved in it for almost 28 years. I think Baltimore County is very much on an upswing. I think we can quickly say it’s nationwide. League bowling may be down, but it’s opened up the time slots, and there are bowling centers all over that cater to group functions.”

As for Rob, he has no plans for giving up his favorite hobby. “I really enjoy the competitiveness of the game and it’s great exercise, it keeps you in shape,” he says. In addition to his regular bowling league, Rob also bowls in the Senior Olympics every year. This year he won the gold medal.