Dennis Franz

Meritorious Service
2008

Dennis Franz started bowling at the Payne Avenue Rec in 1957.  Fran Morrisette helped him with instructions and technique.  Two years later he bowled on High School league at Hafner’s from 1959-1962.  Dennis is a retired career man from the U.S. Navy.  He served twenty years and retired in 1985.  This is when he joined three leagues in the Greater St. Paul Bowling Association.  He joined the Greater St. Paul Bowling Association Board of Directors in 1989 and served that organization until the merger of the ABC, WIBC, and YABA organizations to the St. Paul USBC Association in 2005.  At this time he was elected to the position of Director for a three-year term.  Dennis served as a Vice President of the Greater St. Paul Bowling Association in 1995 and 1996 and served as the Board’s President in 1997.  He has volunteered as the Secretary and Treasurer of the Hall of Fame Committee and as a Member of the Bowler’s Recognition Dinner Team since 1998.  Dennis has always enjoyed being a part of the working committee for tournaments.  He has chaired the The Senior Masters Tournament for the last 5 years and co-chaired the Masters tournament for the last 3 years.  Along with Gary Winter, he has also co-chaired the Senior Masters, the Masters, the Team Challenge and the Mixed Team Challenge tournaments since 2006.  He has worked the City Championships every year since joining the Board of the Greater St. Paul Bowling Association in 1989.  He has served on the Finance Committee and has represented the Association as a Lane Representative for many years.  Dennis has completed 26 years of participation in the National Tournament.  He also attended the National Convention every year from 1990-2006.  He has been an active league bowler since 1972 bowling in as many as 8 leagues a week in the early 70’s and then slowing down when the family started to appear and his job demands increased.  He has bowled in the Hawaiian, California, Illinois and Minnesota state championships and bowled a 290 in the California Championships in 1977 which was the second highest game in the entire tournament that year.  He has also bowled in the St. Paul and Minneapolis City Championships for a number of years.  During his career in the Navy, Dennis was a member of the Varsity team in Hawaii (1972-74) and also at Moffett Field in Northern California (1975-79) (where he had to qualify every year in an 18 game roll off for one of 6 positions).    He also finished 11^th in the Interservice Competition in Washington State in 1983.  He finished 2^nd four times in the Naval Reserve Finals in Portsmouth New Hampshire after qualifying rounds at Glenview IL and Great Lakes IL (1981-1984).  He finished first in the Brunswick’s ‘Bowl Your Way to Europe’ in Illinois in the early 1980’s with a 290 and won a trip to the finals in Washington DC.  Personal accomplishments include: 2-300 games, High Average of 208 (accomplished twice – in 1979 and 2000) and 3 290 games.  Dennis was also a league secretary from 1972 until about 1995 and many of those years handled at least 2 leagues.  He was also a Director of the Palo Alto Bowling Association for 4 years from 1975-1979.