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The Chicago Classic League champions, Meister Braus, posed
for this picture in March, 1946. In this same year, they became
Match- Game Team Champions by defeating E&B Beer. The
two
best teams would face off against each other in home vs. home
matches that would eventually
crown one of them Match-Game
Champions gaining national attention. Pictured are, from left,
Bill Hargadon,
Harry Lippe, Bud Wright, Joe Sinke and Paul Krumske.
Archive photo from the Chicago Tribune.
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The first three matches will be held on Saturday, April 13, at Bowlway Lanes in Elgin, starting at 1 p.m. Then the following week on Saturday, April 20, the next three matches will be held at Elgin Lanes, starting at 1 p.m. The team with the most total pins after all six matches will be declared the winner and Elgin’s first-ever Match Game Champion.
This is the first year of the event and is reminiscent of the challenge matches conducted during the “classic” era of bowling in the 1930’s, 40’s and 50’s when teams would challenge each other in home and away matches. “Before the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA), team bowling and match game tournaments were the pinnacle of the sport,” said Bowlway Lanes owner Norm Grocke, a former touring professional, who’s in the Suburban Windy City United States Bowling Congress Hall of Fame. “In recent years, there has been a renewed interest in team bowling at the high school and college level, and even with the new PBA League currently underway.”
The Elgin Cross-Town Classic will feature five players per team along with an alternate, selected by the owners from each bowling center. The format is simple. Bowlway and Elgin Lanes will match their best bowlers against each other for three matches (games) at each bowling center. Whatever team has the most pin fall after two weekends of competition is declared the winner.
“Bringing back this classic-style tournament is a chance, not only
for the bowling community, but anyone who loves competition, to come out and
see America
