The Washington times., 1934-04-30
BY GTNO SIM

BY GNO SINH
Albert Carly Rodrick became .
renowned tenpin and duckpin
bowler because he. spent q few
evenings at Chevy Chase Lake in
the summer Of 1899.
He struck UP o friendship there
with John Brosnan, himself one
Of Washington's finest maple
shooters. BroSnan managed ten
pin alleys at the Lake at that
time, and when he heard that
Rodrick had never bowled IN his
80 years Of life, he invited him
to shoot q couple Of games on
the house.
He did and he returned sew.
eral times q week the rest Of the
summer. For o decade after that
Roderick was bowling practically
every night in the week.
The following winter he signed
with the Fat Mems team in the
District Tenpin League and led
the league for combined spares
and strikes.
Rod" the nickname that the
Bowling fraternity put on him,
thereafter was the big gun on
the Fat Mems, leading them to
District Tenpin League pennants
four times and rolling with them
in the A. B. c. tournaments at
Buffalo. Cleveland, Cincinnati,
M1lwaukee and Louisville.
Sub-ZerO Weather
Rodrick won his highest tenpin
honors In sub=zero weather. With
the thermometer registering IL
below, AL and Tommy Harlow
crashed the kegs with sufficient
success to place second in the
doubles cot the A. B. z. tourna-
ment at Cleveland.
'"The wind was howiinx like
demons outside" the veteran
reminiscess "and We had to 70
over by the huge stoves to
thaw out our fingers between
boxes"
Rodrick's highest tenpin game
was 279, in which he made II
strikes and was robbed of 800 by
. one-ptn spare In the eighth
box.
Rodrick was one Of the first to
6urn to duckpins. He anchored on
the Fat Mems team, which rolled
the German Cafes IN Baltimore
in the first intercity match. That
was in October, 1904. He also saw
action in the notorious Brockton
match Of March, 1914, the first
tntersectional duckpin clash.
Rod" set the pace for the Dis
trtct Duckpin League during the
10000 season with o lO4 average,
leading the Royals to the first of
their seven pennantS. He contrib
uted his share to the success Of
thiS mighty aggregation for sew.
eral years thereafter.
First Season Out
Incidentally, this Is the first
year since he started in 1899 that
he has not bowled.
He became i'll last summer and
had to be taken to the hospital
for an operation, and the doctor
has. ordered him not to bowl. How
ever. once 0 week or 50 he visits
the Recreation to see Pop" Hol.
" once his teammate.
Rodrick was born in Liberty
AOwn, Frederick county, Md,
March 3, 1856. He supplemented
O graded school education with
q bookkeeping course at Q busi-
ness college Of Baltimore. AL help
ed his father publish q weekly
newspaper, setting type and doing
Sundry other printers chores.
He decided in 1891 that Wash
tngton would give him better
opportunities to earn q living.
Here he became q route agent for
o local newspaper and kept at it
for 80 years and one month, when
he was retired, due to poor health.
s Tennis Finalist
- In his younger days he played
tennis and once gained the finals
Of o tournament held on the Cap
itol Hill courts.
Rodrick has more medals than
0 Mexican general, all represent
ing brilliant achievements in duck.
pins and tenpins.
Besides the District League,
Rodrick bowled in the CONNER
cial, Evening Star and Y. M. C. A.
Leagues. The best game he ever
bowled was at the Y. M. c. A.
He got in his first box, then
struck, and finished with eight
spares, for 1853.
His biggest duckpin set was 3S4
and he rolled that against Joe
.Michaud, who finished with 383,
also the highest set Of his career.
He was also q star at candlepinS,
cooked hat and five back.
Rod" was a form" bowler,
delivering a medium fast, cross
allAV hall into the Ia r1ncket.