Chris M. Johnson started bowling duckpins at the age of 3 with his mother at Fair Lanes Capital Plaza. He found an early love of the game, and his mother allowed him to join a duckpin league three years later. By the end of his first season, he accomplished his goal of receiving his first trophy. He bowled duckpins until age 10 when Capital Plaza converted its duckpin lanes to tenpins, so he bowled with the “big pins.”
Chris was one of the top bowlers during his youth career. In his high school years, he played football and other sports, but bowling was always his main priority. During this time, he won several championships, including the Maryland State Games, Virginia State Scratch Singles, two Mid-Atlantic Scratch Bowlers Association titles, the 1993 Vir-Mar District Invitational Tournament, and he was a member of the TNBA Eastern Regional Junior Team champions that went on to win the TNBA National Team Roll-off in Cincinnati, Ohio.
When Chris moved to adult competition, he had some early success bowling in local pot games and tournaments. As an amateur, he cashed in three PBA regional events and made the Top 16 match play nals in another.
Chris later got his PBA card but didn’t have much success. He was still a force at the regional level, however, and it showed as he won a PBA Southern Regional title in Raleigh, N.C., and he also had two other Top 5 appearances.
He dropped his PBA card in 1998 to focus on bowling high-dollar amateur tournaments. Chris found success on the amateur scene, as it was the perfect balance of bowling high-prot tournaments while maintaining a home life.
Some of the major tournaments he has won include the John Vargo Scratch Classic in Lumberton, N.J.; the New Year’s Day Open in Staunton, Va.; the TNBA Eastern Rhodman Classic (twice); and the 2006 TNBA National Bill Rhodman Classic Roll-off in Chicago. His biggest prize was a second-place nish at the True Amateur Tournament in Las Vegas that earned him $15,000.
Other accomplishments include: Six appearances in the NCAUSBCA Top 10 rankings, including four times as No. 1; Three-time NCAUSBCA 600-700 Mixed Doubles champion; Member of the Storm Amateur Staff since 2003; Two-time Lebanon Dutchman Scratch Doubles titlist; TNBA Eastern Region Mixed Doubles champion; Seven-time Virginia-Maryland Scratch Bowlers Tour champion; First-place finish at Storm’s Opposite Attract Mixed Doubles Tournament; Three Over/Under Doubles titles; Three-time ABC World Team Challenge champion; Five Top 10 nishes (including second and third) at the TNBA Reed-Hawthorne Classic; plus 30 perfect games and over 20 800series, with a high of 847.
When not bowling, he often can be found at a bowling center helping his kids and others learn more about the game he loves.
Chris M. Johnson’s record of sustained excellence on the lanes—and class off of them—has earned him an honored position in the Nation’s Capital Area United States Bowling Congress Association Hall of Fame.
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