CHARLES "CHUCK" GANNON

Charles "Chuck" Gannon was a member of the Washington All Star league and the Commercial League in Alexandria in the late 1940's and later he expanded his bowling to include the Silver Hill Classic, Pepsi-Cola Classic D.C. Major, Navy Department Men's: MWBPA Classic Traveling, MWBPA AAA Traveling, Silver Hill Major and at times a few others.

During the years 1953-55 Chuck wrote the area's first tenpin column published by the Alexandria Gazette and entitled "Tenpin Alley". He also successfully promoted the City, State and National Tournaments and was a staunch supporter of the BVL.

Chuck was elected to the Board of Directors of the Association in 1953 and served until 1958 during which time he was Association Publicity Director. Due to his efforts, he was made an honorary member of the "700" Club and later became an official member by bowling a 700 series. While serving on the Board he raised his average to a high of 189 and still had time to utilize his knowledge as a certified instructor in the AJBC program as a coach.

In 1956, he assisted in the installation of six lanes at the Naval Research Laboratory Recreation Club where he organized its first league in which he actively bowled and was league secretary for 12 of the 16 years. In 1958 he owned and operated the Congress Park Lanes in Southeast Washington.

To assist the association to better understand the problems of management, Chuck received comprehensive training from AMF and subsequently assisted in the installation of AMF Pinspotters at the NRL Recreation Center.

During the height of Chuck's involvement in promoting area bowling (1947-64), he was proud to relate to the growth of bowling in the area, from a mere 48 teams to over 11,000 teams, his contributions and efforts played an intricate part in this growth.

Due to his role in the expansion of the game in this area, Chuck will always be remembered by those who knew him for his willingness to assist in every way in promotion and teaching, and for his zeal for the sportsmanship of the game of tenpins, all of which earned him election to bowling's highest honor, the Hall of Fame.