Beat the Champs: Anticipating the men's finals at Arena Lanes

Beat the Champs: Anticipating the men’s finals at Arena Lanes

By Dale Bowman

Cool signs were on display earlier this winter at Palos Lanes for Beat the Champions; the women’s finals are today at Bluebird Lanes.
Credit: Dale Bowman

Henry Burns keeps alive the long history of bowlers working for the United States Postal Service reaching the finals of Beat the Champions.

The Chicago 44-year-old, who is a mail carrier in Des Plaines, is one of 32 to reach the 56th BTC men’s finals Sunday at Arena Lanes in Oak Lawn.

Burns advanced from the Montgomery Ward League at Town Hall Bowl,

“I really have to play my games,’’ said Burns, a North Side man. “Some guys are going to be bowling almost 300.’’

He has a point, 11 of the men’s finalists are scratch bowlers. For the handicapped BTC, the handicap line is a 210 average. Those who average less receive 90 percent of the difference as handicap. Burns, who has a 180 average, will receive 108 pins of handicap on top of his four-game score.

In the finals, unlike the three games of the sectionals, there are four games.

Burns goes into Sunday with the right attitude.

“It is like football, `Any given Sunday,’ if I have my game face on,’’ he said. “I have been practicing.’’

He will have his fiancee and “some of the guys from the league’’ supporting him on Sunday at Arena Lanes, an establishment he has never bowled at.

Burns, who bowled in high school at Collins on the West Side, came back to league bowling at the age of 28 when a friend saw how good he was and pushed him to join a league.

Now Burns, who admires the venerable Hall-of-Famer Norm Duke, reached the local ultimate for league bowlers, the finals of BTC.

“I will be there with my ball shiny and ready to go,’’ he said.

This year the top prize in the finals for both the women’s and men’s champions is $7,500. The women’s finals are Sunday, March 12, at Bluebird Lanes in Chicago.

BTC is a handicapped charity tournament put on by the Chicagoland Bowling Proprietors Association with the Sun-Times as the media sponsor. It has raised more than $2.8 million for charity, so far.

Here are the averages and handicap for the men’s finalists for the 56th BTC:

Men’s finals

Noon, Sunday

Arena Lanes, Oak Lawn

Name, Establishment Avg, Hdcp

Harold Bailey, Classic Bowl 183, 97

Kilija Benson, Skyway Bowl 201, 32

Darron Brown, Dolton Bowl 198, 43

Steven Brown, Skyway Bowl 176, 122

Henry Burns, Townhall Bowl 180, 108

Dean Caprini, Brunswick Zone-Woodridge 211, 0

Ross Carmody, Centennial Lanes 214, 0