Name:
Donna Dillon
Name:
Donna Dillon
Birthday: June 16, 1952
E-mail Address: hasbeenbowler@msn.com
How long have you been bowling? 45 years
High Game: 299
High Series: 789
300's: none sanctioned, several in pot games
Are you a native Texan? Yes
Left Handed or Right Handed: Right
What equipment do you throw? Storm
What is your favorite all-time bowling ball? Columbia Yellow Dot, close second - the Columbia Black U-Dot. I liked to be able to have the ball grab the lanes when I got a little fast, which was often.
What female bowler(s) do you admire the most and why? I think the woman bowler that I admire the most would not necessarily be the best bowler I've ever seen, but the bowler who had one of the best attitudes on the lanes that I've ever seen. She was very competitive, but also very personable, and that would be Pat Costello. She played the crowd better than most and was always friendly to all of the spectators and most of the bowlers off the lanes. I think she was an awesome bowler.
What female bowler(s) from Texas do you admire the most and why? As for Texas, it's really a toss up between Carolyn Anderton and Susie Reichley. Carolyn (Mudd) because I've never seen anyone hit the pocket as often when she needed a strike. Many times at SWMBA Tournaments, we would be standing at the foul line before the finals began and she would say something to the effect of "my rent's due this week" and you knew that meant she was going to win the tournament because when she needed it, she usually made the shots. Susie Reichley because of the things whe has done for bowling as well as her ability. I remember, before Susie went to Japan to teach, she was like a machine on the lanes. My last year in the junior program I watched her in amazement at Meadowbrook in the finals of an SWMBA tournament. If I remember correctly, she didn't even have to bowl the last two games and no one could have caught up with her. Her involvement with Team USA and teaching people to improve is admirable, but most of all her involvement with "Bowl For The Cure" and breast cancer puts her atop my list of women bowlers that I admire.
Describe your most memorable bowling experience(s):
Winning the 1st Bluebonnet Queens title, the 2nd and 3rd (click here to see Jim Woodruff's article about the third win) were nice, but the first one was at
home with friends and family there. Finishing 4th in the US Open and making the TV show. I remember winning the first match and losing the next match. It went down to the 10th frame and I got beat. I really didn't care because I was
excited to have gotten that far. Bowling on the US Team (it wasn't Team USA then) at the FIQ and the team winning a gold medal. Standing on that podium when they played the National Anthem was awesome.
I really think the most memorable is related to but not directly involving
bowling on that particular day and that was being inducted into the TWBA Hall
of Fame. This becuase of the women who were there before me and the fact
that it was such an honor to be considered in the same sense of
accomplishment whether it be for bowling ability or service that they were.
List awards, honors, titles, etc.:
Bluebonnet Queens Champion - 1977, 1978, 1986
State Team titles - 6
State Doubles - 2nd
State All-Events - 1st (co-champion)
SWMBA titles - 5
Numerous local titles - singles, doubles, team, all-events
TWBA Bowler of the Year - 1978
TWBA Hall of Fame