BOWLING \ YBA Hall of Fame YOUNGSTOWN -- William D. DeCicco, Ray "Cookie" Vens and Robert C. Eisenbraun have been chosen for induction into the Youngstown Bowling Association's Hall of Fame. The YBA
William D. DeCicco
DeCicco, of Boardman, has been bowling for 52 years, 43 of which were in sanctioned leagues. He has a high game of 300, high three-game series of 755 and a high average of 207. DeCicco has bowled in seven Ohio state tournaments, eight Ohio state senior tournaments and six Ohio inter-city events. He also bowled in 10 Youngstown city tournaments. His highest finish in state seniors competition was third in 1997 in the singles "D" event with 1352. He was 10th in the 1997 city tournament with Bowladrome Lanes and 14th in 1983 with Prout Boiler Heating. DeCicco is a 43-year member of the Boardman Businessmen League.
Ray "Cookie" Vens
Vens, of Warren, has been in the Youngstown Bowling Association for 35 years with high game of 300, high three-game series of 781 and high average of 204. Vens has bowled in 38 ABC tournaments, 20 Ohio state tournaments and 25 Youngstown city events. His highest finish in the ABC was 20th in 1971 with a 692 series. His best finish in the Ohio state event was third in singles. In the city tournament in 1988, Vens teamed with Mike Yurco to win doubles. In 1989, Vens won the all-events competition. In 1970, Vens won the Ohio Match Game Championship in Columbus when he beat Bob Hart, the country's top amateur at the time. By winning the Akron Match Play in 1966, Vens earned a spot on the All-Star Pro Tournament in North Chicago, where he crossed paths with Johnny Petraglia. More recently, Vens won Ragazzo's Niles Singles in 2005 and 2006.
Robert C. Eisenbraun
Eisenbraun, of Struthers, started bowling in 1966. He has a high average of 228, high game of 300 and high three-game series of 817. He's bowled in the Pyramid League, Max Belchyk Classic, Shooting Gallery, Achkar Men's Trio, Variety Mixed, Stadium Lincoln-Mercury and the Bowladrome League. Eisenbraun bowled in four ABC tournaments, 20 Ohio state tournaments and 24 city tournaments. His highest ABC finish was 40th in doubles in Indianapolis in 1975. He placed 10th in singles in the Ohio state tournament and second in team event in the 1999 city tournament. Eisenbraun has had five 800 sets, four 300 games and 100-plus 700s.
Sponsors
Matula, of Boardman-Poland Cornersburg Pizza, has sponsored a team in the Allied Printcraft League at Holiday for over 45 years. He has also been a sponsor of the Triple A League at A-Plus Family Bowl/Gran for 29 years. Streb, of B & amp; S Spouting, has been sponsoring three men's teams for the last seven years at Kay Lanes. He also sponsors a women's team on Wednesday nights at Kay. Chorba and Systems-A-Part has been sponsoring four teams for the last eight years at Camelot Lanes.