Museum Theatre To Honor Memory of USBC Hall of Famer Junior Powell

ARLINGTON, Texas – Thanks to the generosity of a former bowling great, the movie theatre at the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame will have a new name.

The newly-created theatre will be renamed the Junior Powell Movie Theatre after a Platinum level donation by the estate of the United States Bowling Congress Hall of Famer. The estate joins Brunswick Bowling as IBM/HF Platinum level charter members.

"We are thrilled to add Junior Powell as a permanent fixture and Platinum level charter member of the museum," said IBM/HF President Pat Ciniello. "The donation made by the estate is unique because the family gave us the right to use the $100,000 prior donation for operations and capital building, versus being able to just sweep the interest."

"I think this is a great way to remember my father as a generous man, who loved bowling," said Powell's daughter, Lou Ann, whose family will donate some of Powell's personal belongings to be featured in the theatre.

The capital campaign, which has generated more than $1 million, was initiated to help defray the cost of building new exhibits and databases at the museum's new home in Arlington, Texas. The capital campaign closes Aug. 31 when the construction of the recognition begins.

"Donations of $5,000 or greater will live in infinity in a special area of recognition for those companies and individuals who contributed to the building of the museum," Ciniello said.

Powell, a Toledo, Ohio, area bowling legend, died in his Springfield Township, Ohio, home Sept. 22, 2009 at age 84.

A 2000 USBC Hall of Fame inductee, Powell's prominence came from the 1950s through the early 1970s before his competitive career was cut short because of a knee injury. He had six top- 10 American Bowling Congress Tournament finishes including second places in Classic allevents in 1962 and in the team event in 1971. His other top-five finishes were fourth in the 1950 doubles with Bill Meyers and fourth in the 1959 Masters. He also was runner-up in the 1959 Petersen Classic singles.

Powell won 23 championships outside Toledo and 11 local association titles. He was the Ohio match-play winner twice, took the city match-play event 14 times and captained the Fort Worth, Texas, team in the National Bowling League in the early 1960s. He was named to the Greater Toledo Bowling Association Hall of Fame in 1966 and also was a member of the Ohio bowling hall of fame.

The former bowling pro shop owner was an investor and partner in several Toledo-area bowling centers. He also partnered with USBC Hall of Famer Don Carter on a number of centers nationwide and bowled with Carter in the 1991 ABC Tournament in Toledo, the last time he bowled.

For his last 30 years, he owned and bred harness racing horses while he and wife June split time between Toledo and Palm Harbor, Fla.

About the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame
Located at the International Bowling Campus in Arlington, TX, the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame collects, preserves and researches bowling's history, provides a suitable home for bowling's major halls of fame, and makes the museum's information and collection available to interested parties globally for education, promotion and entertainment.