Aleta Sill
City: Dearborn
State: MI
USBC Hall of Fame Induction, 1996: Superior Performance
Aleta Rzepecki Sill earned a USBC Women's Championships singles title in 1983, all-events titles in 1982 and 1985 and a team-event title in 1995. Sill also won the USBC Queens Tournament in 1983 and 1985. She earned 28 professional bowling titles and was named Bowler of the Year in 1984 and 1985.
The career of one of the greatest female bowlers of all time began in the gutter.
When Aleta Sill's grandparents took her to a local bowling alley for the first time at age 5, it was a rough night, but it may have been the best thing that ever happened to the Dearborn Heights youngster.
After Aleta threw every ball down the gutter, her grandfather suggested she "keep it in the lane," recalled Sill, 52, a winner of 31 Professional Women's Bowling Association championship events. "He promised me if I could roll 80, he'd buy me a ball and shoes. It didn't take me long to break 100 and fall in love with the game."
Sill, who attended Crestwood High in Dearborn Heights, began playing in adult leagues around the Detroit area at 15 and turned professional at 18.
She went on to dominate her sport like few others, establishing herself alongside the late Marion Ladewig of Grand Rapids, who died in 2010 at 95, Carolyn Dorin-Ballard and more recently Kelly Kulick as among the best female bowlers ever.
Sill, winner of the Triple Crown of bowling not once but twice — only she and PBA legend Pete Weber have accomplished that feat — will be inducted with the Class of 2015 into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame at the Motor City Casino.
Her esteemed classmates: Former Lions great Doug English, Michigan State men's basketball coach Tom Izzo, New York Yankees legend Derek Jeter, Cincinnati Reds ace shortstop Barry Larkin, former Red Wings star Sergei Fedorov and four-time Olympian Sheila Taormina.
"That's just an amazing group," Sill said. "It's almost surreal for me to be among them. It's a great honor for my sport and all those bowlers out there around the state. In fact, Marion Ladewig escorted me to the stage in 1996, I believe, when I was inducted into the PWBA Hall of Fame. She's been called the best ever."
Sill and her partner, Michelle Mullen, a four-time winner on the PWBA tour, operate "Aleta Sill's Bowling World" pro shop from Country Lanes bowling center on W. Nine Mile in Farmington Hills. They offer lessons and sell and develop state-of-the-art equipment.
The first woman bowler to earn a million dollars in prize winnings as a professional, Sill retired from the women's tour in 2001 — 21 years after she participated in her first paying tournament.
"It was tough — I was getting old, and I'd lost my competitive edge," said Sill, who has bowled "around 35 or 36" perfect 300 games, her last one three weeks ago. "It was the end. But it was also the beginning of coaching and teaching my students new things and them, in turn, teaching me."
Sill, who lives in Livonia, bowls three times a week and maintains a healthy 215 average. She mainly plays with friends for drinks but likes to win, nevertheless.
"You never enjoy losing," said Sill, who is a member of more halls of fame than she cares to remember including the PWBA and National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame.
Sill never went to college, but she applauds schools that offer young men and women full or partial bowling scholarships.
"I like that very much," Sill said. "Bowling is a great sport, a challenging game. In my opinion, it's as tough as golf or basketball or softball to master. But it's also a game anyone can play and have fun at, and that's why I love it."
The PWBA folded under financial pressure in 2003, and it was replaced by the Women's International Bowling Congress.
In 2014, it was decided to re-launch the PWBA, with a number of events scheduled this summer and beyond.
"That's great for the ladies," Sill said. "We had to play against men on the PBA tour for a time. Kelly (Kulick) was the first woman to ever win a PBA event when she won the PBA Tournament of Champions in Las Vegas in 2010. That was incredible but so tough to do."
In a career in which Sill rolled thousands of games, does any one spring to mind?
"Yes, my first 300 game, bowled in Dallas, Texas, in 1984," said Sill. "I won a white Mustang Convertible. Now that was great."
Pro Career: 1980-2001.
Honors: Winner of 31 PWBA Championship events; two-time Triple Crown winner; first woman to earn a million dollars in prize money on the PWBA tour.
Interests: Bowling and animal welfare, supporting yearly fund-raiser Bowl for Animal Rescue, benefiting Dearborn Animal Shelter and Michigan Animal Adoption Network.