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Of the five leagues, only one was competitive. The
competitive team had the high rollers: Dixie Pikey, Zita
Gable, Helen McCoy, Peggy Tyler, and Florence. For several
years Peggy Tyler carried the highest average for a woman in
the State of Missouri. The team won season after season and
played in tournaments on both sides of the river. Western
Bowl, Saratoga Bowl on Sutton, Tropicana and Bowl-a-Rama
are a few of the old time alley names that roll off Florence’s
tongue as she recounts her adventures.
For six weeks I held a 206 average! When I finally
stopped bowling in 1974 my average was 185.
Win or lose it was the best of times. One tournament
on the east side stands out as unforgettable. I stood
up to bowl, started my approach, slipped and fell.
My ball continued down the alley. My stockings were
ruined, my skirt torn, but the greatest tragedy of all
was to my ball. How it happened remains a mystery.
When my ball came back on the return the thumb
hole was mangled. It was useless. I had to finish the
tournament using alley balls. I bowled just terrible.
The girls began to ply me with drinks to lift my spirits.
The tournament may have been a disaster but it
wasn’t the tournament per se that Florence remembered. It
was the drive home. As the car approached the bridge that
would take them back across the Mississippi River, the light