“A lot of people like to ask how old you were when you started bowling, which you can answer if you’d like, but when did you really start to get serious about it? What was the turning point for you?”
Photo: Chris at Colonial Bowl at age 4.
Started bowling what was the Thunderbird Bowl on Southbridge St (now a warehouse, near traintracks). My Father would take me every now and then, that’s where I started. My Aunt also used to take me candlepin bowling at Colonial Bowl.[See above photo]. I bowled my first Ten pin at Bowlero Shrewsbury [Town and Country “T&C”] in my first junior program there around 1986-1987. The very last game in Beat the Coach, I was on lanes 5 & 6 with a 10 lb Ebonite ball (Kmart special), went front 9, made a spare and a strike. I shot 273 with a little 10 lb ball!
Back then, front 9 was very unusual in those days. Maybe 5 300s in a season was pretty cool to see. Thought maybe something I could do. I’ll be the first to admit I’m one of the most non- athletic people (last in races and last to get picked in gym) but bowling was one sport I thought I could do something with. Just started there, and then I bowled junior premier in 1987-88. Then, in 1989 my first year in college I was also in my first adult league, the Ball & Chain league at T&C.
“What is your overall bowling history?”
My goal at that time was to average 190 and get PBA card. Back then a 190 average was pretty good, nowadays 190 average with resin balls is not much relatively speaking but back in those days it was a lot. Averaged over 190 but next year I wasn’t able to do it. I had to work and get a little bit better. Pretty much in those days I was self-taught. Watched telecasters on VHS. Re-watched video and there were drop-outs (If you played it over and over again to figure out what they were doing and it would get lines across tape).
In 1992-94 got average requirement needed, got PBA card in 1994.
“Who are some of the most influential people in your bowling history, coaches, peers, etc.?”
Photo: First coach Rocky Lopes.
I’ll always say the two, my first coach Rocky Lopes, and Mark Roth. Rocky and Mark were very close friends back in the day. It was thru Rocky I got to meet Mark. Let’s just say when I first went out to bowl Regionals I was pretty bad. To be perfectly blunt, they were using modified house shots, the Cheetah pattern nowadays were just modified house shots. Couldn’t shoot plus on the shots (Plus+ means over par. For example, 220 & 235 for first two games is plus +55 if 200 is par. If I shoot 190 next game would be plus+ 45). Back in those days, actually had to weigh in bowling balls, had PBA staff test them to make sure they passed. Going thru weighing line in Bellefonte, PA and Rocky was there cuz he was one of the guys on staff. He pulls me aside and he goes “You know Chris, you got some talent, but ‘You’re f***ing stupid’”. Those were his exact words! Now mind you, I was in law school at that time, so I was like okayyy, I’m f***ing stupid, okay. I guess I had this look on my face, cuz he then turned around and said “Yeah, you got some talent but you know, you don’t have a f***ing clue to what you’re doing and ‘You’re a mental creampuff’”. That’s literally the way he talked. And then he goes “Look, I know you’re new out here, you don’t know who I am really, so here’s my phone number. Ask around. You can either take some lessons and cut you’re learning curve and learn the right way, or you can continue to struggle. Here’s my phone number. Feel free to ask around as to who I am.” So I asked a couple people and there’s no doubt he was the real deal. Long story short, I bowled the season and did absolutely nothing. In November of 1994, I called him and said “I suck, I need help”. We actually practiced next to each other, but the bowling center is now no longer there, the Lincoln Lanes in Lincoln RI. Anyways, I made the phone call and we worked in RI and I struggled. Basically yeah I’m not very good, gotta learn here. Long story short, go up to bowling center in Sharon Springs, NY. Now it’s the Town Hall library…later I had went inside with my wife and they still have bowling sign in Town Hall library.
Photo: Sharon Spring Bowling Alley NY (now closed).
Anyway, back then mind you this was in the middle of mountains of what was exit 29 on the NY thru way. Like a population of 200-300 in the middle of NY. So anyways I arrived in Sharon Springs at 11:15 went to Country store, he had told me to arrive at 11. Needless to say I got there, he wasn’t there. I asked around and the attending says, “Are you Chris? He was looking for you he’ll be back for you.” Let’s just say when he came back we said our hellos and he said something to the effect of “If I tell you to arrive at 11 o’clock you arrive at 11 o’clock not 11:15”. There was gonna be no BS with him. We spent time on the lanes trying to smooth out my release. With resin you have to be a lot smoother with the ball, and not grab it at the bottom. Some would say have to be nice to it at the bottom. **laughs** Anyway, literally some of his best coaching was when we’d drive around in a white Cadillac and he’d have errands to do and I’d sit and listen. He was trying to teach me how to get my head to work. He asked me once what’s the difference between the first strike in the 300, and the last strike in 300. I said, “Well, there’s a lot of difference, the pressure…people watching….”. He said “Nope, you’re wrong, there’s no difference. Any difference is what you put on yourself. And that’s what you gotta get out of, you gotta stop doing that.” Basically he was trying to say, “You gotta keep making shots and not let stuff distract you and bother you.” That was one lesson, I remember that one. When I’m working with some kids, I use that all the time because there’s a lot of truth to that.
Another lesson I think you will find funny, is, he was a stickler for teaching discipline and accountability and not being a show off. So I stayed at a bed and breakfast called Perillo’s in Sharon Springs had packed a couple name shirts. So we go to Boston Chicken and I took my jacket off and he goes “Why the f*** are you wearing a name shirt and not in a tournament…You think you’re some superstar or something?” Literally he stands up in Boston Chicken and goes “Everyone I would like to announce that Chris Monroy is here.” Then he said to me, “You’re being a hot dog” (Basicallly, you’re being an idiot.). Needless to say you never see me in a name shirt unless in a tournament. He was all about, you don’t speak with your mouth, you speak with your bowling ball. For example, wearing your name shirt in public, why?! That’s advertising yourself. Do you know how hard it is to often write about myself [on FaceBook] at tournaments? Basically expected as a staffer to promote our product, but that is very hard for me because it feels like bragging and I don’t like doing that. Let the bowling ball speak for itself, and recap is part of my responsibilities as a staffer with Hammer. On some level it’s hard because it goes against what I was taught.
“Could you talk a little bit about being a staffer?”
I’ll tell you about how that happened….In 2004, I was bowling really well, making finals and cashing, and I loved Ebonite products and I loved Hammer products, so I had talked Johnathan Van Hees and Lowell Vega who were both on Hammer staff at the time. And said look, I’d like to be on staff (back in those days grassroots staff was much smaller). Had to have a name in bowling well to be considered. I said “If I submit a resume, would you put in a good word?” Submitted my resume to Kenya Kaboske, and about 2 weeks later got a call from a man called Joseph Farley who was District Sales Manager for Ebonite products NE territory. In those days, Ebonite had 4 brands: Ebonite, Hammer, Track, and Columbia. Wish I had the voicemail message when he said “Congratulations, we’re gonna sign you!” And that was huge. Make no mistake about it, I’ve accomplished quite a bit since then, but I feel like it’s an honor to be on the staff with Hammer. I know I have to do the work, and accept responsibilities of any good staffer (like anyone else) because I realize how selective it is. I have to earn renewal every year. Funny thing, after I got signed, I began earning Titles.
“How many Titles, if any, do you have?”
1 PBA Regional Title
9 NEBA Titles
3 SEMBA Titles [earned additional 1 since initial interview]
2 Carls World Tour Titles at the Bayside
4 MA State Titles
Numerous County Titles
3 Halls of Fame:
Worcester County 2014 Superior Performance
MA State 2016 Superior Performance
NEBA 2025 Superior Performance
Photo: NEBA Hall of Fame Induction 2025.
NEBA is based on points systems by winning titles and categories, Player of the Year, Senior of the Year (Aside from PBA and the USBC Halls of Fame, NEBA couldn’t be a harder one to get into for performance.). Let me put it to you this way, each regular Title is 6 points, they don’t award points for second or third place, only first place for Hall of Fame points. It’s very difficult…only 37 people in history of NEBA have won 6 Titles or more. I had to do it the hard way, with getting Titles for less points, and I had to win 8 Titles before I was Hall of Fame eligible. I won a 9th one last year in a Senior event. If I counted correctly, there are only 19 more people in the history of NEBA that have won more than 9 Titles. That’s why it’s so emotional to get into that one because that one is so hard to get into. It’s the “Who’s Who of the Best of New England”. To be in THAT company, yeah, that’s pretty special.
Photo: Chris Monroy Trophy Room.
I’ll just tell you the story:
I don’t know who asked him but my youngest said “Daddy, do you have a PBA title?” And I said “Yes I do, that’s what that big black banner is down in my Trophy Room” [see above photo]. I don’t want my kids to be “Brag-a-docious” if you know what I mean, but at the end of the day if anyone asks was Chris Monroy was your Daddy, they can say “Yeah he was.” And bowling gives me the ability someday when I’ m no longer here, to have something they can hold on to and say, yeah he was my daddy. They have something from me.
Photo: Chris with sons David and Nicholas wearing Hammer staffer shirts.
“What was one of your most memorable bowling moments?”
There are a few of them:
The NEBA Hall of Fame induction ceremony and the 2007 PBA Regional Title against Ryan Shafer (multiple Regional Titles in East, multiple TV shows on ESPN and ABC) to beat a guy of that caliber is very special.
Also, when I threw the final shot in Keene Singles NEBA 2023, had to throw a 9 or strike to win 8th Title to get me in Hall of Fame. Actually was bowling one kid that I coached. We’d gone back and forth it was a tight match, he got up on the left hand lane and left a weak 7 ( and he made it) and that gave an opening to win the Title, then he left a 5 count on fill ball. That left me with 9 pins to win. But the pattern was VERY tough, only qualified with 21 over. 200 average made finals. It was tough. Lot of ways to get less than 9! I got up, not gonna lie, I was nervous as all you-know-what, I could hear my heart pounding, but it came back to all things my coach Mark taught me about, being in situations like that and block everything out to perform under that type of pressure. Could show you live feed on YouTube
Photo: Brockett vs. Monroy NEBA NH 2023.
that 10th shot was best shot in whole game. I threw 10 in the pit and that was very special moment because those are moments that as a bowler you dream for. Like that bowler recently from NY Gary Haines, he stepped up and threw beautiful shots to win the Masters, as a bowler you kill for those moments to be able to stand up and strike when you need it. I will always say this, and I saw this on FaceBook since there’s so much truth to it…the best gift give my coach Mark ever gave me, was a piece of his brain. Being able to get my brain to work exactly like his. He was one of the best at being able to throw a strike when he needs it. Two examples, in 1984 he was bowling Guppy Troup for the US Open, on a VERY tough US Open pattern. He gets up in tenth, and couldn’t shut Troup out, but he could put a lot of pressure on him. (Guppy is Kyle Troup’s father). Mark absolutely LABELS two shots in the tenth and dead solid, then left a ten pin then Troup had to strike and he left a 4 pin. He didn’t crack a sweat, he was chewing gum on the show.
He hadn’t made TV in the while but he made the show in Ontario, Canada in 1995. He runs the table and he wins. Mark qualified 3rd for show, he beat Dave Traber, Brian Voss, and Walter Ray Williams for the Title. Two things I remember about that show more than anything, in the match against Voss, Mark had lost the pair, but he got up in the 10th, right after he left the 2-8 on the right hand lane, and needed 1 strike to beat Voss, but threw a dead perfect strike. He just pulled rabbits out of a hat like that, and never cracked a sweat doing it. And then I remember against Walter Ray, in the first frame left a big split, almost left an 8-10 in second frame, then in the third frame he moves I’m guessing like 8 or 10 boards left and moves his eyes like 4-5 boards in, and then throws the next 5-6 against Walter Ray. It’s like I remember watching that and I didn’t know Mark. I remember Rocky saying, “I knew he was going to do that”. And I said “How would you know that?!” Mark was that good and that mentally strong to be able to do those things. If you’re gonna be a good bowler you HAVE to do those things. You don’t win scratch Titles without being able to perform in the 10th. You just don’t. Got to have a brain that allows you to perform under pressure. Mark was one of the best at it. I’ll always say, the best coaching he ever gave me was to give me a piece of his brain. He was that good at it. If I ever had to pick one bowler, if someone came up to me and put a gun to my head, and said you have to pick one bowler to throw one strike. If the bowler doesn’t strike I shoot you, if he strikes you can walk away, I would pick Mark with no question. He literally had ice in his veins.
So let me tell you this,
First time I ever had privilege to go to lunch with Mark, was when we were bowling a Regional in NY at Bowler’s Club (no longer there). I had made a second check at Regionals, and of course Mark made finals. I really didn’t know him that well, but I had asked him for ball in CT and he gave me one, and I wrote him a thank you letter. Those days you could write to your favorite tour guys in the PBA in the mail. I was waiting for my equipment and he sees me and he says “Thank you for the nice letter I appreciate that”.
Photo: Mark Roth.
I asked him, do you mind if I watched you during finals? He said yeah not a problem. Those days it was 16 games for finals. In between 8 games there was an hour of lunch. After the first 8 games, I’m going to the snack bar and he goes, “Chris let’s go”. I go, “What are you talking about?” He goes, “I”ve only got an hour, let’s go to lunch”. And I’m like, “Who’s car?!” I’m being asked to go to lunch with childhood idol that I’ve watched on TV multiple times. We go to Friendly’s, once I was done being starstruck, I asked him, “What do you think about when you’re on TV?” His words: “I think about nothing… I just f***king bowl”. I said “Mark, you got TV cameras, you got millions of…?” He repeats, “I think about nothing. I f****king bowl”. Mind you, Mark and Rocky were so similar personality-wise, I didn’t know it would turn out this way, but he prepared me how to be taught by Mark. I remember driving home, I was on 90 going thru Albany, where it goes to MA, and all I could hear in my head “I think about nothing I just f***ing bowl”. And I think to myself, how is that possible? But as I got put in more situations, as I learned and he worked with me and toughened me up and forced me to perform, I learned exactly what he meant. In general, you have to bowl in the frame of mind that works for you.
“How do you feel about Pro bowlers?”
I have the utmost respect for them. Just to win 1 PBA regional title, that basically cost me 13 years of my life to work for that, 13 years of blood, sweat, and tears to get a REGIONAL title. What you see on TV is at a level so much higher than what I’m able to do. Now mind you, I’ve bowled a couple of National Tour events, and out of the last 5 I’ve bowled I’ve made the cut in 3, and those guys are so good I’ve never made it past first round of finals. Those guys are THAT good! In ‘05, I bowled the World Championship and missed the cut by 1 pin. I was livid. I still had a shot in the tenth. I threw the first one in the tenth, and I choked the second one in the eleventh and left a 6 pin. Mark and I spoke, “We’re gonna need to talk about that so it doesn’t happen again.” ’06 I’m now bowling in Indianapolis I got up in the last game, I was losing ground, about 30-50 pins off the cut, needed a huge game. I switched balls, switched lines, I threw the front 6, ring 10, then I got up on the right side in the ninth, and whiffed it off my hand and left a 1-2-4-8 picked up. I knew if I had any shot of making the cut I needed to throw a double. Just like what happened last year, the difference is, I nutted up and threw every single one of them. I had to get toughened up, where Mark taught me to be in those situations and being able to throw strikes when you’re feeling the heat, I started doing that and it kept building.
Anyway, never made it past finals. Belmonte, Tackett, Simonsons, that’s at a whole another level above and beyond what I could ever imagine. My full respect goes out to Nate and Andrew for what they’re trying to do. I know they’ve had a couple struggles and they’re still fighting for their spots but I have nothing but respect for what they’re trying to do. That’s very hard. They’re following their dream and good for them, good for them.
“Do you remember Bowlero Worcester when it was AMF Auburn, or even before that? What was it like and how would you like to see the alley grow?”
I remember when it was BCA (Bowling Corporation of America). I went to Holy Cross and I would practice in Auburn. In those days it was a BCA center. The manager’s name was Fred Donadio in 1989. Back in those days, you had 2 full shifts of leagues, even during the summer (A shift would be a full house of leagues, around 6:15, then another shift around 8:30/9). I remember the days in 1994, back in those days lanes 1-50 at 9:30 was filled with junior bowlers. And, at 1PM, another half of the house was filled. Also had a juniors program at Town and Country.
“What would you do if this location decided they wanted to move to String bowling?”
**laughs** I would hold my nose, but still do it. I get that some people want to see bowling a certain way, and at some level I’d love to see that also, but for centers to survive and to keep going, as much as I don’t like it, it may need to be done. It’s a catch-22, because I have some understanding of finances and costs of bowling alley, the fact of the matter is, if it keeps the bowling center going…people said the same thing when wood lanes were replaced by synthetics. We could talk about the evolution of the bowling ball, lane conditions, etc. Fact is this, costs are very high for bowling center, reality is, league participation is dropping, so where does revenue come from? Free fall machines are expensive and not new. Those machines, at least 30 years old if I’m not mistaken, and in Shrewsbury are even older than that (used to be candlepin and changed to Ten pin in 1989). So, I would continue with it.
“Who are some of the current or former employees you’d like to acknowledge for their service to the center?”
There’s one that absolutely comes to mind: Eric Mahoney. He does everything within his power to take care of his bowlers. Always has, and always will. Mind you, I’m not sure if that’s very easy nowadays. In a personal capacity, you don’t find a much better guy than Eric. You just don’t. I’ve known Eric, we’ve been friends for 30+ years. He’s just a great human being, plain and simple. You just don’t find a better manager than Eric, no disrespect to anyone else, but I was very happy to see him come back.
Jenna LaBrie. When we came back from Covid, she worked her “You know what off” to keep that bowling center working as best that it could. I don’t think enough people gave her credit for hard she worked for Auburn in those days. And I’m beyond happy that Ivy gave her the chance. Jenna was great.
John Zawalick, who has always challenged me to think outside the box when I practice and kept me on the right track on a daily basis.
“What comes to mind with the words ‘bowling family’?”
First of all, when I got married, everyone in my wedding party were bowlers, none of them were lawyers, the vast majority were bowlers. In terms of the real nitty gritty, my closest friends are always bowlers. I tried to make this clear in my speech at NEBA Hall of Fame, whatever I accomplished I didn’t do alone. I give a lot of credit to Mark and his widow Denise Roth. She still roots me on. Obviously my wife and kids. There was a time in 2022 after Mark’s passing when I was ready to quit, and I didn’t think I could do it anyway, my wife kept me going. Another person I will mention is my sister from another mother: Holly Stewart, who was there when I was ready to quit in 2022 when I bowled NEBA Chicopee, every cut I missed by about 3 sticks, and I left there screaming at the top of my lungs and I had a total meltdown. I’m obviously ashamed by it. I’m not gonna lie, I screamed at anyone who would listen, but between my wife, and Denise, and my fam Holly, yeah they got my head screwed on correct again. When I talk about family in that regard, it’s pretty special when you have that kind of support behind you. I get that we’re all human, and if it’s one thing that we’re always taught, you represent a brand and you have a PBA Card and have to be a professional, but I was beyond embarrassed when I left Chicopee. I remember one of my close friends, Cheryl Pape, she just stood there when I said “I suck, I’m done, I can’t do this anymore, I’m wasting my time…” she literally just stood there and just let me scream, and then called me back later a couple days later to see if I’m okay. Honestly all the closest people I’ve had in my life are all bowlers. It’s very special for me to be a part of.
Photo: Wife Mary Elizabeth with two sons.
“In many sports, the mental game and performing under pressure is what can make the difference between winning and losing. Do you mind sharing any strategies for the mental game in bowling?”
Think about nothing, just bowl. I got made fun of a lot and bullied as a child. The other part of the brilliance that my coaches taught me, how to take the inner hurt and anger, and direct toward knocking down pins. They got me to be able to use that anger and hurt, to get more aggressive and focused, and knock down pins. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve made cuts in NEBA or Regionals just because I’m able to focus to that energy inside me or that heart to do what I need to do. But also when it comes to throwing the shot to literally shut my brain down.
One other thing:
Mark always drilled this in my head “You got to want it more than the next person, how badly do you want it”.
He lived his life, especially after he took sick, “If you say I can’t, I’ll show you I can.” [In 2009, Mark had had a debilitating stroke and was paralyzed on left side. Was struggling for many years]. The doctors said he would never bowl, but his attitude, “I’ll show you I’ll bowl”. Competitively, no, but was he able to get on the lane and throw, yes he was.
In 2011, Mark and his wife invited us to be guests at the PBA plastic ball event in his honor Cheektowaga, NY. I remember I was coming back from injury and I wanted to practice. We got a lane, and he didn’t want to practice, then changed his mind and decided to practice. I went to the car and got his bowling balls. Then, I was absolutely stunned at progress he made. I threw 3 or 4 shots, and he was bowling 45 minutes and the bowling center stopped and was watching him. We were at dinner, and I remember asking Mark “Why don’t you throw the first shot for the show? You can do it!” Sure enough, they talked, and they got Mark the last plastic ball in show. They drilled a ball for him, and went on the show, and the third try, he knocked 7 pins down, left 1-3-6. I had tears in my eyes because of how special [after all his progress since the stroke]. After the show, Mark wanted to drill more balls. I told him I would drill whatever he needed. Took the ball from the show, offered to make a mold and to pick which he liked the best. I remember I was on the phone with Mark and his wife saying I’ll get the ball back to you ASAP, but they said “No, you can keep ball as a souveneir.” I have it now in my trophy room in what I call the Coach’s Corner.
Photo: Freshly drilled ball signed by Mark Roth.
I remember, [a year before], in 2010, they sent me a video of the first time they were working with him in rehab, and was able to throw a couple shots. I was watching and thought, this was amazing. If you want to know a type of guy Mark was as a best friend and a second father, and the type of person that Denise was….Well in 2010 I wanted Mark in my wedding, an impossible request, but I really wanted him for all he had done for me. So I asked him, and he said yes. Mind you, I had no idea had way to make it work, and only a year after stroke, and not sure of his limitations, etc, but you know, somehow, he and Denise made to the wedding and he was one of my best men on Oct 29, 2010.
(Mark passed away Nov 26, 2021)
“If you could be remembered for ONE thing regarding bowling, what would it be?”
Living proof that dreams can come true with hard work. When I won my Regional, I remember the TV cameras were there and news reporters would ask me bunch of questions. I had said “People keep pushing you to be better and better than you can ever be, this is a dream come true, and I don’t what else to say other than with hard work anything is possible. Dreams do come true.”
As a kid who got bullied and put up with a lot, bowling has been in a lot of ways a savior for me.
All I would ask, as a kid I started out with nothing, and because of the right people coaching me and giving the guidance that I needed not only as a bowler but as man, that dreams did come true. And that I hope that for my kids, I’ve done them proud. Giving them something they can have when I’m no longer around. I hope that I’ve done my coaches proud and lived up to their expectations. They volunteered, so I always wanted to honor everything they did with my performance. I also hope that in my own way, I’ve given back when I’ve coached the juniors including Mike Puzo, last year’s NEBA player of the year, Matt Brockett, I’ve coached him. I just hope that at end of day, that I’m remembered as a kid who started out with nothing and because of some very special people worked himself into something, and someone my kids can be proud of, and my coaches can be proud of, and that I gave back to others what was given to me.
Striking Leaders 
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