“If people didn’t know, they’d just think I’m bowling off the wrong foot,” he said with a smile. “I’ve never used it as an excuse, I just let my bowling do the talking.”
McElroy has learned to be adaptable, especially when he gets a new prosthetic leg.
“Any time there is a change, the first thing I ask is, ‘I’ll still be able to bowl, right,’” he said.
And the answer has always been yes.
McElroy spent time on the PBA tour, posting a career-high 14th-place finish in a regional tournament. In a career that spans more than four decades, his biggest point of pride is his 877 high series.
“I had a brand-new ball, straight out of the box,” he said. “My teammates did their best to keep me laughing so I wouldn’t think about it too much while I was bowling. When I finished, it was like I was on a high, I mean I had 35 of 36 strikes.”
McElroy – with 34 300 games and 10 800 series to his credit – recently learned that his bowling has earned him a spot in the Greater Dayton United States Bowling Congress Hall of Fame. The 65-year-old Huber Heights bowler will be inducted in the Veterans Category.
“It means that all of the hard work I’ve put in has paid off,” McElroy said.
That work recently got harder as he was diagnosed with lymphoma. The news came as a shock to McElroy.
“When the doctor said cancer, it was like my whole body shut down,” he said. “I don’t even know how I made it home.”
But once the shock wore off, the fight began as he started chemotherapy shortly after his January diagnosis.
“The ‘C’ word is no joke, this has knocked me off my feet,” McElroy said. “I’ve had to slow down – I’ve never taken so many naps in my life. My bowling suffered too.”
McElroy, however, wasn’t about to let the fatigue keep him from the lanes.
“I shared with my teammates what was going on, but I didn’t want to stop bowling,” he said. “When stuff gets handed to you, you learn to adapt and just believe. I’ve proved to myself and others what I can do.”
And with only two more months of treatment, the finish line is in sight for this hall of fame inductee.
“One of my goals – once I get the treatments over with – is to get back to where I was with my game,” he said. “And while this has been hard, getting this news (hall of fame) has lifted me up.”
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