Charlie Milan is 78 but still loves to compete and that’s what drew him to the Can-Am mixed doubles candlepin bowling tourney last weekend at the Bangor-Brewer Bowling Lanes in Brewer.
The result was another title for the Maine Sports Hall of Fame member, who teamed up with Amanda Carroll of Gray to emerge with the title in a field of 64 teams, 32 each from New England and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
“Maybe this was the last hurrah, who knows, but I’ve been doing this all my life and just wanted to keep competing,” Milan said.
Milan, who owns the B-B Lanes, splits his time in Maine and Florida. Some of his friends were skeptical when he said he wanted to compete in the Can-Am, which pairs candlepin’s best men’s and women’s bowlers and has been held twice a year for the past 29 years.
“[Carroll] is one of the best bowlers in the game today and when I thought about asking her to bowl with me, a few of my friends said, ‘Why would she want to bowl with you? You’re all washed up.’ But I asked and she said yes,” Milan said.
The tourney is single-string elimination and Carroll’s consistency of averaging 119.3 a string was pivotal in the title quest.
“She’s already won a lot of titles in Maine and showed that,” Milan said.
Milan also contributed, including a spare and triple strike in one game and then a spare with a seven in the final box when they edged Paula Furbush of Bangor and Rick Sylvester of Searsport in the title match, 231-229.
New Brunswick bowlers Corey Smith and Tanya Ritchie recorded the tourney’s high averages of 129 and 119.6, respectively, while Scott Sirois of Skowhegan and Vanessa Huff of Pittsfield rolled the high singles of 190 and 144.
