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On June 30, 2007, YSUSBC Association was proud to be represented by the oldest team in history to ever bowl in a California state tournament. The team, 4 Kings and 1 Queen, took to the lanes at Tyme to Bowl, in Oroville, to compete in the California USBC Open Championships team event.

The 5 seniors, Ed Wilgus, 95; Ray Newby, 91; Bill Chaney, 89; Bill Curtis, 89; and Jean Leach, 87 years old, all Yuba City residents, showed bowlers a third their age that they still had what it takes to be good competitors as they threw many strikes and spares throughout the three-game series and out bowled some of the younger bowlers on the opposite lane.

The crowds grew as the team continued their three games. After all, it was history in the making, and the seniors were amazing everybody with their bowling on lanes that had given a lot of younger, high average bowlers grief during the tournament.

Ed Wilgus, the oldest, had the highest series of the team with a 438. Jean Leach had a 400 series, and Bill Curtis had a 404 series. Ray Newby bowled a 436 series, and Bill Chaney ended up with a 347 series for the day.

All five seniors bowl in leagues at NU Generation. Some of them can also frequently be found practicing there. Ed, who started bowling about 1960, tries to get in some bowling five days a week.

Bill Curtis showed his toughness as he was back to bowling after having taken a few weeks off to allow a broken wrist on his bowling hand to heal. He had broken it while trimming branches off a tree.

Jean, who took up bowling because her husband liked to bowl, has bowled about 37 years and has no intention to retire from it anytime soon.

Ray began bowling when he was about 35 years old and was working for Hust Brothers. They had a team and needed another bowler. He tried it and liked it. He had played football in high school and had a competitive nature, and found this a great outlet for his competitive side.

Bill Chaney returned from World War II in 1945, and found he had time on his hands. He got a job running a small, six-lane house in Marysville. That was the beginning of Chaney’s remarkable bowling history, as he has not taken any time off from bowling in leagues since 1945.