Joe Wilman Bowling Papers

Joseph John "Joe" Wilman (1905-1969) was a professional bowler, bowling analyst, and author of bowling instructional materials. Wilman was born in Fontanet, Indiana, a mining town in Vigo County, near Terre Haute. According to family history, Wilman's father William Vilmanas (sometimes given as "Vilmonas"), who had emigrated from Lithuania in 1890 and Americanized the family name to Wilman, died in a mine explosion in 1914. Wilman's mother moved with the couple's four children to the Chicago area, but she also died a few years later. Wilman and his older brother then took care of the their two younger siblings.

In Chicago, Wilman took up many sports, trying his hand at boxing in local gyms, bowling, and playing baseball for the Knights of Lithuania. He soon gave up boxing, but he attracted attention for his skill as a baseball pitcher. From 1928-1930, he pitched for York and Grand Island of the Nebraska State League, compiling a record of 48-27 with an ERA of 3.00. He reportedly received a tryout with the Chicago White Sox, but Wilman recounted that the scout told him to "come back when you grow up."

During his years as a baseball player, Wilman continued to bowl competitively, and he entered his first American Bowling Congress (ABC) competitions in 1928. After he gave up professional baseball, he worked as a wholesale grocery salesman and bowled on the side, reportedly rolling more than 50 games a week to hone his skills. In the 1930s and early 1940s, Wilman won city and state championships and was a a member of the nationally competitive Chicago Budweiser Bowlinng team. During these years, he married Henrietta "Hank" Kotalik, one of the best woman bowlers in the country, and the Wilmans were known as the best husband and wife bowling team. Henrietta Wilman died in a car accident in Wisconsin in 1949.

After serving in the Army during World War Two, Wilman returned to the bowling circuit, and, in 1945-46, he won the All-Star Tournament and the American Bowling Congress All-Events Championship. He worked for the Chicago office of the Brunswick-Balke-Collender company, and he remained a competitive bowler winning numerous championships and awards.

Wilman suffered a heart attack in 1958, after which he stepped back from competitive bowling and concentrated on bowling instruction. Wilman authored several books about bowling and wrote a popular newspaper column about bowling with sportswriter Jim Butz. Syndicated by the John F. Dille Company (later renamed the National Newspaper Syndicate), the columns was originally called "Strikes and Spares" and was renamed "Ask Joe Wilman" in the 1960s. He also starred in nine short bowling instructional films and provided analysis for bowling contests broadcast on television and radio.

Wilman was inducted into the Bowling Hall of Fame in 1951 and was named to six All-American bowling teams. During his career he bowled 10 perfect 300 games and eight 299 games. In 1999, Wilman was voted the 13th best bowler of the twentieth century in a poll conducted by Bowlers Journal International. He died in his adopted city of Berywn, Illinois, in 1969.

++++ Sources:

Tony Yuknis, "In Memory of Joe Wilman," Vytis: The Official Organ of the Knights of Lithuania, vol. 56, no. 3 (March 1970), page 8.

Edward Anthony, "The Bowling Lith From Berywn," Margutis: Foremost Lithuanian Journal of Music, Folklore and Humor, vol. 21, no. 1 (January 1948), pages 8-9.

J.R. Schmidt, "A Joe Wilman Bibliography," Dr. Jake's Bowling History Blog, Oct 11, 2013: https://bowlinghistory.wordpress.com/2013/10/11/a-joe-wilman-bibliography/

"Joe Wilman," United States Bowling Congress Hall of Fame: https://bowl.com/usbc-hall-of-fame/hall-of-famers/joe-wilman

"Joe Wilman," Baseball Reference: https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=wilman001joe