SSHoF logoJennie Irvine

Athlete (2002)

Bowling

Jennie Irvine Jennie Irvine was a frequent challenger in Canadian bowling tournaments, appearing in the Canadian Open seven times and appearing in the Canadian Masters 14 times, a record for a Saskatchewan bowler. She has played on three national gold medal-winning teams.

Originally from Rose Valley, Jennie became a competitive bowler in the mid-1960s and was a rookie on Saskatoon's team at the 1970 Western Canada championships. She was part of a dominant Saskatoon team at the 1972 provincial Open and was invited to play on Saskatchewan's all-star women's team at the Canadian finals at the King George Bowl.

She joined Barb Phelps, Ann Sawatzky, Grace Zivec, Helen Leskun and Joyce Hudson, which defeated Ontario in the final and had a single game score of 1,627 along the way. In 1974, she became the first woman in Canada to top the 1,100 mark for three games, rolling 1,107 at the Bowlodrome, and to this date, remains one of the few women to accomplish the feat in Canada.

Jennie became the first woman to ever win the Saskatoon Molson's Open money tournament in 1977, beating a tough field of men, to earn $3,100. She qualified with a 283 average, then averaged 291 through 30 match play games on the final day, rolling three 900 triples in the process.

She achieved her perfect game of 450 on Oct. 5, 1980, at the King George Bowl. Jennie had an exciting run in the Masters women's singles, taking the Canadian silver for years in a row, 1973 through 1976, a remarkable feat in itself. Jennie won a gold medal in the Canadian Masters in 1983, sharing the team success with Terry Stewart and Cathy Daku of Saskatoon, Stella Mantach of North Battleford, Joan Cales of Humboldt and coach Tony Bula of Saskatoon.

In 1984, she was part of the Saskatchewan team, which won gold at the Canadian Open, held at Eastview Bowl. Her partners were Michelle Fosty, Terry Stewart, Cathy Daku, Val Touet and Shirley Quayle and the coach was Jack Walsh.

Her final fling at a Saskatchewan Open was in 1986, capping a career that was marked by three appearances under the old Western Canada format and nine in Saskatoon colors at the Saskatchewan playoffs. Her final appearance in the Canadian Masters took place in Saskatoon in 1988, her 14th national playoff and a career, which included four medals in singles and three medals in team play.