For nearly 50 years Valley Bowling Lanes has been a hub for family and friends. Part of what has drawn them to the center is Guys & Dolls, one of the longest running bowling leagues in Utah.
Guys & Dolls was established when the bowling alley, 3951 W. 5400 South, was built in 1957. Jeff Syme, one of the owners of the bowling center, said the league was just a bunch of people who got together and wanted to bowl on a Friday night. From that bunch of people it has grown into a league of 22 teams.
Joe Syme, Jeff's brother and part owner of the bowling alley, has bowled in the league for 34 years. He said Guys & Dolls is one of the longest-running leagues in the Salt Lake Valley. A lot of leagues run for about 20 years and then fold, but Guys & Dolls has been going since the bowling alley was established.
Verna Trolin, has been a league member for 25 years. She said Guys & Dolls has a reputation of being fun and they've never a problem getting the league filled.
"We usually have to turn people away because we don't have enough lanes," Joe Syme said.
One thing that makes the league unique is it is a handicap league. Joe Syme said a handicap evens out the league so the high-average bowlers don't win everything. Along with giving everyone an equal chance at winning, everyone wins at the end of the season. Joe Syme said a portion of nightly fees goes into the league pot. Everyone gets money and how well a person did determines how much money they get.
Joe Syme said he and his brothers worked at the bowling alley from the time they were kids. One day they and their dad decided it would be a fun idea to run the center and in 1976 the family bought it.
"We just talked about it one day because we enjoy the sport of bowling," he said. "A lot of the people who bowl here have been here since we purchased the bowling center."
Most of the people are friends who grew up together in the bowling center. They have fostered relationships in and outside of the lanes. They go camping and take trips to Wendover. He added that people have loved being in the league and continue because it lets them get out and enjoy the company of other people.
"I love the companionship of the people," Joe Syme said. "You can really get close and personal with people 34 weeks out of the year, and I like the game itself."
Trolin said she and her husband joined because they enjoyed bowling and because Friday had always been their night together.
Scott Eichhorst has also been bowling in the Guys & Dolls league for about five years but his bowling experience extends back to high school. He said he bowls in the league because it's fun, fair and there are a lot of good people.
Although the league is old it doesn't fail to attract the young. The most youthful bowler in Guys & Dolls is 18 and the oldest is 81. Joe Syme said bowling centers started out like pool halls, smoky and dark. Now they're more family oriented.
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