Updated: Enthusiasm high at Royal Family Bowling Center as 2nd Annual James W. Gifford Sr. Memorial Tournament gets underway

With the coming of Spring the weekend of March 19^th to 21^st also came the Second Annual James W. Gifford Sr. Memorial Bowling Tournament at Royal Family Bowling Center in the Town of Front Royal, Virginia. Co-sponsored by All Rev Apparel and brothers James W. Gifford Jr. and Don Mayland-Gifford, the 18-game Mega Qualifier open to professionals and amateurs alike, brought a guaranteed $2500 First Prize, among others, with it.

The Front Royal site of the 2nd Annual James W. Gifford Sr. Tournament bringing amateur and professional bowlers together in competition for a $2500 first prize. Royal Examiner Photos by Roger Bianchini

As the tournament got rolling as 7 p.m. approached Friday evening, All Rev Apparel proprietor and Tournament Director Shane Martin and wife Jacqueline took a moment to explain how the Lubbock, Texas-based sport and gaming jersey business couple ended up sponsoring and overseeing a bowling tournament two-thirds of the way across the country. The answer involves their co-sponsors, the sons of the Sacramento, California- based man the tournament memorializes.

“Essentially what it is, is that James Gifford (Jr.) is one of my staffers and Don Mayland (Gifford) is a staffer … they help sell my jerseys and promote my jerseys. I have staffers all over the country,” Shane explained, noting the common bond of professional bowling.

“I’m a professional bowler myself, and … James had asked me about sponsoring the tournament as All Rev Apparel. We put some figures together, some ideas together, came back and I put up $2500 for the first prize regardless of (the number of) entries.”

From left, co-sponsors Don Mayland-Gifford, Jacqueline and Shane Martin and James Gifford Jr. Below, cameras were in place for a YouTube livestreaming of the tournament on the All Rev Apparel platform.

But with entries reportedly closed at the maximum number of 72, significantly above the first-year number of about 40 drawn after only two months of promotion, Martin’s prize-money investment seemed safely covered by the $120 early entry fee of which $75 goes into the prize fund, and the $150 after March 6 entry fee, taking the additional $30 into the prize vault as well. Prizes per entrants wearing an All Rev Apparel bowling jerseys at the tournament were noted, as was a promised $500 prize if any coveted 300 perfect games were rolled over the three-day event.

“So, essentially there’s $3,000 put up to enter this tournament. We have bowlers coming from all up and down the east coast … James Gifford’s brother, Don Mayland, he is here from Colorado,” Martin said, observing of the building momentum, “It’s going to be a great event – somebody’s walking away with $2500 – it’s definitely going to be exciting.”

Martin noted that there has been widespread social media promotion of the tournament over a six-month period leading up to the first weekend of Spring 2021 showdown at Front Royal’s Royal Family Bowling Center where the competition looked to be fierce as competitive balls began rolling. In fact, the Colorado-based son of the man for whom the tournament is named, which will have a Colorado site as part of the event next year, brought his competitive spirit, possibly inherited from dad, with him, looking to keep that first-place prize money in the family.

“I’m looking forward to taking first place,” Don replied when asked about his expectations for the weekend event. “That’s the confidence I have, the confidence I’m going to try and hold. But depending on what happens you never know what you’re going to bowl. It would be an honor to win my father’s tournament … He’ll definitely be up there watching us,” Don concluded of the James W. Gifford Sr. Memorial Tournament. “It’s taken a lot to get the thing done the way we wanted … It wasn’t this big,” Don said of the inaugural Front Royal event that drew 40, as noted above by co-sponsor Martin.

Brothers James Gifford Jr. and Don Mayland-Gifford, left and right respectively, get ready to bowl. Below, James rolls toward the strike zone.

Earlier we spoke to Don’s brother, James Junior, about the genesis of the tournament. “My dad was a very avid bowler – and we have bowled at nationals together, me my brother and my dad. And my dad unfortunately passed away in 2009 unexpectedly. So, we took it upon ourselves to honor him every year. And this is the second year here in Virginia that we’ve had it,” Virginia Beach-based James Jr., who also has a seven-year connection to Front Royal, said of the tournament’s landing locally.

“So, like I said we traveled everywhere and we’re just trying to honor him. And I have a lot of support from bowlers who knew him, knew us, that are coming. And this year we have extended our invitation to people. We also have some PBA (Professional Bowlers Association) Hall of Famers who will be here this weekend – Danny Wiseman will be here out of Maryland … So, we do have a lot of caliber bowlers here from all over the country – Texas, Colorado, New Jersey, Delaware. We have officially filled this tournament, which is outstanding for us,” James said of what his brother cited as the maximum registration number of 72 for the live-streamed on YouTube event. “So, we’ve done a lot. And Rick Novak, the owner of the center here, has been 100% supportive to me. It’s kind of a big thing for us and my brother and I have tried to keep my father’s legacy going.

“We’re also doing a special recognition in honor of a very dear friend of ours who just passed away unexpectedly, Mo Pinnell – Greatest person you could ever find in the bowling industry,” James said of a man he called, “One of the smartest, the most fascinating ball designers that you could ever come across. And we are throwing all of his stuff in his honor.

“But we’re excited and we want to let everybody know what we’re doing, and trying to support Front Royal,” James concluded of bringing his father’s tournament here for a second consecutive year.

And Royal Examiner is honored to help him, his brother Don and All Rev Apparel co-sponsors Shane and Jacqueline Martin achieve that goal in memory of James W. Gifford Sr.

Here is a summary of the top placers in the tournament from the organizer/sponsors – The top five were:

• Samuel Anderson- Winner $2500
• Danny Wiseman- 2nd $1250
• Brian Cavey- 3rd $700
• Brian Wilson- 4th $500
• Marcus Bell- 5th $400

More detail on Samuel Anderson’s come-from-behind step ladder win over qualifying rounds leader and PBA Hall of Famer Danny Wiseman, with additional links, is available in our related story:

Samuel Anderson makes dramatic run to the James W. Gifford Sr. Memorial Tournament title

“It was an amazing tournament – Samuel Anderson ran the step ladder to win the $2500 first place,” co-sponsor Shane Martin observed.

The promotional ad for the tournament