Marion Ladewig

In 1949 Ladewig won the first Women's All-Star Tournament, sponsored by the Bowling Proprietors Association of America (BPAA), and successfully defended that title in five succeeding tournaments. In the 1950-51 season she became the only bowler in history to win the All-Events title at the city, state and national levels in the same year. All-Events tallied a bowlers points in singles, doubles and team events. She knocked down 1,796 pins to win the Women's International Bowling Congress (WIBC) All-Events category. Her WIBC success included winning the team championship as a member of the hometown Fanatorium Majors.

During the 1951-52 season Ladewig won both the Women's All Star and the WIBC tournaments, plus every Michigan competition she entered. She completed the All-Star with a 211.46 average for thirty-two games of match play, setting a tournament record unmatched for the next twenty-two years. She was named Michigan Woman Athlete of the Year in 1953.

Ladewig repeated her WIBC All-Events win in 1954-55 with a 1,980 pin count. With partner Wyllis Ryskamp, she also captured the WIBC doubles title. Teaming with LaVerne Carter, wife of men's champion Don Carter, Ladewig captured the women's doubles title again in both 1958 and 1959. The first year they won by four pins. The 1959 championship was decided by Ladewig's "Brooklyn Strike" (a right hander into the 1-2 pocket) for a two-point victory.

Ladewig and Don Carter dominated bowling's heyday in the 1950's and 1960's. The pair won more All Star and World Invitational tournaments than any other bowlers and appeared together on television commercials and demonstration tours. Men and women tuned in at 5:00 pm on Saturday evenings to watch Ladewig control the lanes on the "Women's Major League Bowling" show introduced by the National Broadcasting Company in 1958.