This is the last in a series of articles profiling the 2023 inductees into the USBC Butler Area Hall of Fame

Once Mike Hilliard learned how to throw a hook, he was hooked on bowling.

“A friend of mine, Billy Kline, taught me how to throw a hook,” said Hilliard, a member of the USBC Butler Area Bowling Association for more than 20 years. “Once I picked up on that and saw how well I was doing, I really got into bowling.”

Hilliard will be joining Donna Evans and Mike Rouda as the 2023 inductees into the USBC Butler Area Hall of Fame. The inductions will take place at 6:30 p.m. Saturday during a dinner at the Callery Volunteer Fire Hall.

Mike Hilliard

Hilliard said he first started bowling in 1990. His wife, Sharon, got him to take up the game.

“She was already a bowler,” Hilliard said. “She bowled a perfect game before I did.”

He’s bowled plenty of perfect games since.

Hilliard said he’s rolled 23 300-games during his career. Not all have been officially recognized by awards through the leagues he rolled them in.

“Once you roll your first 300 of the season, you don’t get awarded if you bowl any more that same year,” he explained. “I’ve had some doubles and triples (in terms of perfect games) that I didn’t receive recognition for.

“It’s still a thrill every time I bowl one.”

He once bowled a 300-game in the state tournament.

Hilliard has also bowled five sanctioned 800-series, with a high of 835. His career-high average for a season is 223 and he’s averaged above 200 four times. He’s participated in over 20 state tournaments and is a past Butler County All-Events Scratch champion.

“I’m prouder of the 800-series as opposed to the 300s,” he said. “It’s harder to bowl at that high a level for three games than it is for one.”

Now 58, Hilliard has dealt with health issues in recent years. Her’s had a bad back and tore a ligament in his right thumb, forcing him to plug up the thumb hole on his ball and grip it with two fingers for a while.

Last year, he bowled his first 300-game since suffering that thumb injury.

“That one meant a lot to me,” he admitted. “I felt like I was back on track.”

Hilliard bowls in the Firearms, Konno Stones and Strikes & Spares leagues. He averages 215 in the Strikes & Spares circuit, 200 in the other two.

As for the call to the Hall of Fame?

“I wasn’t expecting that,” Hilliard said. “That was a nice surprise.”