Frank Pirkovich was born in a small town in Burgenland, Austria in 1902, seven years before 5 Pin Bowling had been invented. Just after the first World War, Frank emigrated to Canada, with others from his homeland and was sent out west, where he was promised work. Once he got there, Frank discovered that there was no work and hopped on a train and came to Toronto. Being from a foreign country and not knowing much English, people had a difficult time pronouncing his last name, so he changed it to Price.
In the mid 1920’s he met Pauline Karoll at a social club and soon after got married at Mount Carmel Catholic Church in Toronto. Frank and Pauline had three boys, Frank Jr., Bob and Ron. In order to support his family, Frank worked hard at many jobs. He was a milkman, delivered coal, worked at a car wash and obtained his cartage license to move pianos.
When Maple Leaf Gardens was being built, Frank worked in the construction industry and poured the concrete for the Gardens. Conn Smythe offered to pay his workers in stocks and bonds, instead of cash, but, during a time when money was tight, Frank decided to take the money, because you couldn’t buy much with stocks and bonds.
Frank and Pauline moved from Toronto in the late 1940’s and purchased a five acre farm in Richmond Hill and built a home. With his construction background he decided to start his own construction company, which consisted of Frank, Pauline and his three boys. Their first project was to build a dance hall, and so they started to build the frame. By now, bowling was on the upswing, and Frank, who was a member of a bowling team in Toronto, enjoyed bowling so much that he changed his mind about the dance hall and decided to build a bowling centre instead. After checking with the bowling industry, Frank learned about six alleys that were for sale at a service club at Malton airport. After purchasing all six lanes, he had them cut in half, transported them home and Brunswick installed them.
ABC Bowling Academy started in 1952 and, at that time, was the only bowling centre in Richmond Hill. Frank got the name for the bowling centre from the idea that, with “A”, being the first heading in the telephone directory, people would see his business name first. With Frank’s background in construction, and the fact that he used to tear down buildings, he used a lot of recycled material to build his centre.
With the introduction of automatic pinsetters in 1957, Frank expanded his business to fifteen lanes and shortly after, went to twenty lanes. Prior to the automatic pinsetters, Frank would always have trouble getting pin boys when you needed them. In 1963, with the introduction of the string machine, ABC was the first centre to have them installed.
As son Bob recalls, his mom was the heart of the business. She was the one to take care of the bills, pay the pinboys and did all the bookkeeping. Frank, on the other hand, was the handyman. He was the one who fixed the machines, cleaned the lanes, kept the furnace working and fixed the leaky roof. Who can forget the plastic sheets and pails that would catch the drips?
Frank got into the skid making business as a sideline. He would go out at nights to collect broken skids, bring them home, repair them, and sell them again to businesses that needed them.
Frank and Pauline worked hard at building their business. They loved to talk to people, and would go out of their way to assist anyone who needed help. They would donate their garden for leagues to hold their annual picnics, run fund-raisers for different charities and would always give food or prizes to their leagues.
They did so much for so many. Whether it was the Senior Citizens leagues, the Developmentally Challenged, the Youth Bowling Council, the Master Bowlers’ Association or the York Simcoe Association, they always made you feel special. In 1986, Frank and Pauline received Life Membership into the York Simcoe 5 Pin Bowlers’ Association.
Sadly, Frank and Pauline are not with us anymore. Frank passed away in 1990, at the age of 88 and Pauline passed away shortly after, at the age of 86. Their memory will live in the hearts and minds of all who passed through the doors of ABC Bowl.
The Price’s join their good friends Jack and Betty Hill, as being the second couple to be inducted into the York Simcoe Hall of Fame.