Bowlers toss frozen turkeys all in the name of charity

For the most part, the concepts sure resembled bowling.

Players aim at 10 pins set up at the end of a lane. As the sounds of crashing pins permeate throughout the alley, players decked in bowling shirts celebrate. While pinsetters reset the formation, the "ball" returns to the bowler.

Oh, but did we mention the "bowling ball" is a frozen turkey wrapped in duct tape? What started out as something to do on the Sunday between the Super Bowl and the NFL conference championship games has turned into Turkey Bowl XI, an annual fundraiser at Crossroads Tavern and Eatery in Wood Dale.

The event raises money for area youth sports teams and started in 1999, when the bar was located in Elmhurst. This year, the money will help a youth softball and baseball team in the area.

Paul Groh, who owns the bar along with Robyn Young, said he expects about $2,000 to $3,000 to be raised for the teams.

"The ultimate goal is having a good time," he said, as he stood in his bar wearing a bowling shirt and a floppy hat adorned with a stuffed turkey on top. "People need a reason to get out and have a good time and help out other people."

But the youth teams did not get off easy. They served as pinsetters and turkey-return machines and occasionally offered up a healthy serving of heckles for the bowlers.

"The girls are having a lot of fun," said Randy Rothstein, one of two Schaumburg Sluggers Under-14 traveling softball coaches at the event.

The money, Rothstein said, will help offset some fees associated with the team and help the team travel to a national tournament in North Carolina this July.

He said he was surprised at the size of the event, which Groh said drew 65 teams at $50 each. The money went toward cash prizes in two divisions. The rest of the money went directly to youth sports, he said.

But while the money will help, it is also a time for the players to spend time together during the cold offseason.

"It does help with the finances," Sluggers coach Al Acosta said.

"But it's a bonding moment for them. It's builds team camaraderie."