Originally born in Parry Sound, Bob Gignac grew up in Cambridge, Ontario and it is a miracle that he was able to reach this elite status in five pin bowling. At the age of five, Bob contracted Infantile Paralysis and spent one year at the renowned Children’s Hospital in Toronto. With no strength in his muscles, Bob was in braces, from his toes to his armpits, for five years. However, despite this hardship, Bob did his best to play baseball and build enough muscle structure to lose his braces at ten years of age.

Bob was soon setting pins at the Galt Bowling Lanes on Main St, and by twelve years of age, was working at the centre. Through high school, Bob excelled as a metallurgical technician and, while this would be his expertise, he also worked at the lanes and even drove a taxicab to supplement his income. Moreover, in 1957, Bob met John Dobos Sr. and developed both a friendship and working relationship that continues to this day. Originally John Sr. owned a roofing business, and he also purchased the original Dickson Bowl, where Bob was his evening manager. Bob also joined the major league in the centre, where at just fifteen, he raised his average to 240.

Looking for tournament competition, Bob ventured to O’Connor Bowl in Toronto to qualify for the Beat the Champion television show that was seen nationally on the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC). From a 1962 roll-off, the top five bowlers would qualify and Bob actually tied for fifth, and was advanced without a playoff. Bob bowled against the legendary Si Rizun, and while not successful, announcer Fred Sgambati pronounced that the twenty-two year old Bob Gignac had ’a bright future.’

In Galt, Bob seemed to be working and bowling twenty-four hours a days, and he looked out of town for a chance to own his own centre. Through realtor Jack Lane, he was introduced to Strathroy, and he purchased the ten lane centre there in 1974. At his new centre, Bob met Hall of Famer, the late Jack Hales, and along with Brian Shute, Bob was introduced to the association programs of the Ontario 5 Pin Bowlers’ Association, and also the qualifying process of the provincial Open and the Master Bowlers’ Association.

Bob appeared at the provincial Open on twenty-eight occasions, twenty-two as a bowler and six as a coach. While first qualifying in 1976, Bob has bowled in the singles ten times and, in 1987, representing the Conestoga 5 Pin Bowlers’ Association, he won both the provincial and national singles championships.

In the Master Bowlers’ Association, Bob has three tournament victories, winning the Oktoberfest tournament in 1978 and then the prestigious Walkers Special Old tournament in 1990 and 1991. These back-to-back victories were both televised and Bob was no stranger to television, as he also qualified for the first TSN ’Pins Game’ in 1988.

As a bowler who became a proprietor, Bob also recognized the importance of the bowlers’ organizations. He conducted decentralized associations in Strathroy, Dickson Bowl and Presto Lanes, when he returned there in 1986. Overall, he served twenty-six years as a volunteer at the local level. Moreover, on the proprietors side, Bob was the local contact when the Bowling Proprietors Association of Ontario had its 28th Annual Convention in London 1981, and subsequently he served two years on the proprietors provincial Board of Directors.

Throughout his bowling career, Bob has believed that you do it all yourself and, in his centres, he did just that, from lane maintenance to the front counter. In 1991, Bob went one step further and developed the ’Gignac’ blue band that would be added to both the wood and plastic pin to become an integral part of the bowing game across Canada. In all, Bob has sold 170,000 bands and, to this day, he continues to supply the industry from coast to coast.

Bob and Mag, his wife of twenty-one years, have six children and eleven grandchildren and they continue to live in Cambridge. As the 2006 season begins, Bob has sold his business at Presto Lanes and rejoined the Dobos clan at Dickson Bowl, once again looking after his first love, the bowling lanes.

In conclusion, this Hall of Fame induction is actually the third for Bob, having been previously recognized both in Strathroy and Galt. As well, the bowling industry recognized Bob’s talent as he was chosen the twenty-sixth overall in the Top 90 Bowlers survey for the twentieth century.