Brenda Hamilton was born near the end of the second World War as her mother, Charlotte, barely survived a bomb blast in their London neighbourhood.  Her father, Bert, was a Flying Officer in the RAF, piloting Spitfires over England.  As the bomb blast destroyed their home, Brenda’s mother was transferred to a farm in Kings Lynn, Norfolk, where Brenda was born.  Following the war, Brenda and her mother moved back to London and, with her father home, stayed in London for twelve years before moving to Long Branch in the lakeshore area of Toronto’s west end.

Brenda and her father joined the local legion bowling league at Long Branch Lanes which was owned by Bob Bramhill and Hall of Famer Jake Hellewell.  In time, a top bowler of the day, Art Irvine, saw potential talent in Brenda and introduced her to the concept of “spot bowling”.  With her father, they continued their league bowling at Plantation Bowl and Brenda, now averaging 230 and, with the urging of Marg Holmes, began to spare in the prestigious ladies major league.  Eventually, she became a regular member and bowled a career high single of 440 in 1990.  Using this excellence, Brenda instructed in the Youth Bowling Council (YBC) at Queensway Bowl and was selected as an Instructor at the first Ontario 5 Pin Bowlers’ Association (O5PBA) bowling school in 1991.

As her average improved, Brenda was introduced to the provincial championships or the Open conducted by the O5PBA.  Brenda first qualified in 1982 and, overall, bowled in 18 Opens and coached on two other occasions.  She was a member of the provincial championship Central Ontario mixed team that won the Ontario title in 2000.  They advanced to the national finals and, despite leading to the qualifying round, lost two games to Alberta to win the silver medal.  They did leave their mark as they set a single game record of 1587, and that score stands to this day.  However, near the end of this qualifying process, Brenda could visualize the potential of a Senior Open and, prior to O5PBA approval, Brenda was required to put together a format and find a sponsor.  With Hall of Famer Sid Morris as her sponsor, Brenda’s presentation was successful and her vision became a reality in 2004. Brenda was on the first championship team and the Senior Open was born and has become an integral part of the provincial championships and also extended the career of a large group of aging bowlers.  As well, in this division, Brenda qualified nine more times for a total of 29 Open appearances.

Brenda also enjoyed success in the Master Bowlers’ Association (MBAO).  She was a tournament division member for 16 years, bowling 946 games and a 228 lifetime average.  Nationally, she was on an MBAO senior team that bowled in Calgary in 1998 and, at that event, won the award for the high scratch total.  Again, in 2007, Brenda bowled on a second senior team in Surrey, British Columbia.

While she was excelling on the lanes, Brenda also began her volunteer involvement.  Working with Hall of Famer Brian Kaye, Brenda became secretary of the Lake Ontario zone and, after three years, became the president for two additional years.  Ultimately, the Lake Ontario zone merged with the Central Ontario 5 Pin Bowlers’ Association (COBA) and Brenda was secretary for 17 years as well as co-ordinating the average book, the lottery program and collecting record scores.  In recognition, from 1990 to 2008, Brenda was recognized by the O5PBA as Secretary of the Year honours on seven occasions.

Brenda joined the provincial board in 2008 and continues to this day as the Marketing, Publicity & Communications and Audit Chair.  In several other roles, Brenda has been a Judge of Play at the Open, co-chaired the hosting of the 2014 Youth Challenge nationals, wrote the second 25 year history of the O5PBA and spent countless hours to produce all the team rosters for the 50th Anniversary of the Open in 2014.  Brenda has also coached four national Inter-Provincial teams and in 2019, coached the Ontario team to a silver medal win in Saskatoon.

Away from the lanes, Brenda has assisted the various bowling organizations through her employment.  Following 28 years at Noxzema, Brenda moved to Jergens in 1992 and, over the years, has donated countless prizes to the O5PBA, the MBAO and Special Olympics Ontario.

Brenda has been inducted into the COBA Hall of Fame, received a 30 year service award from the O5PBA, was recognized with a volunteer citation from the City of Mississauga and also the provincial Syl Apps award for her contribution to amateur sport.

Today, Brenda lives in Mississauga and remains close to her son, Jeff, and grandchildren, Jacob and Haley.  Not bad for a lady who survived a bomb blast, allowing her to build her chosen sport of five pin bowling.