Born in 1920, Jean Knauff, at age four, travelled with her family from London, England and settled in Toronto’s west end.

As a teenager, Jean enjoyed several sports, and especially baseball.  She met her future husband, Harold, while swimming in Lake Ontario.  They actually “bumped heads” and this meeting of the minds led to their marriage on November 1, 1941.  Harold enlisted in the army and was stationed at Camp Borden, just outside of Barrie, Ontario.  Following the war, Harold returned home and a daughter, Dianne was born in 1946.  In addition, Harold joined the GH Wood Company and was Manager of Contract Sales until his retirement in May of 1983 at age 69.

Jean raised her daughter at home and once Dianne was settled in school, Jean looked to the local bowling centers for some extra activity.  In those days, bowling centers were plentiful as New Toronto Bowl, Long Branch Bowl and Plantation Bowl were all close by.

Using her athletic ability, Jean took to her chosen sport and, from 1959, was a regular at the O’Connor Open, a member of the Toronto City Major League and also in leagues at her local centres.  She bowled so often that her husband, Harold, was called the “bowling widower” as Jean participated in league and tournament play.

In the Lakeshore Ladies Major League, Jean met lifelong friends, Betty DeCaire Sr. and Betty DeCaire Jr.  These ladies were recognized as senior and junior as they married brothers, an older Carle and younger Don respectively. Also, these ladies anchored a team that was sponsored by Rhea’s Flowers, a local lakeshore business.  After winning the league championship in their first year, the team moved up to the Toronto City Major League and were very competitive.  Overall, this threesome were among the top bowlers of the day and carpooled everywhere, including bowling and other family events.

Jean bowled in the Eastern Canadian championships as early as 1963 and 1964, in London and North Bay respectively.  For these two years, the championships were conducted by the proprietor’s association.  However, in 1965, the bowlers took over the event or the Open, as it is known.  From that first year, Jean qualified seven times on the ladies team and, on four occasions, was a singles representative from her York West zone.  She was a provincial team champion three times.  In 1965, she bowled nationally in Kitchener and, in 1972, Jean competed in Saskatoon.  Unfortunately, in 1970, the national finals were cancelled due to the controversy regarding the elimination of the counter pin.

With the beginning of the Master Bowlers’ Association of Ontario (MBAO) in 1964, Jean was an automatic entrant to compete against the best female bowlers in Ontario.  In just seven years, Jean won four tournaments including two events in that first year and finished with a victory in the year end tournament in 1970.  Overall, for 442 games, her average was 237.46.

In her career, as well as travelling to Saskatoon for a national championship, Jean also won the British Columbia Festival of Sports held in Vernon, British Columbia.  As well, Jean is one of just a few bowlers to have two sanctioned perfect games.  Bowled during the Saturday Ladies Major League, the first was at Bowlaway Lanes on March 13, 1965 and the second was bowled at Don Mills Bowl on January 20, 1968.

While Jean withdrew from competitive bowling due to a knee injury, she did continue to instruct at New Toronto Bowl for several years.  As well, in 2000, when the O5PBA recognized the top bowlers of the first 90 years of the sport, Jean was ranked number 63, a remarkable accomplishment as she had been retired for 25 years.  Her husband, Harold, passed away in March of 2003 and Jean lived until April 2009, enjoying her sports and her house, built by her father, on Thirteenth St. in New Toronto.