Photo credit: In golf, Artie Fink qualified for the U.S. Amateur Championship.
Editor's note: This is the third in a series about the Blair County Sports Hall of Fame's Class of 2024.
Written by Ken Love
for the mirror
Blair County native Artie Fink was an all-around athlete from an early age and was particularly successful as a bowler as a teenager.
He would go on to have great success in the sport, both state and nationally, but that might be enough for most people. Not so with Fink.
As an adult, he took up golf, and amazingly, Fink quickly became proficient at this sport as well, becoming a highly skilled golfer and eventually earning his place as the most accomplished golfer in Blair County history. He also became recognized as the best golfer in Blair County history. bowler.
From birth, Fink seemed destined to become a star in the sports world.
His father, Artie Fink Sr., was a standout wrestler at Hollidaysburg Area High School, winning both district and regional titles before competing in the state championship wrestling tournament. His mother Melody also comes from an avid sports family. Her father, Bill Noy, was one of the best bowlers in the area, and her brothers, Jim and Ed, were among the best high school athletes in Blair County.
Fink was active in football, baseball, wrestling, and bowling from an early age, but baseball was always his first love.
Nearing his graduation from Altoona Regional High School in 1988, Fink planned to accept an athletic scholarship to James Madison University, but local businessman Greg Dempsey offered to sponsor Fink's trip to the Pro Bowling Tour. Therefore, the plan was changed.
Although Fink was already a highly ranked bowler, one of the requirements for PBA membership at the time was to attend the week-long PBA School in Torrance, California.
“This school has been very helpful in getting young professionals on the right path,” Fink said. “Now that I have my card, I can now attend regional events in the eastern United States.”
Throughout the early 1990s, Fink excelled at the regional level, eventually qualifying for national PBA events held across the country, competing with the likes of Pete Webber, Marshall Holman, and Mark Ross. .
By 1994, he was at the top of his game, finishing third at the USBC Open Championship. That same year, he also placed third at the 1994 Cincinnati Open, earning $25,000.
But by the mid-1990s, the traveling lifestyle and life away from home began to wear on Fink.
He eventually bid adieu to his career as a professional bowler, but remains active as a local bowler. To this day, he continues to compete in area leagues and regularly participates in weekend tournaments throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.
In 2004 and 2006, Fink won the PA State USBC Scratch Singles Championship. He was also the PA USBC Scratch All-Event Champion in his 2004 year.
Amazingly, Fink recorded 90 certified 300 games and 55 certified 800 series in his 38 years of hosting bowling tournaments. These many impressive bowling accomplishments earned Fink his 2023 induction into the Penn State Bowling Hall of Fame.
If all these accomplishments weren't enough, Fink will eventually aspire to a second sports career that matches and in many ways surpasses his success in bowling.
Fink recalls that his first memory of golf was with his best friend Randy McKee, who moved from Altoona's football team to the school's golf team when he was in the 10th grade.
Fink never understood why he chose golf over other sports, but when his professional bowling career came to an end, things changed.
With a little more free time, Fink joined Sinking Valley Country Club and began learning the game with a quartet that included his father, his uncle Jim Neu, and his father Bill Neu.
“We teed off every Saturday morning at 6:45,” Fink said. “And it didn't take long for me to fall in love with the game. I was soon playing golf from sunrise to sunset.”
Most golfers who start playing golf as adults struggle to improve, but it didn't take long for Fink to work his way up to a single-digit handicap.
At the time, many top golfers lived in Sinking Valley, and they immediately took notice of Fink. Several members tried to help him early on, including Bobby Sweitzer, Greg Ferguson, and Eddie Strickler.
“I got to play a lot of golf with Artie when he first started playing,” Strickler said. “Without a doubt, he was the most talented local golfer I've ever seen. On top of that, Artie has the best competitive spirit of anyone I know. ”
Within a short time, Fink was competing for local championships, winning his first title at Sinking Valley in 1996. That same summer, he teamed up with Jim Rosebery to win the Downriver Classic.
From there, Fink never looked back.
By 2023, he had won 24 local club championships, eight Greater Altoona individual titles, six Central County individual championships, and an astonishing 59 local best ball titles — Iron Masters (13) , Sinking Valley (10), Summit (10), Downriver (9), Scotch Valley (8), Mount Union (5), and Park Hills (4).
Renowned local golfer Leonard Delbaggio has been a member of Sinking Valley for decades. He was there to witness Fink's progression from novice level to becoming the best in the area.
“When Artie started, you could tell he had a lot of talent, but what really impressed me was how committed he was to his game. “I did,” Delbaggio said. “Within a few years, Artie was competing with some of the best players in the area. Shortly after, he completely beat everyone.”
Fink's rapid rise in the golf world wasn't limited to the local scene.
At the state level, he won the Pennsylvania Four-Ball Championship title with Greg Ferguson in 1999 and his second trophy in 2018 with Anthony DeGol.
On the national level, Fink is one of the few Blair County natives to ever qualify for a USGA championship. In 2005 he competed in the US Public Links Championship held at Shaker Run CC in Lebanon, Ohio, and in 2010 he competed in the USGA State Held at Santa Rosa, California. Selected as a contestant for the championship.
But perhaps his greatest individual accomplishment was qualifying for the prestigious U.S. Amateur Championship in 2013, playing alongside future PGA stars Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, and Max Homa. right.
Fink's golf was a big influence on Scotch Valley's Anthony DeGol. The two have played many rounds together as championship partners in many local tournaments.
“The way Artie was able to pick up the game so late in life and compete at the national level so many times and reach an elite level is absolutely amazing,” DeGol said. “There was a long stretch where he beat his opponent by a big margin.”
DeGol, who has gotten to know Fink well in recent years, has observed several traits that have helped him.
“Competitiveness, grit, structured work ethic and immense talent,” DeGol said. “Artie always knows what his biggest weakness is at any given time and approaches it with his purpose.”
Although Fink is now 54 years old, he is still winning local championships and has his sights set on competing in more competitions in the near future. Once he turns 55, he will be eligible to compete in many senior championships at the state and national level.
But looking back over his 40 years in the sport, one particular incident may have lit the fuse for Fink's competitiveness.
When he was still a teenager playing on Altoona's football team, coaches usually gave each player a written review at the end of the season. At the end of his senior year, defensive backs coach George Geishauser gave Fink a report in which he made a huge impact, and that report still sticks with him.
“Coach Geishauser said I was a good defensive back, but if I had practiced a little harder, I could have been a great player,” Fink said. “Those words really resonated with me. From that moment on, I told myself I would never let anyone outdo me again.”
Fink's athletic accomplishments over the past 40 years are proof of that promise, and he is happy to be inducted into the Blair County Sports Hall of Fame.
“When you're young, you don't really think about it,” Fink said. “But the older you get, the more you realize what a huge accomplishment it is. It gives you chills.”
Blair County Sports Hall of Fame
Date: Saturday, April 13th
What: Blair County Sports Hall of Fame's 20th induction into the Hall of Fame.
Hall of Fame Inductees: Artie Fink Jr., Rachel Gehret, Mark Moschella, Tom Turcetta, Ali Williams
Hall of Fame Team: 2022 Hollidaysburg Little League Team
Community Service Award Winner: Jim Fee
Host: Bob Pompiani
Tickets: $100 each or $1,000 for a table of 10. Call Kathy Millward at 814-312-4753 or email kmillward@beardlegalgroup.com. Ticket forms are available at blaircountysportshof.com.
