Chuck Bergseng (center) at his first national bowling tournament back in 1965 in St. Paul, Minn.

Chuck Bergseng can barely walk. He hobbles with the aid of a metallic-blue colored cane, shuffling slowly to his destination. But his limited movement belies his true athletic ability.

The man can bowl.

At 83, Bergseng’s bowling average is 200 — as of this week according to Lava Lanes league organizers — and he still drives to venues around the Northwest to compete in bowling tournaments.

“I don’t let my body dictate what I can and can’t do,” says Bergseng, his voice rings with enthusiasm and fills his quaint east Bend home, where deer and antelope heads hang from the wall. “My wife’s on my case about it (bowling) all the time, but I just do it.”

Bergseng, a Bend resident since 1948, has been bowling for more than 50 years. As announced at a ceremony for his July 24 induction to the Oregon State USBC (United States Bowling Congress) Men’s Hall of Fame in Lincoln City, Bergseng has competed in no fewer than 44 state tournaments. He was a member of the Oregon all-star team 15 times. And his sanctioned high games include two perfect games of 300, along with a 298 and a 296.

Admitting that his memory fails him on exact dates, Bergseng recollects having been voted by the Bend Bowling Association its bowler of the year, bowler of the decade and bowler of the quarter-century.

And for all of his achievements and accolades, he was selected earlier this year for the Oregon Hall of Fame.

“I can’t bowl like I used to bowl,” notes Bergseng. “I take four steps up and four steps back and sit down.”

Bergseng suffers a long list of ailments: two nerve diseases that affect his ability to walk, back problems and then some.

“But I can still bowl,” he says with a sly smile. “I’m still a scratch bowler (requires no handicap in competition). … I’ll probably die bowling.”

“He’s in two hall of fames: Oregon Hall of Fame and doctor/patient hall of fame,” jokes Bergseng’s longtime friend and fellow bowling enthusiast Doug Gray, 68, of Powell Butte. “He’s had 23 or 25 operations and he needs about six more operations and he’s still hangin’ in there. … What a great guy. In his day, in the (19)70s and ’80s, bowling, there was no money in it. He could’ve been on a pro tour. … He’s just amazing.”

Bergseng’s wife, Barbara, introduced him to bowling. She bowled for more than 50 years, but she quit about 10 year ago due to physical limitations.

“I’m the one that got him started,” notes Barbara, “and he doesn’t quit.”

There’s nothing like a little friendly competition to motivate one to improve.

“I practiced and practiced, trying to beat her,” Chuck Bergseng recalls of the beginning of his bowling career. “Which I did do. I finally beat her.”

The Bergsengs have been married for 64 years. They have two sons and a daughter and are now great-grandparents. Chuck was a truck driver until he retired at 59.

Over the years, Chuck has traveled to compete in bowling tournaments all over Oregon, throughout the West, and in places as distant as Florida and New York. He has made countless bowling trips to Las Vegas, as well as to Reno (where, by the way, he spent this past weekend competing in a slot-machine gambling tournament. He says he placed fifth out of 450 contestants and won a cash prize of $200).

A native of northern Minnesota, Bergseng left his hometown of International Falls when he was young to serve in the Navy. It was during that time that he met Barbara.

The couple has lived in a few different homes around Bend, including 42 years just off the 14th fairway of Bend Golf and Country Club. Five years ago, they settled into their Snowberry Village home in east Bend. There, Chuck maintains lush flower gardens. In hunting season each year he travels into the woods to stalk deer. He says he plans to visit Africa next summer to hunt on a safari with a friend.

Chuck belongs to numerous hunting clubs and associations. He also belongs to the American Legion and is a member of the Knights of Columbus at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Bend.

He still bowls two to three nights a week at Lava Lanes in Bend as part of a Thursday night league and a senior Monte Carlo night.

“For Chuck to average 200, it just blows me away,” says Gray. “I used to practice with him every day. We would go down to Lava Lanes and bowl six to eight games a day and he was tough to beat, and this was the early ’90s. Even today we are bowling. … He can spin the ball, except that it hurts his arm so he doesn’t do it. … Chuck, at his age, he can still do anything with the ball.”

“His life is bowling,” says Barbara. “Really, I’ll tell ya.”