Jack Calkins has thought about putting together a scrapbook of his successful bowling career.

"When I'm gone, I want my grandkids to know what I've done," the 74-year-old said.

Not that he is slowing down at all.

Since having quintuple heart bypass surgery in 1999, Calkins is as active as ever. He still bowls in two senior leagues, tries to work out three times a week, delivers newspapers in the early-morning hours and can't wait to start playing golf again after a long winter.

And his bowling career still stirs so many memories.

"People probably viewed me as an overachiever," he said, "that maybe I was not as good as what I was trying to be. I didn't have the talent. I tried to make myself a better bowler."

Indeed, he was serious and self-taught. He had a 300 game, five 299s and an 802 series. From 1979-81, he competed five nights a week in several different houses, learning how to read lane conditions.

On weekends, he competed in the handicap Amateur Bowlers Association, which held events from Buffalo to Utica. He won three tournaments on that circuit.

In 1981, Calkins was inducted into the Auburn Bowling Association Hall of Fame. Jack's father highlighted the ceremony when he presented his son's jacket after traveling from Pennsylvania, where Calkins grew up.

There also were light moments for the man who was introduced to bowling as a pinsetter in 1947 and arrived in Auburn in 1966 to manage Nichols Department Store.

Calkins smiles when he talks about the innovative ball carrier with wheels he made out of wood. It housed his two bowling balls and other equipment, and drew stares from fellow bowlers.

It still sits in his bedroom.

He enjoys looking back on his two greatest accomplishments.

He had a six-week run on the Syracuse Bowls program in the 1970s, earning $5,535, and in 1995 finished in the top 24 in a Senior Professional Bowlers Association event, when he was 64 years old.

"I'm not aware of anyone in Auburn that made that much money on Syracuse Bowls, and as far as I know, I was the first one to go six straight weeks," he said.

On the show, he met color commentator Marty Piraino, the popular left-handed pro. Piraino later became a friend and mentor. The two often roomed together when Jack gave the 50-and-over senior tour a shot in 1993 at age 62, using his social security checks to pay his way.

"I knew I was just a league bowler," he said. "I wanted to go out and experience bowling with the pros, just to see if I could do anything at all."

Calkins bowled in 28 events in his six years on the senior tour. In remembering his best showing, the top-24 finish in Providence, R.I., he again smiles as he recalls tripping a four-pin on his first ball in the 10th frame of his last game. He was bowling with a competitor from Iowa, and that strike put Jack in 22nd place, while knocking the man out of the tournament.

In 1998, Calkins lost the zip to continue on the senior tour.

"I blamed it on old age, but as it turned out, I had a heart condition," he said. "I had no idea. I had played 27 holes of golf two days before my surgery."

Calkins was back bowling four months later.

Today his average, which was well over 200 in his prime, has slipped to 185 and continues to drop, to his frustration.

But not all of his competitive skills have abandoned him.

"I was most proud of the fact that I bowled anchor on teams for many, many years, and if we needed a strike in the 10th frame, I usually got it," he said.

"And I'm still doing it in the senior leagues."

So, Jack Calkins keeps going strong. He and his wife, Norma, will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary on May 28 with a Hawaiian cruise, which was a Valentine's Day gift from their six children.

And Calkins will continue to bowl and look back on fond memories that, most certainly, could fill a scrapbook.