Iowan Tom Hess is one of nation's best bowlers. His career has been full of ups and downs.

Tom Hess walks through the garage of his Granger home on an April afternoon and stops at a picture that’s hanging on a side wall. The photo, surrounded by a ladder and some racks with boxes, shows Hess holding the 2011 United States Bowling Congress Masters Champion trophy and celebrating his monumental victory.

“Whoever took that picture was in the right spot at the right time,” Hess said. “Because you can see I get ahold of the trophy and I just turned to the crowd and I just screamed, ‘Yeah!’”

The photo, part of a welcome message for the 2012 Masters, is one of the 54-year-old Iowa native’s favorite possessions. It’s from perhaps the biggest moment of his bowling career, when he captured a championship at one of the most prestigious events on the Professional Bowlers Association schedule.

“You can see the tears in my eyes,” he said. “I’m 41 years old and I’ve just fulfilled a lifelong dream. I’m a PBA champion.”

It was a dream that almost didn’t become a reality. Hess spent years grinding at tournaments and working odd jobs. He hoped to one day make a career in the sport. The victory helped catapult Hess, now a Hall of Famer, into one of the best bowlers in the world.

“He never gave up on that dream of getting better and better at this game,” said PBA commissioner Tom Clark.

Hess' wild career through bowling

Bowling has been an important part of Hess’ life since he first started rolling pins down alleys when he was 4 years old. The Indianola native grew up in a family full of avid bowlers including his mom, dad, grandpa, grandpa, aunts and uncles. Hess’ dad worked at Indian Lanes, an alley in their hometown. The perk allowed Hess to come in and bowl as often as he wanted, free of charge. He took advantage of it almost daily.

The hard work paid off. When Hess was 10, he got into a youth travel bowling league. Players in the league would hop from alley to alley around central Iowa, competing against other bowlers in their age division. Hess was among the best.

He picked up his first major victory when he was about 13. Hess went to a youth tournament in Kansas City, Mo., and took down the rest of the competition.

By 18, he was bowling in adult tournaments.

"I always wanted to be a professional bowler," he said.

Hess got that shot. He started his PBA career as a star on the regional tour. In 2003, he won the Midwest Region Rookie of the Year. A year later, he won his first regional title. Despite the success, Hess couldn't turn it into a full-time career. He had other responsibilities. Hess and his wife Sue, have two kids, daughter Megan and son Andrew. Paying the mortgage and putting food on the table was the priority.

Sometimes Hess couldn't afford to compete in a tournament. Sue says there were times when she worried if they'd be able to get by if Tom came home without any winnings. He always did, though. But the stress and the risk were too much. Hess had to put a career as a bowler on the back burner. He worked various jobs, delivering trench boxes and sod. He tried to find time in his schedule for events and opportunities to make some money bowling.

One time, Hess took a day off from his job at United Rentals to drive to Omaha for a qualifying event. After making the cut, he drove home, worked in the afternoon the next day, and got back in his car to head back for the rest of the event. He finished 18th. He did the same thing for another event in Kansas City that year.

Living in both worlds wasn't easy for Hess, but he did it for decades. He was far from focused on just bowling. His job sometimes interfered with his bowling. Hess sometimes dealt with costumers while he was in the middle of an event.

"Just focus on the bowling, that's what he needed and he never got it," said Hall of Famer bowler Jeff Richgels, a close friend of Hess.

Hess banked that his victory in the 2011 Masters, his first PBA Tour victory, would get him an exemption on the tour for two years. Hess had planned to quit working and spend all his time on bowling. But that fall, the PBA decided to get away from its exempt model. It was a crushing blow to Hess, who by that time was 41 and still spending time going back and forth between home and bowling events so he could keep working.

Hess and his wife, who works at Wells Fargo, tried to save up as much money as possible so he could one day go all in on bowling. Eventually, it got to be too much. Sue wanted her husband to pursue his dream and urged him to quit his job delivering sod. Tom wasn't sold until she drove him into the office one night. His boss, a friend of his, was there. Tom was told they needed someone who could focus on the job. And Tom needed to focus on bowling. He called Sue, who was driving home.

"He's like, 'Hey, turn around,'" Sue said. "I was like, 'OK, great.'"

His career was never the same.

"The thing that he did above everything else is stick with it, no matter what happened."

When Hess turned his attention to just bowling, his career took off. When he was 50, he joined the PBA50 Tour, for players 50 or older. He became a star. The victory at the Masters put him on everyone's radar. But his time on the PBA50 Tour helped his stock soar.

His first season, which was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, was in 2021. Hess shined by winning the season’s final two events, the Senior U.S. Open and USBC Senior Masters, both major championships, to secure the PBA50 Tour Player and Rookie of the Year honors. Only two other players, Norm Duke and Tom Baker, had done that.

Hess beat three Hall of Famers, including legendary bowler Pete Weber, on his way to the Senior Masters victory. In 2023, Hess won the Petraglia Championship and the Fort Myers Lightning Strikes Classic. The late career success was a huge reward for all the years of patience Hess endured.

"The thing that he did above everything else is stick with it, no matter what happened," Clark, the PBA commissioner, said.

Hess wonders what his career may have looked like had he gone all in on bowling sooner. But part of him is thankful for how it's worked out. Hess wonders if he would have been able to handle the success at such a young age. Hess gave up drinking after Sue gave him an ultimatum. He had gotten drunk, went to a casino on the way home from a tournament and lost "every penny I had."

Sue told him he could keep drinking or he could be with her and their son. He chose to quit and has been sober since 1997.

"I quit cold turkey that night," Tom said.

The decision has helped his personal life and his career. Hess believes staying sober gives him an advantage over some of his competitors, who may enjoy that part of life on the road. He spends his time at tournaments bowling, enjoying a nice dinner and then going to bed. Hess will sometimes be the designated driver for friends.

Life is as good as it's ever been for Hess, who is now entirely focused on bowling. He does commentary for BowlTV. During one of the broadcasts, Clark jumped on for what Hess thought was an appearance to talk about the upcoming PBA50 Tour. Instead, it was to let Hess know he was being inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame. Hess, known for his fiery approach at the alley, got emotional. The broadcast's chat space filled up with congratulatory messages from friends, fans and family who knew how hard Hess worked over the years.

"He got the credentials to be considered for the Hall of Fame in a very quick time," Clark said.

Hess' patience has paid off in so many other ways as well. He has contracts with equipment and jersey representatives, which adds to his income. Hess also brings in plenty of money from winnings. Sue said the goal in the past was to simply break even. But his career has turned into a money-maker recently, with Tom now earnning more than Sue.

Hess has even become a celebrity in the bowling world. During one family trip, he was recognized while they were at the top of a mountain.

"It's surreal, is the only way to put it," Sue said. "It doesn't seem like it's real. It's fast. To me, he's just Tom and he's always just been Tom."

But now, he's Tom Hess, bowling Hall of Famer. And he has no plans to quit, at least not anytime soon. Hess said he plans to continue doing some major events on the PBA Tour. He hopes to continue on the PBA50 Tour for at least another decade. After all, this is what he's been waiting to do for decades. Hess now finally has the chance.

"It's always been a dream," he says with a smile.

Tommy Birch, the Register's sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He's the 2018, 2020 and 2023 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa native Tom Hess is a Hall of Fame bowler. A look at his journey.