Bowler Bill Mutart Brings the Gold Home to Bellbrook
September 10, 2025
July seems to be a very good month for Bill Mutart. In July 2024, he received top honors in the Michigan Senior Games Association qualifier for Bowling, which made him eligible to compete in the July 2025 National Senior Games held in Des Moines, Iowa. Shortly after Independence Day in 2025, he moved into his new Independent Living residence at Bellbrook in Rochester Hills. Now, he’s brought Gold home to Bellbrook. The community celebrated their new neighbor's achievement with an onsite reception last Thursday.
On July 28, Mutart, 92, a longtime resident of St. Clair Shores, won the Gold Medal in Bowling for the 90-94 age group. He says he began “seriously” bowling in 1968 when he played with the Detroit Classics. He was consistently ranked a top bowler in Metro Detroit between 1968 and 2019.
Competitive by nature, Bill prefers team sports, citing his lifelong affinity for fast and slow-pitch softball, volleyball, football, baseball, hockey, and track and field. Earlier this year, he retired from his pursuit of handball. Bowling remains his greatest athletic passion.
Bill and his wife, Mary, were married for 51 years. On their very first date, she watched him play hockey for the Detroit Edison Company at Olympia Stadium. They welcomed a son, Doug, and daughter, Julie, and over time, four grandchildren. Bill worked for Detroit Edison for 44 years. Mary passed away in 2014, but throughout her life, loved watching her husband play in a variety of sports settings.
A veteran of the United States Army who served during the Korean War, Bill was one of some 12,500 competitors over age 50 in 26 sports represented at this year’s National Senior Games. He brought five members of his family to cheer him on. “It was extremely exciting to watch this level of bowling. We all cheered for every strike and spare – and there were a lot! During the final game of the medal round, my husband couldn’t stop pacing, but Bill solidified the win with three strikes in the 10th frame. It was amazing!” Bill’s daughter-in-law, Sara Mutart, remembers. As for Bill, he said he never dreamed he’d be a national medal-winning athlete, but “it feels pretty good. And it was great to have my family there, rooting me on. Not bad for an old guy!”
On behalf of Trinity Health Senior Communities, congratulations on your Gold Medal achievement, Bill, and thank you for demonstrating the value of a lifelong commitment to health and wellness!