In N.C. State athletic circles, Howard Baum is the silent statistician who hunkers down between Wolfpack radio play-by-play announcer Gary Hahn and analyst Tony Haynes.

In bowling circles, though he isn't much taller than a tenpin at 5 feet 4, Baum has reached giant stature as owner of B&B Bowling Lanes in Fayetteville and as a longtime promoter of the sport.

For his "lifetime" of contributions at the local, state and national levels, Baum, 73, will be inducted into the International Bowling Hall of Fame on June 25 in Orlando, Fla.

His picture also will appear in the Bowling Proprietors Association of America wing of the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame in St. Louis.

That's an intriguing twist for a kid who grew up in Cleveland, bowled his first game at age 16 and kept throwing the ball in the gutter.

"I hate this game,'' Baum recalled thinking at the time.

But a few years later, while stationed at Fort Bragg, Baum and cousin David Blume realized a need for more entertainment than "going to movies and playing Putt-Putt golf."

They reasoned that a bowling lane might be the answer, although there were few centers in the state then.

Baum, a Penn graduate who studied at the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce, had a businessman's mind. So he and Blume borrowed $5,000 each and connected with former Durham Mayor E.J. Evans, who built a facility, giving birth to B&B Bowling Lanes in 1957.

In 1972, Baum became sole owner, expanded the "alleys" from 16 to 24 lanes, and he now has about 1,400 league bowlers and hundreds of casual customers rolling regularly.

"We didn't know what we were doing,'' Baum said, but 51 years later he acknowledges "it was a heck of an investment."

Baum also tried bowling again, got his game out of the gutter and lifted his average as high as 179.

Wanting to do more than throw strikes and make a living, he helped found the N.C. Bowling Association, has served for decades as executive director of the Carolinas/Georgia Bowling Proprietors Association and been chairman of the national convention.

He wasn't finished. In 2003, Baum helped create a Rising Stars youth tournament in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia that, in bowling lingo, was a strike. The events drew more than 1,000 young bowlers and have generated about $54,000 for student scholarships.

"He is one of the hardest-working, most dedicated and most enjoyable persons I've ever been around,'' said Sonny Frantz, who served on several committees with Baum. "He's so dedicated to any task; he will make sure it's a success."

At N.C. State, Baum ambles in wearing a red vest and a smile and greets folks with a gravelly twang while numbers are dancing in his head.

Keeping statistics, which he calls a hobby, is vital. Not only do they reflect success and failure, but also sports fans are nuts about numbers.

It all started in 1967, when then- State announcer Wally Ausley needed a spotter at football games and offered Baum -- whom he had met at a bowling outing -- $10 a game.

Baum later got into basketball and seldom misses a game, except to take a cruise. He has worked all but two football games in the past 25 years, with the blessing of his wife, Nancy, and two daughters.

Baum tallies, calculates and feeds Hahn information throughout the broadcast. Examples: Andre Brown has 103 rushing yards on 16 carries ... State has hit five of its past six shots ... The Pack hasn't scored in seven minutes.

"He makes me sound like a genius," Hahn said. "He has a sharp mind [and] is the most incredible statistician I've ever worked with. They send the stat crew to check with Howard to see if everything jived. That's how good the guy is."

At one Tangerine Bowl, the stats crew needed help, so Baum kept the offensive statistics for both teams in addition to tallying all of State's figures. But he says charting basketball is toughest and noted that UNC works him the hardest because of the Tar Heels' torrid tempo.

Though well beyond typical retirement age, Baum wants to continue rolling and bowling -- with the Pack and at the lanes.

"It keeps my mind active, and I enjoy what I'm doing,'' Baum said.