FRAME OF MIND; BOWLERS WRACK UP PHYSICAL EXERCISE, MORE ACTIVE SOCIAL LIVES BY HEADING OUT TO THE LOCAL ALLEY FOR SOME PIN ACTION. AND, UNLIKE OTHER SPORTS, IT CAN BE ENJOYED WELL INTO THE LATER YEARS OF LIFE.

Byline: Carol Bidwell Daily News Staff Writer

Margaret Kelly approached the foul line slowly and deliberately, sucked in a deep breath, took a few quick steps and let the shiny black ball fly.

It gave a bounce, then slowly but surely rolled toward the 10 pins at the end of the lane.

Thwack! Rumble, rumble, rumble.

Two pins still stood, but Kelly made quick work of them with her next ball, then sauntered back to join the other women in her church-sponsored bowling group at the Brunswick Matador Bowl in Northridge.

``Aged to perfection'' proclaimed the yellow and red lettering on her white sweat shirt - and the grin on her 90-year-old face bore out the motto.

``My average (92) used to be higher,'' lamented the Sherman Oaks woman. ``But it's kind of slowed down along with me.''

Kelly is one of thousands of Southland seniors who find bowling a few games each week not only helps keep them physically fit, but also keeps them alert mentally and active socially.

``It's good exercise, gets you out of the house,'' Kelly said. ``Anything's better than sittin' home. You deteriorate so fast.''

A 1993 study done for the now-defunct National Bowling Council concluded that 85 percent of the American population said they had bowled at least once in their lives.

Kelly is not the only one who's figured out that an afternoon on the lanes can go a long way toward staying healthy. Unlike most sports, bowling is one activity that seems to gain in popularity as we age, especially after retirement, when we're looking for exercise that's fun and fulfilling.

A follow-up study, which focused on seniors, found that more than 79 million Americans over age 50 said they bowled at least once a week; by 1996, that figure had risen to 91 million. Of the senior bowlers in the 1996 study, 3.4 percent were between the ages of 50 and 54, but an ever greater 4.1 percent were 65 and over.

And increasing numbers of older people will hit the lanes in the future, predicted Mark Miller, spokesman for the American Bowling Congress.

``There's going to be a huge growth of baby boomers who are going to age soon,'' Miller said.

And those bowlers will likely be healthier for their age than nonbowlers, said Patrick Fontane, director of the Office for Research on Aging at the St. Louis College of Pharmacy. He's been studying the health and fitness levels of more than 12,000 participants in the annual Senior Olympics since 1989.

Medical experts say bowling encourages good hand-eye coordination, and exercises muscles in the legs, back, shoulders and arms. (Much of the muscular benefit occurs on the side used to throw the ball, but an ambidextrous bowler can get twice the benefits.)

One of Fontane's findings - to no one's surprise - is that senior athletes, no matter whether they participate in a vigorous sport like tennis or a less strenuous pastime like bowling, are in significantly better health than their sedentary counterparts. Most medical experts say a half-hour a day of moderate exercise can add years to the lives of seniors.

Many of the seniors Fontane has studied were athletic in their younger years, and renewed their commitment to having a better-running body once the pressures of earning a living were behind them.

``The interesting thing is more than half of these people began a fitness activity after age 50. We call them healthy and wise,'' he said. ``Their primary motivation is to maintain their health.''

Kelly didn't start bowling until she was 77, after she retired as a clerk for a local company that repairs small appliances.

Widowed at age 43 with five children age 4 to 17 to raise by herself, she never had much time for recreation.

Now, besides bowling, she plays cards with her friends and walks to the pharmacy, the supermarket and the bank. She trots along with such vigor that a security guard recently asked her if she was trying to elude a pursuer.

``I said, `No, I'm just walking home,' '' she laughed. ``When I walk, I don't window-shop.''

When she's not on foot, she's driving her coal-black, '66 Mustang, and loves to playfully jackrabbit away from high-powered cars when the light turns from red to green.

``These guys drive up in their fancy cars and they see this old lady and figures she'll go off at about 5 mph, and I leave them at the light. I can do 40 mph in nothing flat.''

So much for feeling old.

To keep that twinkle in their eyes, most senior athletes regularly exercise four to five days a week for 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 hours each session, Fontane said. And of every 10 Senior Olympians, eight or nine regularly compete in sporting events, including bowling leagues.

Aside from the exercise value, what's the lure of bowling?

It's not as dangerous as bungee jumping. It isn't as hard on the knees (and other body parts) as football. It doesn't require as much equipment as skiing, as much flexibility as gymnastics or as much stamina as tennis. And when it's cold and rainy, the lanes are warm and dry; when it's 100 degrees outside, the bowling alley is comfortably air-conditioned.

And most senior bowlers love to hang out with their friends - sometimes friends of many decades. A bowling alley, like Sam Malone's bar in ``Cheers,'' seems to be where everybody knows your name.

When Ruth Fox, 75, of Van Nuys, tripped while walking and dislocated her right shoulder, hurting it severely, her first thought was how it would affect her bowling.

``Now I'm bowling with my left hand because I don't want to give it up,'' she said. ``I enjoy being with the same people every week, people I know and like.''

That conviviality spreads beyond the bowling alley, too, Fontane said. Seniors involved in sports tend to be more involved with their families, with their church and community, and in volunteer work, clubs and organizations.

``They seem too busy to just sit in front of the TV,'' he said. ``We like to say that an old person is a young person in an old body.''

They may move a bit slower than their younger counterparts, and their approach and delivery may be a bit more halting than in years past, but older bowlers seem to enjoy their sport - and life in general - just as much as they did when they were young.

Thomas Giannettino, 74, of Woodland Hills said he bowls several times a week, plays tennis and golf, and works part time as a driver for a medical specimen company.

``Sitting home makes you old,'' he said with a satisfied smile as his ball scattered all 10 pins. ``This is what keeps you young.''

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4 Photos

Photo: (1--Cover--Color) On the cover: Margaret Kelly, 90, is a regular in the church bowling league at the Brunswick Matador Bowl in Northridge.

(2) Margaret Kelly, 90, of Sherman Oaks carries a 92 average in her church league at Matador Bowl.

(3) Lefty Ada Tesar, 72, plays in a senior league at Woodlake Bowl in Woodland Hills.

(4) Stewart Gabel, 81, of West Hills sends one down the lane at Woodlake Bowl.

Myung J. Chun/Daily News