CLEVELAND, Ga. -- His record will probably never be broken.

But Bill Hargrove, the world's oldest league bowler, has rolled his last game. The 106-year-old Clermont, Ga. resident died of congestive heart failure Monday at the Northeast Georgia Medical Center, just four days before his 107th birthday.

In May 2007 he was officially declared the World's Oldest League Bowler during a game in Decatur. Since then Hargrove bowled just about every Monday in Cleveland, Ga. with his team, Billy and the Kids.

Video: 106 Year Old Bowler

Hargrove surpassed the mark initially set by 105-year-old John Venturello of Sunrise, Fla., a certified bowler until his death in 1993.

"Unless someone can prove us wrong," said Mark Miller, a spokesman for the USBC, "we believe he's the oldest bowler in the world."

Just before he set the record, one of Hargrove's good friends asked him, "What is your goal in life?"

"I know that really seems like a dumb question to be asking a 105-year-old," said Tom Smith, who bowls with Hargrove. "But he told me, 'I want to be 106, so when I throw that first ball I'll be the oldest sanctioned bowler ever.' He really wanted to set the record. And he did it."

Hargrove lost most of his sight with the passage of time, but his love of bowling never waned. He took up the sport in 1924 and is still passionate about every throw.

"It's been a lifelong pleasure," he said. "I'll keep playing as long as I can physically handle it."

Actually, Hargrove was starting to wear down from the grind of having to play three straight games in the league format. But his teammates got him a lighter ball and that improved his scores and made it easier to keep going. Special holes were drilled into the ball at an angle, making it easier for him to handle with his arthritic finger.

Hargrove worked around his other limitations.

Since he couldn't see the pins at the far end of the lane, he relied on a teammate to tell him which ones were still standing after his first throw. Hargrove couldn't get much speed on the ball, so he had to rely on precision to knock down as many pins as possible. Occasionally, he dumped one in the gutter. More often, he put the ball right where he was aiming.

"He's a joy to be around," said Flo Burrell, a teammate who started bowling ten years ago at Hargrove's urging. "To be 106, it's amazing that he's still here, much less being able to bowl."

Eighty-one-year-old Hubert Davis has been a teammate for three years. He ws usually the one leaning in close while Hargrove felt for his ball, telling him what pins were left and sometimes giving him a bit of advice.

"This is what keeps him going," Davis said. "He lives to bowl."

For much of his life, Hargrove played a version of the game known as "duckpin bowling," which is played with a smaller ball, minus the finger holes, and allows three throws per frame instead of two.

As duckpins faded in popularity, Hargrove took up the more popular form of bowling in 1970 -- and just kept right on going. It helped him cope with heartache, such as his wife's death in '73. It gave him something to look forward to when retirement became a little lonely.

"I love it," he said. "It puts you on trial as far as your ability. And your ability comes and goes. I'm fighting it all the time."

He lead a team known as "Billy and the Kids," which includes the 77-year-old Smith and his 76-year-old wife.

"We're kids compared to him," Smith quipped. "He's always telling us, 'You guys are barely out of diapers."'

"Oh, shoot," he says at one point, having squandered the chance to pick up a spare by knocking down the only pin standing. "I have a problem with those singles."

Hargrove's highest score ever, he once bowled a 257. At the age of 89, he carried a 170 average in league play.

"I don't want to be embarrassed about my bowling," he said. "When it gets embarrassing to me, that's when I'm going to quit."