Bo-Fish Bowling News: the Positive Source for Bowling Worldwide

Wright In The Heart Of Texas
by Don Wright

Article Archive #2

December 2004
November 2004
900 Series
September 2004
August 2004
July 2004
May 2004
April 2004
March 2004
How Did We Ever Make It?

December 2004

There’s an old saying that goes, “You can always tell a Texan, you just can’t tell him much.” Well, I was told that I might have omitted a few Texans from my research piece of last month.

I got an e-mail from Texan John Jowdy who reminded me that, “I am a TEXAN, have always been a Texan, and, like all real Texan, will always be a Texan.”

So my statement on the Mort Luby Sr. award is obviously incorrect since John won it in 1991.

He also reminded me that Gary Dickinson and Norm Duke are Texans and made quite a name for themselves early on in their careers in Texas.

Once again John is right. Gary lists his place of birth as Paris, Texas and Norm as Mount Pleasant, making them Texans by birth.

My error was a common one because I used what is listed, and presumably provided by the individual, to the various media guides, bowling encyclopedia and web sites. Dickinson is listed as Edmond, Oklahoma, Duke is listed as Clermont, Florida, and Jowdy is listed as El Cajon, California.

If you ask people where they are from they usually say, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angles, or what ever city they come from. Ask a Texan where he’s from and he says Texas. That’s usually good enough.

I have a good friend who was born and lived in Texas until his eighteenth birthday and he then joined the Army. He has not returned to Texas since that time, over 42 years. We write and stay in touch and he still maintains he’s a Texan.

I guess he is. But he registers his car in Virginia, votes there, owns property and pays taxes there and when you ask him where he’s from he says, “Woodbridge, Virginia.”

Syndicated columnist Molly Ivins wrote, “Texas is an un-self-conscious place. Nobody here is embarrassed about being who he is.”

I guess if a person feels so strongly about being a Texan, and desires to live someplace else, when that person is inducted into a Hall of Fame under their name should read TEXAS. Sort of like Ernie Schlegel did when he said he was from the USA.

As they say in the Texas legislature, “Why they don’t do that makes for a lot of uncertainty that’s not clear in my mind.”

But, I do thank that ol’ cowboy in El Cajon for keeping me straight. Thanks, John.

On a different subject – Bowling in the ball park! Call me a purist. Call me an old foggy, or whatever, but bowling doesn’t belong in a ball park, or anywhere else outdoors. We are supposedly working hard to make bowling respectable and accepted as a sport. Why do we turn to gimmicks? Granted the PBA got about 5,000 butts in a seat, but so what? Having a practice setting in the bullpen and driving the bowler out makes our sport look like some kind of a circus act.

The PBA may want to change the image of bowling, but let’s not do it this way. We look foolish and far from professional. Bowling is an indoor sport, live with it.

While I am on the PBA I have to ask the question, “Why do you mike the bowlers?” It seems like a really good idea to mike the bowlers so the folks watching can hear their comments in good and bad situations. But, Pedersen and Ryan never shut up. Both Voss and Himmler were vocal as was Patrick Allen the week before, but the two talking heads in the booth go on and on like the energizer bunny. Geez, guys, take a breath!

I read an article that stated the Indianapolis Star was dropping bowling because it was a recreation and not a sport. I remember Jim Rome, a sports talking head, taking on bowling in a similar manner and it was a topic of discussion on every Internet message board pertaining to sports. Most of those topics turned nasty and questioned Rome’s heritage, but by far they considered bowling a sport.

The action of the Star was a great opportunity for the Bowling Writers Association of America, as the professional body for bowling writers, to weigh in and provide the Star with accurate information to protect the sport of bowling and its scribes.

In a recent column by award winning columnist Dick Evans, he wrote, “In my opinion, the entire bowling industry is guilty of not spreading the word about the PBA, or for that matter, the attributes of the sport itself.”

I couldn’t agree more with Evans. But, when papers like the Star and sports editor’s drop the sport, than the voice of the writers, the BWAA, should stand up, weigh in and work on behalf of the sport and the scribes.

But, I refer back to what I wrote earlier in this column. Maybe that paper watched that PBA event in a ball park and didn’t see the sport in it.

G.G. and I send a very Merry Christmas from the Wright house to you and yours. Please keep our service men and women in your thoughts and prayers.

There’s a writer out there who loves to say, “That’s journalism 101.” Since my degree is in criminal justice, not journalism, I have made a folder labeled Journalism 101 and keep his critiques handy as research.

Now research I enjoy. While working on my degree we had to do a lot of research into constitutional law, supreme court decisions and matter affecting probation, parole, juvenile justice and corrections. Most students hate research. Not me. Research opens so many doors and in my mind works like a history lesson.

So, I did some general research as well as bowling research and thought I would share some of the interesting tidbits I found.

· The WIBC was founded in 1916. A gallon of milk sold for 36 cents and you could buy a three bedroom house for $2,875.

· The Aleda E. Lutz VA Medical Center in Saginaw, Mich., was established in September 1950 and is dedicated in honor of Lt. Aleda E. Lutz, U.S. Army Nurse Corps, a distinguished female veteran, avid bowler and member of the Saginaw WBA.

· Dagwood Bumstead of the comic strip Blondie was inducted into the Greater Detroit Bowling Association Hall of Fame.

· The first 700 series in WIBC was rolled by Marie Clemensen of Chicago. She rolled a 712 during the 1934 WIBC Tournament and the record held for 38 years.

· The first 300 bowled in a WIBC Championship was rolled by Lori Gensch of Milwaukee. She bowled the perfecto at Cactus Bowl, Tucson, Ariz., May 7, 1979.

· Pennsylvania has 404 bowling centers. Rhode Island has eight. Japan has 1,100.

· In 1929 Skang Mercurio bowled 65 consecutive errorless games, missing the tenpin in the ninth frame of game 66. And, we think a good night is three clean games.

· The first woman inducted into the Texas Women’s Bowling Association Hall of Fame was Mrs. Helen Baetz of San Antonio in 1965.

· Forty-three women are in the Texas WBA Hall of Fame. Fifteen are there for superior performance.

· Chris Schenkel provided commentary for the PBA Tour for 36 years. Most of us would love to have him and Bo Burton back in the booth today.

· No Texan has ever won the Mort Luby Sr., or the John O. Martino award presented annually by the Bowling Writers Association of America.

· As of July there were 6,024 bowling centers in the U.S. The BPAA web site dated October 2004 reflects a membership of 3,300 centers.

· The average U.S. bowling center has 19.9 lanes. The average Texas center has 26.4 lanes. Nevada averages 32.6 lanes. The worldwide average is 20.1 lanes.

· During the 1996-1997 seasons YABA bowlers earned 806 awards for a perfect game. During the 2002-2003 season youth bowlers rolled 1,341 300 games. For the same time period the WIBC awarded 714 and 946. The ABC awarded 33,276 and 44,937. With a decline in membership across the board, have bowlers really improved that much?

· Of the 68 men in the Texas State Bowling Association Hall of Fame, 28 are deceased.

· There are three Texans in the ABC Hall of Fame and four in the WIBC Hall of Fame.

· Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas and current PBA Touring Professional, holds the ABC record for most 800’s in a year with 15.

· Celebrity Bowling aired in 1971. The 26 half-hour shows were filmed in three days. The host was Jed Allen.

· The Neiman Marcus Christmas Book is offering His 'n' Hers Bowling Center with a starting price of $1.45 million.

· Garden Bowl in Detroit, built in 1912, claims it is the oldest bowling alley in the country in its original location.

· Saratoga Lanes, Maplewood, Missouri was established in 1916 and claims to be the oldest bowling alley west of the Mississippi.

· Holler House in Milwaukee, Wisc, an historic corner tap, claims it is home to the nation's oldest bowling alley -- two lanes in the basement.

· Don Wright is one of the most honored political cartoonists in the country. He has won the Pulitzer Prize twice, the Sigma Delta Chi Award for Distinguished Service in Journalism twice, the Inter American Press Award three times, the Overseas Press Club Award five times, the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Journalism Award twice, the Reuben Award from the National Cartoonists Society twice, the National Headliner Award and the Best of Cox Award twice.

Based on the e-mail I have received I suspect that every bowling writer in the world is going to be writing about the same thing this month – another 900 series.

I won’t go into all the details about how Jeff Campbell bowled the 900 because I wasn’t there, and then again, neither was anyone else. All the particulars on how it was supposedly rolled have been well documented in other papers, on numerous web sites and public forums on the Internet. But, I’ll condense a few things for clarity. Campbell bowled unopposed, alone, in a different center from where his team actually bowls league, and rolled the 900 series in the first three games of a four game block. No league officer’s were present and no one from the league knew he was going to pre-bowl.

Another bowling columnist, Bill Herald of Florida had many questions regarding ABC rules and the league rules governing the league which bowls out of New Castle, Pa. and he posed those questions to ABC’s Jack Mordini. Herald wanted to know how ABC could honor this 900 series when it violated Rule 110b which states, “Individual unopposed bowling is prohibited, unless the league adopts a rule permitting this type of competition.” According to Herald the league had no such rule.

Mr. Mordini’s reply to Herald is condensed as follows - “As we explained, we did verify with league and association officials that all ABC and League rules were adhered to in the case of the 900 series. Bill, as you know from you reading of the rule book and your years of experience, rule 110b item 3 states, "Individual unopposed bowling- prohibited, unless the league adopts a rule permitting this type of competition."

While the league did not adopt a written rule to this effect it has, by policy and precedent allowed teams and individual bowlers to bowl unopposed. ABC's long standing policy in this area is that if a league adopts a practice that is not specifically prohibited by rule, through the establishment of precedent, then that rule is as binding as if it were listed in their rules. Our understanding is that the league has allowed individuals to pre-bowl unopposed at other times during the season. It is on this basis that the score was recognized.

Our responsibility is to review the facts and make a decision on what we know, not what we think might have happened. Based on what we could document we have no reason to believe any improprieties occurred.

As far as the Glenn Alison score is concerned we know the lane dressing distribution did not meet the patterns allowed at that point in our history.”

Personally, I think Mr. Mordini is wrong. Why have rules if the rules aren’t going to be enforced? The fact that the league allowed pre-bowling without a WRITTEN rule in their league constitution is a direct violation of the ABC rules each time they allowed it.

In my association that would be reason enough to disallow any scores ever bowled in violation of the ABC rule.

Further, most league constitutions, at least in my association, end with the following statement –“ In the absence of specific rules adopted by this league, appropriate ABC and WIBC rules will govern.” In other words we don’t make it up as we go along.

What Mr. Mordini is saying is we accept illegal behavior if everyone agrees with it.

I find his statement about Allison’s 900 series to be an absolute cop-out. We don’t even check lane dressing distribution anymore following honor scores. ABC Hall of Famer and award winning columnist John Jowdy calls them award scores. I tend to agree since there is little honor to them any more.

If we checked lanes after every 300, 800 and 900 series, in addition to the long hours and expense to the association, they probably wouldn’t accept half of them.

I don’t know Jeff Campbell and if he put together 36 consecutive strikes I envy him. I’m happy when I have 36 clean frames. It isn’t a question about Jeff Campbell, it’s a question of rules, integrity and the authority of the ABC.

This decision simply fans the fires of bowling’s nay-sayers. At a time when doping issues, performance enhancing drugs, and questionable records are found in all sports, bowling cannot afford to have this type of publicity.

If the rules can be violated by simply stating, “that’s they way we’ve always done it,” than the governing body needs to stand up and say, “That’s not good enough!”

I thought the ABC had committed one wrong with Allison, now they have committed another. They need to have the courage to stand up and correct those two mistakes.

I have written many columns about my love affair with the Olympics and as the years pass I still feel the same.

I have said over and over that I would love to see bowling as a medal sport, but I doubt seriously if that will ever happen.

I once asked the question, would it be a summer game, or winter? After watching the opening ceremonies of the 28th Olympiad in Athens I believe it would have to be a winter game. More countries competing in winter games would likely have a bowling center somewhere in their country. I think if you are an island nation in the middle of an ocean, have more than 100 islands and only two are inhabited and you send one athlete to compete in track and field, the odds are you don’t have a nation that bowls. Additionally, there are 28 sports competing in the summer Olympics compared to seven in the winter.

Geography was one of my best subjects in school, but I have to admit of the 202 countries that seemed to take forever to march in the opening ceremonies, there were many that I never heard of and had to look up. Some I did know, but because they changed their name 15 or 20 years ago it was all Greek to me. (Pun intended).

I have also written many times that I believe the Olympic games should be for amateur athletes only. I’ve heard over and over that amateurs from certain countries are really professionals and for us to be competitive we need to send “dream teams.” Well, I watched our professional basketball players against Italy in a pre-Olympic game and I wasn’t impressed with their game, or their body art.

So should we send Team USA, or the best high roller amateurs, or the Bowlers Journal All-American teams?

Golf is in a similar situation. Golf hasn’t appeared in the Olympics since 1904 in St. Louis. Some say the Olympics need golf, that golf doesn’t need the Olympics. I’m not sure that’s an accurate statement, but who would play, amateurs, or professionals. Ernie Els and world number one Tiger Woods are among several leading players who would prefer their sport to be restricted to amateurs only.

I am told that the USBC affords us a better chance of getting into the Olympics, but I doubt that, too. In 2002 I wrote, “We know bowling won't make the 2004 Olympics and don't count on 2008 in China. The IOC rules are that in order for new sports to be added old sports must be dropped. They are considering dropping baseball, softball and the modern pentathlon. Additionally, one of the oldest Olympic sports - Greco - Roman wrestling is on the chopping block.” Well, when members resisted the proposal to drop those sports they were given a reprieve. In fact, members voted to postpone any cuts of entire sports until after the Olympics in Athens.

Bottom line is that for bowling as well as golf to have any chance of being accepted by the IOC something else has to go and I don’t see that happening.

Then we have the problem with television. Would bowling get any coverage? Probably, but I doubt it would get a prime time viewing slot. It would probably be on about midnight and then a tape delayed segment that we already know the outcome. It’s hard watching something when I already know the outcome. Like the Titanic movie. I’ll watch a Texas Ranger baseball game all the way to the end even if they are behind by five runs in the first inning. It’s the uncertainty that makes it exciting. I never watch reruns of old baseball games, previous Super Bowls, or Mike Tyson fights. I know the endings.

Announcers for bowling would again be a problem. It’s difficult now. Imagine Bob Costas, or Katie Couric rambling on and on.

I have a high definition television so I was switching back and forth between NBC and NBC-HD because I got sick of the Sony commercial on HD. Mary Carillo was one of the announcers on the HD channel and when Bolivia marched in for the opening ceremonies Carillo said, “Remember what Mike Tyson said after he was beaten by Lennox Lewis? I’m just gonna fade off into Bolivia.” She got my vote for bowling announcer. A tennis star that follows boxing and is funnier than Randy Pedersen would do her homework and know the sport.

I just checked out the Olympic coverage on NBC and they have women’s beach volleyball on right now.

It ain’t bowling, but their uniforms are a lot more fun to see. So, I better close this out and get in my recliner and muse, or as us Texans say – ponder what bowling might look like.

See you on the lanes.

I read with interest the column in the Nevada based bowling newspaper Ten Pin Alley, written by Dick Stoeffler entitled S.O.S: Please Save Our Sport!!

The article, based on the 1997 article that appeared in the Dallas based Stars and Strikes, is an opinion based piece on the decline of professional bowling. In the lead the article states, “Like a poison with no known antidote, scoring has contributed to the decrease of pro membership, destroyed sponsorships, severely affected event entries, and worst of all turned the public perception of the best pro bowlers in the world into what appear to be only average players who roll scores no higher than top amateur league bowlers.”

Wow! I didn’t know me and my league bowling friends were destroying the PBA.

As the great tennis star John McEnroe always said, “YOU GOT TO BE KIDDING ME.”

The article had Jim Goodwin, Norm Duke, Brian Voss and Mike Edwards opining on what needs to be done to save the sport and put integrity back into scoring. Now, I greatly respect all these gentlemen and I know Goodwin personally, and have watched Duke, Voss and Edwards all of their careers. They have not only proved to be the best at their sport, they are gentlemen on and off the lanes and represent the sport in a positive and professional manner.

Okay, to begin with I agree with some of what they say and disagree with a lot. First, I think there has to be a differentiation between the ABC and the PBA, just as we differentiate between NCAA, Double A, Triple A, and professional baseball.

In youth baseball through college we teach our kids how to bat with aluminum and golly, they hit 400, 20 home runs, excessive doubles and triples and earn a scholarship. Based on their batting averages earned with aluminum they are drafted in the first round and handed a wooden stick and told hit one out. Now batting 220 and talking to himself I wonder if he asks, “Am I the cause of the decline in filling bleacher seats?”

How about the ace pitcher in college who finds himself in the majors with a strike zone half the size he has seen all his life. Now he can’t strike out anyone and his earned run average matches the hat size of Barry Bonds.

It’s amateurs doing very well only to wake up to the reality of the professional ranks.

Until recently the prize money wasn’t a real incentive for some bowlers to give up high roller events to turn professional. I suspect, don’t know for sure, that Rudy Kasimakis probably made more money as an amateur than he has as a professional. Rudy, one of the top amateur bowlers in the country hasn’t done all that well as a pro, averaging about $25,000 a year.

Amateur bowlers shoot the shot they are given and most centers find a shot the bowlers like and leave it that way forever. It’s natural that league bowlers figure it out and have equipment and the game for their favorite center. Most shoot better there than at the ABC state and national tournaments. And, they shoot better locally than on the road.

The pro’s on the other hand are told their lane pattern, have more equipment, better laid out and spend hours working on their game, mostly free of charge. So, I may have a great amateur game, but when you put me into the professional environment I can’t compete with the big boys. I’m like that college batter seeing his first stick of wood.

Duke always talks of heavier pins. For who? Amateurs, pros, or both? He says he doesn’t care what the league bowler’s average, yet the article claims the league bowlers are bowling better than the pros and that’s what’s causing the demise of the pro tour. Argh!

Voss says the difference between amateurs and pro’s is accuracy and spin. According to Voss, “you can rip the racks with knuckleballs” He says, “why should someone be able to go to a pro shop and buy a ball that enables them to do instantly what I worked my whole life learning to do?”

The answer to that is simple. Because they can.

The difference is the amateur can take that ball and bowl against Voss and my money is on Voss that he’ll win nine out of ten matches. Why, because Voss is a better trained athlete than most amateur bowlers. But, even a blind squirrel finds an acorn once in a while.

The comments about kids bowling and bumpers are really stretching ones opinion. Duke says his kids would probably throw a couple of balls and say it’s too easy. Come on! Bowling with your kids will be as fun as you make it. Believe me they will have more fun seeing pins fall down than seeing the ball go in the gutter frame after frame. Bumpers are like T-Ball. Kids like to hit the ball when they are learning the game of baseball and they want to knock down pins when they are learning to bowl.

Voss says, “I can’t teach my kids how to guess.” He shouldn’t be teaching that. He should be teaching the fundamentals, who better to do that. Taking the attitude that Duke and Voss reflect with their kids might be a reason for the decline in youth bowling.

Give me a break guys! We league bowlers are not tainting the professionals. You will beat us regularly, but we want to have fun, too. But, to say that destroyed sponsorships, decrease in pro membership, and public opinion of professional bowlers is the fault of us amateurs, I say again – THAT DOG WON’T HUNT.

See you on the lanes.

For the past few weeks I have been going to my favorite bowling center around noon everyday to get in some practice before traveling to Reno for the ABC Nationals.

I take two teams every year, all military retirees, and guys I have bowled with the better part of 25 years. We are all about the same age and when we get together we not only reminisce about the military, we talk a lot about bowling. One conversation in particular went from being pin boys to duck pins; candle pins and when and how we got started bowling. Although the American Junior Bowling Congress was formed in 1947, none of us had ever been a part of that organization.

All of us have bowled all over the world and many remember that long after most centers in the states had gone to automatic pinsetters, there were a lot of military centers still using pin boys.

Those of us that were pin boys recall the 10-cents per game we were paid and if we were really good we got a lot of tips. I recall bowling balls coming down the gutter after the matches were over with dollar bills and even a five once in a wile stuffed in a finger hole as a tip for good work. We loved it and got to bowl free when leagues were over.

I have taken my two teams to the ABC Nationals for the past 12 years and I hope we can do it for many more years to come.

One of my team members, Don Miller, has been a bowling buddy for nearly thirty years. We were having a discussion about the ABC tournament and we both had similar feelings for that event above all others we participate in. “I get excited walking into the ABC Tournament,” he said. I do, too. There is something about the entrance, the National Anthem, the history and meaning of that great tournament.

I usually attend the Bowling Writers Association of America convention and part of that is the ABC Hall of Fame induction and I get the same feeling seeing the greats of the sport introduced and escorted down the center isle.

I don’t care how long I bowl the ABC Nationals will always rank as the best event and my guys are ready for Baton Rouge.

Recently I read several articles about putting integrity back into scoring, that too many people are buying “hook out of the box balls,” and the scores are inflated. I have written many columns about this topic, but after much thought and consideration, I say – “get a life!”

There are two types of bowlers, amateurs and professionals. There should be two types of scoring criteria. I, as an amateur, know I am not skilled enough to compete with the professionals on their lane condition. It has nothing to do with my equipment, it has to do with my training, dedication, knowledge of ball drilling, and reading lanes. It has to do with hours and hundreds of games of practice.

What difference does it make if league bowlers have an inflated average? What’s the big deal over sport bowling? The PBA uses several difficult patterns, but they don’t use the sport pattern. Why do the league bowlers have to feel guilty if they bowl on the shot given them? The sport pattern isn’t used in state and national events, yet bowlers who travel and have never bowled in that particular center seem to figure it out.

It’s time to give the league bowlers a break here. Yes, they have a softer shot. So what? We install bumpers for kids. Purists say that spoiling them. They have to learn how to bowl and bumpers don’t teach them the proper way of playing the game. Geez…

I watched the NCAA bowling out of Houston and I wasn’t impressed. If bowling is so easy why were there so many missed spares? If bowling is so easy, why were there so many top professionals at the PBA Tour Trials? I don’t know of any team having rolled a 300 in the Baker format. If bowling is so easy, how do you explain that?

I find nothing wrong with a steady progression in the sport. We have open bowlers, league bowlers, semi-professionals, and professionals. We have local tournaments, state tournaments, national tournaments, high roller and professional events. If that open or league bowler wants to move up he, or she, should be prepared for a more difficult experience. But, for some of these coaches, writers, and so called experts to moan and groan that inflated scoring is the demise of bowling and bowlers, I say that dog don’t hunt.

Times are changing. We don’t have pin boys any more. We don’t use a pencil and paper to keep score. We don’t put lane conditions down with a mop or spray can. There’s no more chalk on the ball return and even open bowlers have more than one ball.

For many, May is the end of a long nine month league season. For one person it is the end of a thirty year love affair.

Since 1974, G.G. Wright has been the secretary of the Fort Hood Officers’ Mixed League. During that time she has watched the league grow steadily and also saw the difficulty associated with being part of a military community and watching your friends and neighbors go off to war. “We know that’s part of our life and we deal with it in many different ways,” she said. “But, I was an Army wife for 23 years and I know the friendships made through bowling and the companionship offered by the league members is very comforting.”

G.G. became secretary of the league when the former secretary, Lou Edmonds, an Army Major at the time, was transferred to the Pentagon. “We still send Christmas cards,” she said. “We were a small league at the time and other than my husband Don, only three of the original members are still part of the league.” Earl and Betty Trabue, both 79 and Bill Wood, 88, original members, still competing.

“Every year, for many years, we had a baby born to a league member. We had marriages, promotions, graduations and deployments,” she said.

The leanest time for the league was during the deployment for the first Gulf war when the league lost more than half of its membership. “We started the season with 18 teams and overnight we were down to eight. But, we kept the league together throughout the year and maintained a close relationship with the spouses of those deployed.”

Historically, the Fort Hood Officers” Mixed League has been a mix of retired and active duty bowlers. The retirees outnumbered the active duty, but recently that has changed, too. “The 2003-2004 season started out with about a 50-50 mix,” she said. “Unfortunately, many of the soldiers had to drop out and we lost two complete teams. When you’re the home to both the 4th Infantry Division and the 1st Cavalry Division you have to expect that soldiers will move on a moments notice.”

“Over the years my league has been fortunate to have new bowlers. People who had never before bowled, but heard about the league through friends, decided to try. I encouraged them to compete in local tournaments and some have, in fact, won first place money and trophies. Many now even compete in state events.”

“One of the things I am particularly proud of is our end of the year awards banquet. We have had an awards banquet each year for 30 years and it’s a thrill to see the faces of some of the bowlers who were unaware they had earned an award. Many leagues present their awards during bowling and have a league payoff usually at the bowling center. I never liked that. Half of the time you can’t understand what is being said when the award is announced and there is no formality to it. Having an awards banquet brings attention to the recipient and more meaning to the award.”

The league is unique in another way. Currently, there is one bowling center on Fort Hood, a 48-lane, smoke free facility known as Phantom Warrior Lanes. Phantom Warrior Lanes replaced two other bowling centers, Bowlers Green and Albee Lanes. The Fort Hood Officers’ Mixed league bowled in all three of the Fort Hood centers. “The league originally began at Bowlers Green and moved to Albee Lanes after it opened. “I guess people just wanted to bowl at the new center,” she said. However, after bowling at Albee for a few years the league decided they wanted to go back to Bowlers Green where they remained until those facilities were turned into office space and a new center was built.

In 2002, G.G. knew that something was wrong and for more than a year she sought help from her family physician to no avail. “I was beginning to think he thought I was a hypochondriac, or some woman that needed attention,” she said. But, in reality she was very close to death.

G.G. had always been an athlete. A world-class swimmer in her home country of Germany, an avid bowler, aerobics, walking and jogging were all part of her routine. Now she was losing weight, strength and ambition. Doctor’s informed us they had found a mass in the right side of her head and determined it was a tumor attached to the brain.

Surgery took nearly six hours and the doctor was not optimistic.

Release from the hospital simply meant the road to recover was just beginning. Her oncologist informed her that chemotherapy did nothing for this cancer and scheduled her for six weeks of daily radiation treatments. After six weeks of radiation, loss of her hair and no guarantees came another MRI. It was then she was told there was no evidence of the tumor. After a lot of tears the doctor said, “Now you can go bowling.”

In December G.G. entered a local tournament and captured first place in the team event and tied for first place in All-Events, earning the nickname “The Comeback Kid.”

In May she bowled in her 25th WIBC Nationals at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nevada.

“During that time my league was so supportive and between Don and me we kept things running as usual. But, I realize it is time to slow down and turn the league over to a younger person and retire.”

“I’ll continue to bowl on this league as long as I can. The love affair has always been the people, not the duties.”

I am not a golfer. I have never played the game, nor had any desire to play it. But, many years ago I happened to turn on a skins game and was able to watch Arnold Palmer for the first time. I was hooked.

Later I had an opportunity to read an article about Arnold Palmer and I learned more about him than just his ability to play golf and I thought to myself, he’s the Dick Weber of golf.

I watched the second day of the Masters this year and Arnold, age 74, was competing in his 50th and final Masters Tournament. Oh, his game isn’t that of a young man and he didn’t make the cut to play on the weekend, but he did much more for the sport in the two days he played than anyone else competing did.

Arnie’s Army was out in full force and they gave rousing ovations as he went from green to green. Ever the gentleman he tipped his visor, found time to shake hands, kiss some ladies, hug his grandson who was his caddy for the event, and shed a few tears several times throughout the day and in interviews after the tournament.

Golf is such a classy game. The two young men on the green with Arnold played out so he could have the last shot and the pending ovation. They removed their hats and shook hands and Arnold made his way to the gallery where he shook hands, hugged and kissed a few more ladies and went in to score his card. While walking up some stairs to the scoring table a young man who looked about 10-12 years old was on the stairs. He removed his baseball cap as Arnold approached and didn’t put it back on until Arnie was inside.

In an interview after the tournament Arnold said he would be back next year in some capacity. He added that for men his age as much as they want they can’t do the things they need to be competitive against the field of today. That may be true, but what Arnold Palmer brings to a tournament is more than score. He brings history and class and no tournament would suffer from the entry of Arnold Palmer.

Okay, having said that I hope the PBA was watching and took some notes. Bowling, like golf, needs the legends. Dick Weber should be in every major tournament the PBA has to offer. In fact, if anyone is exempt he should be first on the commissioners list. He is our Arnold Palmer. He brings out the bowlers, young and old, and makes you want to be part of this great sport. He gives it dignity and class.

When Dick Weber came to my community to open and dedicate our new bowling center the place was packed. Grandfathers brought their grandchildren and they treated Mr. Weber with fondness and respect. One man told me it was the first time he met Mr. Weber and he felt like he has known him for years. “He was so approachable,” he said.

He was approachable and he was dealing with a pretty tough audience that’s hard to impress, soldiers and their families from Fort Hood, Texas.

Dick’s game, like Arnold’s, isn’t what it was in his prime, but he’s still competitive. And, like Arnold, the game hasn’t been about scoring for a lot of years. Both of them are sport’s Ambassadors. To the fans it doesn’t matter what they score, just that they compete and they get to see them.

Bowling has a history of ignoring history. They have neglected the legends over the years in an effort market everyone, but bowlers. Remember the big posters of Michael Jordan, the marketing of truck racers, the World Wrestling Federation and of course that serious bowling promoter Mary Lou Retton.

Have you ever seen a life size poster of Weber, or Salvino, Anthony, or Carter? Let’s skip right over the legends. When was the last time you saw a life size poster of Pete Weber, or Walter Ray, Norm Duke and the stars of today?

The legends do so much for any sport. Think of how many fans went to see Babe Ruth right up to the end. Michael Jordan filled the seats of a less than competitive team. Nolan Ryan, Lee Trevino, Jack Nicklaus and the list goes on and on.

I don’t know what the future holds for a senior tour. I don’t know what the future holds for the PWBA. What I know for sure is that no tournament would be hurt by having Dick Weber in it. No organization would suffer by exploiting the likes of Mr. Weber.

The PBA can learn a lot from the PGA. Adding a little tradition, history, and legend might be a good start.

I look forward to the day when our PBA World Championship has the character of The Masters and I see Dick Weber walk down the approaches like Arnold walked up to the 18th green.

He deserves it, and so do we.

"It's not fun sometimes to know it's over," Palmer said. I imagine Weber will say the same some day. As a fan I know I will.

It’s been a while since I had anything to get me thinking about “Things to Ponder.” But, I recently received The Captain’s Nest, the ABC team captain’s update and there was an article on page 3 by Arlene Schwab in which she had to explain the difference between a.m. and p.m. She said some people were confused and that 11:40 a.m. is 20 minutes before noon and 11:30 p.m. is 30 minutes before midnight. Are there really people out there that don’t know how to tell time? How did they get to Reno?

A CONCEPT - I recently received my Sports Illustrated swim suit edition, read it, (yes there was a great article on fishing and Rick Reilly’s column), and then sent it in a package to some friends serving in Iraq. I don’t know exactly when Sports Illustrated started the swim suit segment, but at some point it became an edition of its own and recently they have actually incorporated athletes. Earlier it was just models. I guess the water in the background was to make you think of swimming, surfing, fishing, or something athletic.

I think Bowlers Journal International should have a swim suit edition. We could have the ladies of the PWBA inserted among some models posing at the modern bowling centers throughout the world in the center design issue. What do you think Mr. Dressel?

THE POSITIVE RESULTS OF FOCUS - The American Bowler All-American team had each of the team members give advice, or tips. Lonnie Waliczek said, “The biggest key to managing pressure is to stay with the present. When you think about the outcome you need, you get too many thoughts and lose your focus. I get really nervous at times, but I focus on executing the shot, on what’s directly in front of me at the moment.” Hum, I wonder what he was focusing on in the 10th frame at the Earl Anthony Classic and the Medford Open?

ANOTHER CONCEPT – I have a great friend named Jerry Northrop. He and his wife Dee have traveled and bowled with G.G. and I for more than 20 years. He’s been my doubles partner and teammate in all state and national events and on occasion we have done well together. But, more importantly we have a great time. We always incorporate a vacation with each tournament. It’s sightseeing, flagrant tourism (cameras, shorts, sandals), good food, and most of all laughter. We have come to realize that bowling is part of the trip, not the trip is part of bowling. We do the best we can on the lanes, but it’s the fun of the trip, the good food and drink and the companionship of great friends that makes it all worth while. What a concept!

WEB SITES – I commend people with good looking, up to date web sites. They can be informative and greatly assist people, but only if they are up to date. I recently went to a state web site and the information on it was outdated by as much as two years. I know there are a lot of people who will have to be taken kicking and screaming into the computer age, but come on folks, if your gonna have a web page make it meaningful and current. And, that includes me.

IS IT A SPORT? – I turned on my sports channel and what did I see? Poker. I watched because I was curious. Most of the people playing were non-Americans. Some were drinking beer and one, or two were drinking what was probably whiskey. I don’t know who pays for that time slot, but if the cost of television was the downfall of the PWBA, poker must have a heck of a backer.

WHAT’S WRONG WITH BARNES? – I have watched Chris Barnes on the Southwest Regional Tour and the National Tour and I am starting to feel sorry for the guy. In 2000 he made 12 telecasts and didn’t win a title. He has more second place finishes than titles. What’s his problem?

Barnes isn’t some guy who bowled well in leagues and tried out for the tour. He had an excellent collegiate career being a two time All-American and Collegiate Bowler of the Year. He had a successful four year stint with Team USA and won 4 gold medals in 1997. Yet, he just can’t get it going on television.

He’s making good money, earning points, has a great average and could be the sports Golden Boy. He’s educated, articulate, dresses well and probably has the best mechanics out there. But, Hall of Fame careers are not made on second place finishes.

IT’S THE BALLS STUPID - Tom Clark’s most recent "Messenger On-Line" column told us the woes of today’s bowling balls and people jumped at the opportunity to agree with him. That is everyone but me. This is what I wrote to the Editor of BJI.

“I too, enjoyed Clark's Messenger even though I don't necessarily agree with him. Yes, I think bowling balls have greatly helped the league bowler, but I think lane conditions have a much bigger impact.

If it was just the balls why aren't the pro's averaging 250 and better? Lane patterns.

If it is just the balls, where are Parker Bohn, David Ozio, Amleto, and many of the big guns of just a few years ago?

If it's just balls why did Rudy Kasimakas do so well in high roller and can't do anything on tour?

Until proprietors quit trying to save money on lane maintenance and dressing, and as long as they are looking at filling their house, adult bumper bowling lane conditions will prevail. You can pay $200. plus for a bowling ball and a minimum wage dude with an empty lane machine can change your life.”

How Did We Ever Make It?

I was born in 1938 and as I get ready for social security I wonder how I ever made it this far.

I grew up in an agricultural and dairy farm area of Upstate New York. We drank milk directly from the cow. When we didn’t get it directly from the cow our milkman would leave us milk on the porch only if our door was locked. Otherwise he simply entered the house, put the milk in the refrigerator and left.

The milk we got in the bottle had about three inches of pure cream on the top. My grandmother would scoop that off the milk and make one of the sweetest concoctions you ever tasted. She then poured that over the top of blueberries, raspberries, or whatever was in season.

We would take that out to the rockers on the porch, both of which were painted with lead based paint. Everything was painted with lead based paint in the ‘40s and ‘50s.

We had a hearty breakfast nearly every morning. We had eggs from the hen house, or from the ground where the ducks laid them. My brother in law was a pig farmer and we had plenty of smoked and honey cured ham as well as thick slabs of bacon.

Sunday was the formal family supper. It could have been called dinner because we usually had that meal earlier than the rest of the week. Sunday supper was always a pot roast, or chicken. The pot roast was bought, the chicken we had raised. There were large bowls of mashed potatoes, rich brown or chicken gravy and always enough to mop up with slices of fresh bread, or biscuits. There was corn on the cob dripping with melted butter, salt and pepper. And the best for last would be an apple pie, or a cobbler.

All of us kids rode bicycles without helmets, or ran everywhere we wanted to go. There were no soccer Mom’s driving all the kids to play. Back then only kids who weren’t any good at real sports played soccer anyway. Baseball was the game. We hooked our gloves over our bikes with no lights, grabbed our bats and balls and headed out. We had winners and losers. First place got a trophy and second place might get a smaller one. The rest had to learn how to deal with defeat and disappointment.

On the weekend we got some allowance money and went to the Saturday movie where we saw the violence of the cartoon with Elmer Fudd hunting that “wascally wabbet,” or Yosemite Sam looking to kill the varmints. After that we saw a new chapter in the Superman serial. Then more violence as Roy Rogers, the Durango Kid and Gene Autry tamed the west. All of them shot more bad guys in the hand than in the heart. If we were lucky and it was a double feature we might see terrible horror shows with Boris Karloff as Frankenstein or Bela Lagosi as Dracula.

After a day of mayhem, we would leave get on our bikes with no lights and no helmets and head home.

So, what’s this got to do with bowling? Well, I learned how to bowl with duck pins on two lanes in the basement of a Presbyterian church. When my Dad started taking me to his bowling alley for leagues I soon got a job as a pin boy. Nobody thought about child labor laws, or minimum wage. Pin boys were paid in tips by the bowlers on their lanes. A good pin boy could easily set two lanes and I have seen some do four. I could handle three fairly well. The manager would let us kids bowl when things were quiet and we set pins for each other. Dad, as well as everyone else, arrived with one bowling ball. It was neatly tucked in a one ball bag with his shoes wrapped around the side of the ball as they had been for so many years that when he removed them from the bag the toes pointed straight up in the air. The ball had two holes in it. One for his thumb and one for his middle finger. I was amazed at what he could do with it. Everyone smoked and drank beer. I recall there was chalk on the back of the ball returns and a towel was attached to each side of the return. Now if you want a towel you bring one from home, or pay the twenty bucks in the pro shop.

We kept score with a pencil and paper. Some basic math skills were required, but if you made a mistake you simply erased it and fixed it. Now days with every center having a different automatic scoring machine the bowler uses the intercom to tell the desk he needs scoring assistance. Of course the desk personnel can’t leave their designated post, so he picks up a mike and yells to the porter, “Scoring assistance on lane 2.” Dweezel, who’s down on lane 42 with an MP3 player stuck in his ear trying to take a phone photo of the sixteen year old in low riders and a thong, slowly makes his way to lane 2. Once there he asks the problem and with speed learned after hours of Xbox expertise fixes it. You didn’t learn anything and he didn’t take the time to explain it, hell he’s back on lane 42, so the next time it happens you go through the same drill.

Don’t ask me about racks knocking over pins and the wait for tonight’s mechanic to leave the snack bar and meander back there to re-spot it. Pin Boy’s did it automatically.

When the pin boys were done they usually helped clean up and left the bowling alley late. If they had a bowling ball and bag, or just a pair of shoes they hooked them over the handle bars of that unlit bicycle, jumped on with no helmet and went home with change jingling in their pockets. Today there would be MAPP (Mothers Against Pathetic Pin boys); a social services team and the Women’s Christian Temperance Union marching on the bowling center and the kid’s home.

Well, here I am 65 years old, three heart attacks and triple by-pass later, still bowling. I don’t know how I did it, but, I got to tell ya, if I had known I was gonna live this long I’d have taken better care of myself.

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