PBA Xtra
pro. He liked the idea. Our new editor, Gianmarc Manzione, thought the story would be a good fit for the electronic counterpart to Bowlers Journal—Bowl- ers Journal Interactive--so it was game on. So to speak. A call to Storm’s Dave Symes got
me three balls to complement the Brunswick, Columbia, Motiv and Radical equipment already in my bag. Or bags. And after a little help from Ron Mohr on the layouts, I knew I was well-armed for what proprietor Dave Small boldly pre- dicted would resemble a league shot. (“You’ll be sooooo bored with throwing strikes.”) Well . . . By tourney time, the entry list had
swelled to an unprecedented 128 com- petitors, lured, no doubt, by the event’s namesake. Not to mention that other names, like Walter Ray, Parker, PDW and Bakes, were not eligible. Finally (went the whispers), the supers would have a legitimate shot at something higher than eighth place. The non-members meeting went
as expected (no double jumping, no unapproved equipment, no jeans, first bowler done writes down the scores). And it was on to the practice session and a rude re-introduction to PBA lane con- ditions (PBA50 Carmen Salvino), which was about as close to a league shot as my mother-in-law is to Kate Upton. Yes, there was some free hook. But to
my less-than-finely-tuned eye, I might as well have been back in the Army (you know: left, right, left). There was an out-
of-bounds that should have included white stakes. Grumbled one guy, “You can’t give up the pocket.” If I couldn’t even find the pocket, how could I give it up?
Joining Paul and me was a guy with one of the game’s cleanest releases (John Dudak); the personable Bill Idzior (one of two wrong-footers in the field); and the quiet Edgar Gomez (quiet in large part because he’s from Colombia and speaks no English). Those four gentlemen made what
was to happen on the lanes almost a pleasure. Almost. We started on 3-4, a very long trek
PBA Regional Tour and PBA50 Tour Director, John Weber, kept things on time despite a large field and slow bowling.
After a couple of simulated games
putting everything in the bags through a stern workout, I took an hour break, sanded a couple of balls to within an inch of their lives, then returned to sam- ple the burn. It was more of the same, only magnified. Then came the three-hour wait and
memories of the Tour of old, with its empty afternoons spent in lonely out- posts far from the bright lights of down- town.
Here, I must comment on an incred-
ible coincidence. Back in 1987, I was the local manager of the big Coors-Oak- wood PBA regional in Enid, Oklahoma, an event won by sweet-stroking lefty, Paul McCordic. Guess who was on my pair in Fort Wayne? Yep.
128 players answered roll call at the inaugural PBA50 Dick Weber Super Senior Classic.
from the paddock behind 55-56, a jour- ney made even longer when towing a three-ball roller while being compressed by 30-plus pounds of equipment slung over one’s shoulder. Before our first adrenaline-fueled
shots, there was roll call, and a lengthy welcome from Small, Pro Bowl West’s owner and tourney host. Dave enjoys talking. So his accolades and thank-yous stretched to some 10 minutes. And, John had a series of announcements about point races, upcoming events, and in- structions on the bowlers themselves entering running totals (plus-minus) into the score system.
DENNIS BERGENDORF Finally, at 4:45, we were ready . . .
to gather for the picture. Because of the sheer momentousness of the first-ever Dick Weber Super Senior PBW Classic, Dave had printed up something like 150 commemorative T-shirts for staff, sponsors and even competitors. As John called out names and we called back with “here” and “yo,” we filed past tables stacked with the dark-olive, drab shirts, grabbing what we hoped would fit. The whole affair resembled Black Friday at Target. I had this sinking feeling that Dave
wanted us to wear these shirts while bowling, but it turned out that we were to put them on over our bowling attire and then gather, scrunched in until we thought there was no air left in Fort Wayne, on the approach for the official picture. Or pictures, as about 30 wives and friends got in on the action, holding cell phones aloft as though in triumph. And, we each got a
complimentary copy of Bill McCorkle’s delightful video of the life and career of bowling’s great champion and ambassador. McCorkle’s project hadn’t really gotten off the ground, even after he spent a ton of money producing some 2,000 stylish DVDs, so he just gave one to each of us competitors (even turning down offers of donations). Oh, Bill went on to win the tournament, proving that sometimes a good deed is actually rewarded.
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