On March 12, 1998 at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nevada, the American Bowling Congress inducted three men into its Hall of Fame. Barry Asher, Costa Mesa, Calif., and Darold Meisel, Muskego, Wis., were inducted in the performance category, and Jack Reichert, Lake Forest, Ill., was inducted in the meritorious service category.
Asher, a powerful force in the 1960s and early 70s, won 10 Professional Bowling Association titles between 1966 and 1976. He captured three ABC Tournament titles, winning the 1972 Classic doubles with Carmen Salvino, and Asher was part of the winning teams in 1975 and ’76. A BOWLING magazine first team All-American selection in 1972 and ’73 capped his 1971 second team nomination. He was elected to the PBA Hall of Fame in 1988.
Meisel was a success on the bowling scene for more than two decades, capturing the 1989 FIQ American Zone Masters championship and winning four ABC Championships, averaging 201 for 22 ABC events. In 1983 he was second in team and third in trios in the FIQ World Championships in Caracus, Venezuela. Meisel finished second in the 1989 World Games. In 1990 he was the U.S.-Netherlands Matches champion in team and individual and third in doubles and trios. Also in 1990, he was first in team, all events, and singles in the U.S.-Ireland Matches.
Reichert's love for the sport spans many years, back to the days when he was a pinboy for ABC Hall of Famer Ned Day in Milwaukee. Reichert (left) joined Brunswick in 1957 working in sales, and for 14 years he worked in bowling operations before being named vice president of marketing for Brunswick’s Mercury Marine Division. A year later, he became president of the corporation.
Wearing his dad’s bowling association championship doubles ring, Reichert spoke of the work he has done to ensure that bowling one day becomes an Olympic sport.
The ABC Hall of Fame induction ceremony is a wonderful event for many reasons. But I am always struck by the introduction of the Hall of Famers and their march down the aisle to the chairs where they await the newest members. Each member of the Hall of Fame is introduced, and the applause and admiration of the audience is only overshadowed by the emotions expressed by the Hall of Famers and the newest inductees.
Joe Norris, the 90-year old bowling wonder, always receives a standing ovation from the Hall of Famers and the audience as he walks down the aisle waving, smiling, and throwing kisses to everyone. Norris, a 1934 ABC Tournament team champion, is the oldest man to roll a 300 game, has knocked down more wood than what’s in the rain forest, and is fit enough to win again. A remarkable, wonderful man.
But, while I stood and listened to the speeches of the newest members of the Hall of Fame, I found myself looking up and down the chairs placed in a row behind the podium. Many of my heroes sat there—Dick Weber, Don Carter, and Ray Bluth, members of the famous Budweiser team that posted a 3,858 in 1958, a record that held for nearly 40 years, along with Bill Lillard, to name a few.
Carter is considered by many to be the greatest bowler ever. Weber is undoubtedly bowling’s greatest ambassador, and Norris is proving that age is a number and not a condition.
I watched the faces of the bowlers waiting to start their 7:30 p.m. shift and saw the look of amazement in the eyes of the young bowlers and the smiles on the faces of the older bowlers. It was obvious they were reminiscing.
I, too, wondered if my grandson one day would stand and look out at the seats and feel as I felt about these great bowlers who set the standard for competition in their day—pioneers of the game who still hold many of the records in the sport.
As I watched this great event, I saw gentlemen—men with pride and dignity, all of them. The Hall of Fame is the highest tribute any bowler can receive. It’s the best of the best, and if you doubt that, you just haven’t seen it.
Don Wright is a member of the Bowling Writers Association of America. His E-mail address is wrightdk@vvm.com, and his home page is located at www.vvm.com/~wrightd.