Whenever I travel, I usually pick up a copy of USA Today to keep abreast of world and domestic affairs. In the September 16 issue, I ran across an opinion article written by New York corporate lawyer Lawrence Herman.
Herman, a baseball fan, and perhaps a baseball purist, wrote the article to express his disappointment with those who have a short-sighted view of the current home run fever in baseball.
He admits that it is a thrill to watch Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa blast the ball out of the park, but he is concerned that if baseball allows this one aspect to dominate the game, to future generations, stars like Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, and Roger Maris may seem ordinary in comparison.
I know how you feel, Mr. Herman. I, too, love baseball, and based on what has happened in bowling, it is crystal clear where this thrill ride is headed.
If the lid on this Pandora’s box is not slammed and nailed shut soon, the complex sport of baseball will become a sport with teams having six or seven power hitters in the lineups; pitchers and players of smaller stature who play brilliant defense will dwell in obscurity, overshadowed by big brutes who swing for the seats in every trip to the plate. Managers will allow it because owners will tell them the fans demand it.
Eventually, fans will lose interest because they will continue to demand more, even when there is no more. It will reach an inevitable peak, even if juicier balls and aluminum bats and weaker pitching become the norm. Maybe 100 homers a year will be a common number. If five or ten guys do it every year, will it still be special?
Baseball became the American pastime in the 1920s with Babe Ruth and the great Yankee teams, and it has maintained its status ever since because the leaders of the sport made certain that history was respected and integrity was maintained. The concern expressed by Herman in his article and shared by many is that the leaders of today will bite the forbidden apple and send baseball into a fan-feeding frenzy with only one inevitable destination.
If you don’t believe it can happen, look at bowling. The sport of bowling is now in its second generation of cheap thrills. Bowling, like baseball, is a sport with a rich history going back over 100 years.
Bowling is now perhaps hopelessly trapped in a deadly tailspin. The technology terrorists have had their way with bowling’s leaders, and the results have been disastrous.
In bowling’s heyday, heroes like Don Carter, Dick Weber, Andy Varipapa, Joe Norris, and others were household names in America, even among non-bowlers. These men stood head and shoulders above all others as the best at their chosen profession. They commanded, and deserved, respect.
Today, ask the average American to name two or three top bowlers. I submit you would get blank stares. Many would say, "Is bowling a sport?"
Are there any kids today who think that professional bowling is a legitimate career choice? I doubt it.
When bowling’s leaders decided to open up the game, did they have any clue that it would lead to a loss of five million league bowlers, total loss of network television coverage, and virtual total loss of respect for those few who still call it a profession?
Probably not. They probably thought it was a good thing to have 10- and 80-year-olds rolling perfect games. Bowling’s inept leaders thought it was smart to promote bowling as "a fun sport."
"Anybody can do it," they said.
Today, 300 games and 800 series are so common they go unnoticed in every state of this nation. Even those who have rolled a 900 series have earned no financial gain and very little respect. Can you name three of the 11 bowlers who have rolled 900s? Does anyone care?
Only recently have we heard a few brave bowling leaders admit that big mistakes have been made and that a new direction is necessary for bowling’s very survival. But will they have the courage to stand up to the technological terrorists whose motto seems to be "anything goes"?
When those who are only interested in selling products are allowed to control a sport, the equation is upside down. "The bowlers want it," they whisper in the ears of proprietors and association leaders.
And after a generation of allowing the product sellers to control the sport, what is the result? Millions have left the game, there are no household names among pro bowlers, a perfect game or a perfect series is merely a cheap thrill, and the sport of bowling no longer is taken seriously by millions, including television executives and sponsors.
Product sales are at an all-time high, but without television, will it continue? Sure, bowling still appears on cable television, but at what costs? We now pay for shows that in the past paid us. And we have no power in selecting time slots. They give us what they can’t sell to anyone else.
Herman writes: "… understand that baseball’s history is our inheritance. If we toss it aside for the fleeting pleasures of off-the-end-of-the-bat home runs, we may destroy the very fabric that makes baseball special."
Mr. Herman, it has already happened in the once great sport of bowling. We tossed aside our history for the cheap thrill of a perfect game and 230+ league averages. We erased our heroes from the record books as if their accomplishments didn’t matter. It may take another generation to restore even half the integrity we have lost, if it’s even possible.
I hope that baseball doesn’t suffer the same cruel fate.
* * * *
In defense of Walter Ray — When someone told me before the U.S. Open started that Walter Ray Williams Jr. chose not to defend his U.S. Open title, I was not surprised.
I don’t know Walter as well as many others, but I have had a few discussions with him over the years, enough to know he is a man of strong convictions and principles.
He is the number one bowler in the world and could become the best of all time before his career is over. He makes a lot of money bowling, but anyone who knows him even a little will tell you he is not motivated by money.
What drives Walter Ray is the challenge, the competition, and the pursuit of excellence. It’s the same in professional horseshoe pitching for him as it is in bowling. That is the reason he is a six-time world champion, and that is why he chose to attend the World Horseshoe Pitching Championships instead of Bowling’s U.S. Open.
The money was irrelevant. He could have made 10 times more bowling. But pitching shoes was his first love. He was well known in that little world long before we ever heard of him in our slightly larger little world.
Actually, he planned to defend his U.S. Open title until BPAA changed the dates and site. After last year’s event in Milford, Connecticut, it was announced the event would be held in the spring in Florida. When that deal fell apart, it went back to Milford, the same week as the horseshoe tournament.
Walter Ray has never missed the big horseshoe tournament. It is his passion. Bowling is only his profession.
When I first heard he wouldn’t be there, I thought it was major news. If the number one player in any other sport misses the U.S. Open, especially as the defending champion, it is major news. In our sport, however, it was downplayed. Some of our so-called leaders even openly expressed anger about it.
Rumors about why Walter Ray didn’t bowl spread from Milford across the nation. They talked about his dislike for the format and his disdain for BPAA. Sadly, they were just rumors. Gossip, not legitimate, accurate news stories.
Why was a press release not written with Walter’s side presented?
It’s true he didn’t like the format. We sat side-by-side at the Sacred Heart University arena in 1998, and we discussed the format and many other subjects. It wasn’t an interview, it was just a discussion between two people who love the game and know a little bit about it.
He talked about how the format forced him to win the event three times. As the leader after 56 games, he still had to roll 24 games of match play, win the in-house bracket round, and win again on television.
His opinion was that the format was not one that is likely to put the best players on the show. My comment to him was that I believed that BPAA officials seemed more concerned about entertaining 500 fans in the bowling center than they did about a TV audience of a million people.
He survived to win the 1998 U.S. Open, but he felt like he dodged a bullet. He knew he beat the odds because he saw some very talented players fall in the unnecessary bracket rounds added by BPAA.
One of the rumors was that Walter didn’t bowl because of the format. Not true. He was apologetic for his absence and simply said he had to honor his prior commitment to the horseshoe event, and he did.
When Bowlers Journal International editor Jim Dressel asked me my opinion of Walter Ray’s decision, I told him that I was pleased that someone in this sport can afford to make those kinds of decisions. In a way, I see that as progress, and I salute Walter Ray for having the integrity to stand up for his principles.
Jim Goodwin, a BWAA director and PWBA’s regional program director, is the award-winning editor/publisher of Stars & Strikes, in which the preceding originally appeared. Subscription rates are $20 for one year, $32/$48 for two/three years (Pin Point Publishing, 2850 Red Valley Run, Rockwall, Texas 75087. … Voice/fax: 972/771-0069).