Mark Gerberich, commissioner of the Professional Bowlers Association, knew Chris Peters "was the real thing" when he said he had lined up two partners to buy the financially strapped PBA.
Three months later Peters and his two partners, Mike Slade and Rob Glaser, purchased the PBA.
After talking to Chris Peters through the magic of cyberspace, I'm also convinced he's the real thing and the right man to lead the PBA out of its financial wilderness.
The best thing about Peters is that he knows bowling. "I was not interested in bowling when I was young, other than to be proud of my Dad for all the bowling trophies he had won."
Then after making a mint as one of the early Microsoft marvels, Peters decided to take up bowling and joined a league.
Asked if he was trying to improve his bowling average, he replied: "Me and 50 million other bowlers are trying to improve our average."
Asked if he would one day like to be good enough (a 200 average is required). Peters said: "It is not possible for me to be that good. The skill level of the guys on tour are several orders of magnitude above what mere mortals are capable of."
There were rumors he was going to add bowling lanes to his home in the Seattle area. It was only a rumor "because my house is too small to hold bowling lanes."
Peters has no schedule for how long it will take to recoup an estimated $5 million investment in purchasing the PBA.
"We have learned in our business lives to take a long-term view."
He said that friends and associates "think it's a smart, shrewd investment. Most of them knew we were doing it beforehand and wanted to invest."
Peters added, "The PBA has a consistent 1 Neilson point rating with no marketing. It has a web site that gets 500,000 visits a month with no marketing. The game is popular worldwide. Fifty million Americans walk into a bowling center at least once a year. The PBA has a 42-year history that we respect and will honor.
"All this is a great basis to start from."
The only question that Peters would not answer was: "Are you having any early success at landing a new TV contract for next season and with what networks are you talking?"
"We can't comment on this, others to stay that both Rob and Mike have a lot of friends on the television side. With that, it is our job and our task to improve our product so the TV people and sponsors are more interested. Again, we are taking a long-term view."
Only one problem, time is of the essence since the PBA has no TV contract that extends past 2000. However, word has been spreading that there is a strong possibility that ESPN could televise the finals of 30 tournaments next year.
Dick Evans is a member of the ABC and PBA Halls of Fame.