Two PBA sidebar items caught my attention recently. One was Mike Aulby's announcement that he will retire from the PBA Tour following this current season. The other it Tim Mack's decision to join the PBA Tour.
To say that Mike Aulby has been a class act for the PBA is a huge understatement. Aulby's contributions to professional bowling are as big as Bob Hope's contributions to comedy and entertainment. Aulby's career should be documented in detail and given to every tour rookie as the example of what it means to be a professional athlete, both on and off the lanes.
To Aulby, being a professional bowler has been a 24-7 job since he started in 1979. Among his peers, he has been a quiet leader who has earned their respect as a player and as a man. His titles, all 27 of them, are a testimony of his talent, but none of them come close to his most coveted titles — husband, father, role model, and mentor.
In 2001, when Mike was inducted into the American Bowling Congress Hall of Fame, he didn't talk much about himself in his acceptance speech. He spoke of his family, his sponsors, his fellow players, and his fans. From now until the tour season ends in March, fans along the road will have a chance to say thank you to a player who truly has given his all to them.
Ten years ago, when Mike was PBA president, I did an interview with him for Stars & Strikes. The PBA was still healthy then, and Aulby was one of its top performers. After the interview came out, I got a nice note from Mike, and another from his mom saying it was the best interview she has ever read about her son's career. To me, that was the highest praise. When a player's mom likes it, it must be good!
Aulby has won about every award you can think of, including four BWAA Bowler of the Year crowns, and the Nagy Sportsmanship Award twice. He was PBA Rookie of the Year in 1979 when he defeated Earl Anthony for his first title, he's earned the high average award, and he in the PBA and ABC Halls of Fame. He is one of only four players (with Billy Hardwick, Johnny Petraglia, and Pete Weber) to win the Grand Slam and one of only two players to roll a televised 300 game to win a PBA title. With over $2 million in earnings and seven major titles, Aulby easily qualifies as one of the best players of all time. I put him in the top five without hesitation.
As good as Mike has been on the lanes, he has also been terrific off the lanes. He's never too busy to sign an autograph or do extra work for charity or kids. He is a tireless worker for the Children's Miracle Network, and the kids leagues in his hometown of Indianapolis are named the "Mike Aulby Youth Leagues." He operates a bowling center in his time off, and that business and his new project of building a hockey rink for kids will keep him busy after his tour career.
In many ways, his career has paralleled the incomparable Dick Weber's, and Weber has done more than any player in history as an ambassador for the sport as a first generation pro. I predict Aulby will become the second generation am- bassador in the years to come. He's only 43, so the bowling industry is in for many more years of service trom Mr. Aulby. Weber was one of the first players to recognize the importance of his image and work off the lanes, and the torch he carried during his career on the tour was picked up and carried well by Aulby during his career as a touring pro. Now it's time to pass it once again.
Today, the PBA is beginning a new era, with a new generation of stars. Who will pick up Weber and Aulby's torch? It could very well be a young man who just joined the PBA — Tim Mack. Mack is turning pro at age 32 this month after a bril- liant amateur career during which he won titles on five continents. This Team USA and megabuck star has the ability and potential to pick up and carry Weber and Aulby's torch. Through my work in the International Eliminator and Mini Elimi- nator events, I've had the privilege of watching Tim grow as a bowler and a man for almost a decade. On the lanes, he is as intense and competitive as anyone, including Weber and Aulby, and off the lanes, he has the personality to win people over. He loves being a bowler, and through his work with Storm Bowling Products, he probably has more tans globally than any bowler in history. It would not be far-fetched to say more fans around the world know Tim Mack better than they do Walter Ray Williams Jr.
One thing is for sure, he's no ordinary tour rookie. Before joining the tour this year, he won an FIQ Gold Medal in Malaysia and is one of only three players to win $50,000 in the megabuck events, and he did it the hard way — by finishing second in both the Mini Eliminator and the High Roller for $25,000 each.
In the next few years, the former megabuck stars like Robert Smith, Chris Barnes, Mike Machuga, and Mack will likely become the new pro stars, and that's a very good thing lor bowling. What these guys do oft the lanes will also he important, and I think Tim Mack will set an example for others to follow. He is a fine young many with great character who will have a brilliant pro career.
It's enough to make Dick Weber and Mike Aulby smile.
Weber and Mike Aulby smile.