Due to the reshuffled schedule of the PBA tour, the 10th annual John Jowdy All-Miss Team will be named at a later date.
For those unfamiliar, "MISS" denotes Miserable In Spare Situations. During the past three years, the burden of selecting the most worthy recipients of this elite squad fell on the shoulders of five or six bowling ball representatives.
Unfortunately, in the 2001 season, a majority of ball manufacturers were forced to cut back on promotion costs. Several super stars, as well as other players, were not re-signed to lucrative contracts. This, in turn, led to downsizing bowling ball representatives, who were my designated scouts that furnished material for the annual All-Miss Team. Due to this unfortunate mishap, the 2001 team will not be compiled until the end of the 2002 PBA Tour this summer.
In view of this unusual dilemma and, in the interest of preserving reputations of those who have truly earned this distinction, it is incumbent upon me to publish the All-Time, All-Miss Team, dating back to the original squad in 1992.
After compiling records of the past decade, these whiffing-wonders stood heads and shoulders above all others...with plenty of room to spare (pun definitely intended). The names may be unfamiliar to younger bowling fans and understandably so: They no longer perform on the regular PBA Tour.
Lest you get the impression they lacked the ability to compete on the professional level, rest assured that strike balls delivered by this unique group ranked among the strongest of their era.
Every team has a captain. They all have the credentials to claim this distinction but the honor belongs to Kelly Coffman, principally due to his capacity to whisk by 10-pins over a 12 year stretch.
Scott Alexander won one title, the prestigious PBA National Tournament at Toledo, Ohio in 1995. This was primarily due to his barrage of strikes, for this particular week, overcame his feeble spare game.
Bob Spalding laid claim to only one title. Simply put, Bob's thunderous strike ball failed to quell his misery in spare situations.
Bob Vespi joined the tour in 1992 and immediately captured two titles. Following this auspicious start, Vespi's woeful spare game precluded any future trips to the winner's circle. Bob's feeble attempts at the 10-pin were exceeded only by Captain Kelly Coffman.
Mark Bowers had one of the most explosive strike balls of his era. Unfortunately, his delivery never varied... at single pins, splits, or any combination of spares. And, all too often, they resulted in misses.
Don Moser was truly an enigma. He was a smooth stroker, threw an outstanding strike ball, and was a consistent casher. Despite his textbook mechanics, his spare game became his Achilles Heel.
Although this group has retired from the regular PBA tour, the escalation in prize funds may lure them back into the fold. It's never too late to realize that single pin spares are as easily toppled with straight shots as they are with booming hooks.
Here are the top six, along with their records.
The totals: 66 years on tour / 4 titles.
ABC and PBA Hall of Famer John Jowdy is a past president of the Bowling Writers Association of America.