Can the PBA televised tournaments get more exciting? With the scheduled season at the halfway mark, we have been treated to some of the best matches in the long history of the game.
Throughout the years, bowling fans have witnessed nerve-wracking competition. One good example not easily forgotten was the unbelievable match between Dick Ritger and Don Johnson in the Firestone Tournament of Champions in Akron Apr. 4, 1970, won by Johnson 299-266. While Johnson's victory was really significant, the famous photograph of Johnson lying face down on the approach after leaving a solid 10-pin that robbed him of a 300 and a $25,000 bonus has gone down one of the most famous moments in bowling annals. These moments and matches keep us spellbound and are a major attraction of our game.
And now, during the past two months, we have witnessed four of the most remarkable clutch bowling performances imaginable. The manner in which these contests were settled was nothing short of incredible.
First, we were presented a championship game in Memphis, Tenn., on Oct. 27 between two of the premier shotmakers in the game, Danny Wiseman and Brian Voss. In the 10th frame, Wiseman, needing three strikes to force Voss to double and get a big count, met the challenge by burying three solid pocket strikes. Voss, who needed a victory to tie Marshall Holman's 22 titles, responded with two crushing strikes, winning 253-247 and ending a championship match that featured two of the greatest clutch performances ever.
Second, in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Nov. 17, we were treated to Eugene McCune's first PBA Tour championship in his 16-year career. Not only was McCune's first title momentous, it was the manner in which he accomplished this victory.
In his semifinal match against Norm Duke, Eugene began the game by utilizing an inside line that proved very erratic. At the midway point of the match, he switched to a harder, straighter delivery from an outside angle and struck out to defeat Duke 222-206. McCune's war cry, "My week, my week," proved to be prophetic as he overwhelmed Walter Ray Williams Jr. in the title match, 224-186. The most significant feature of McCune's victory was his ability to beat Duke and Williams at their own game: They are the two most formidable exponents of a straighter line to the pocket.
Third, Randy Pedersen, winless since his victory at Indianapolis in 1999, put on the gutsiest performance of his career at the PBA Pepsi Open in Springfield, Pa., on Nov. 24. Randy marched through the match game finals undefeated—the only bowler who has accomplished this feat since the new format went into effect. In the semifinal match, Randy nosed out Blaise Bedolla 207-206 to set up a championship match against Chris Barnes.
Chris, one of the most imposing bowlers on the PBA Tour, fell behind by some 20 pins but, displaying his tenacity as a clutch player, struck out from the eighth frame, thus forcing Pedersen to get two strikes and a decent count. Pedersen, who has had little success during the past few years, had threatened to leave the tour as an active player to concentrate on his career as a TV analyst. However, Randy proved his proficiency and mastery as a TV bowling performer by drilling two gut-wrenching strikes in the final frame to overcome Barnes 216-210.
Last, but not least, at the PBA Cambridge Classic on Dec. 1 in Syosset, N.Y., Norm Duke's performance was one of, if not the greatest displays of grit and determination that I have seen in many, many years. The previous week, Randy Pedersen's win eliminated Duke from the Tournament of Champions despite Duke's 19 titles. Prior to the start of the tournament, Norm openly admitted the Tournament of Champions was, by far, the most important tournament on his mind and, with just two chances remaining for him to regain his spot at the prestigious tournament, he was faced with a do-or-die opportunity.
In his semifinal match, he bested Doug Kent 255-245 to advance to the championship game against Dave Traber. Traber started out by striking the first four frames and led Duke by 20-odd pins. Duke, who started slowly, began a string of strikes that featured several of the lucky variety. It was as if Norm was staring them down and forcing them to fall. He struck from the sixth frame out for a 245 score.In the meantime, Traber kept pounding the pocket but was foiled by two stubborn 4-pins. Needing three strikes in the 10th frame to tie Duke, Traber answered the call to send the game into a one-ball rolloff.
Both players scored nine pins in the next frame, both struck in the next frame but on the next shot Traber left another solid 4-pin, setting Duke up with an opportunity to bowl his way back into the Tournament of Champions. Duke, sensing his return to the "T of C," responded with a solid pocket strike to cap off one of the boldest performances I have ever seen.
The new PBA format has been a subject of hot debate, not only among the players but also among bowling fans. Like it or not, can anyone doubt the excitement it has created in just a year and a half?