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OK, Markie, what puts these moments this high on the list? My eight regular readers already know, but for the first time reader here we go. The biggest factor is mainstream media impact. How much air time or pica inches was made to describe a moment? Face it, Del Ballard's gutter ball nearly 15 years ago still gets talked about for several reasons. First, a world-class bowler did something not normally done by a world-class bowler. Two, it happened at the worst possible moment. Three, it was seen by millions on live national network TV. Because of that last item, it got played in the spots segment on hundreds of local newscasts that night (and even on ESPN SportsCenter). Nowadays, there are also more media outlets. They need something to fill time in their newscasts. Television in a VISUAL media. That means if it does not have pictures to describe the moment, it gets less air time, if any. (Steve Bartman would have preferred that, I'm sure.) Bowling fans can probably remember where they were and what they were doing when watching it. Bowling fans have there moments from a pure bowling perspective, but this list factors in how much of an impact a moment had on the non-bowling media. On my list for example, the top three got plenty of exposure outside 'ABC's Pro Bowlers Tour.' The first time this list received national exposure six years ago, numerous bowling fans were upset I did not include their favorites moments. Those listed were certainly noteworthy, but had no media shelf-life or half-life afterward. There has to be a ripple in the water well after the telecast ends. It has to grab the attention of people and media outside the bowling community to be considered. The next factor is drama. What makes post-season sports so much fun? Something is on the line right now. This drama may be played out over a week, but tonight's drama (game) will be done tonight. Most of these events were fun to watch for the roller-coaster ride. Even not knowing all the side stories or personalities of the participants, watch a good story unfold made it worth your while to watch, digest, and enjoy. Like a good movie, you may know how it should turn out, you just never know. That is why they play the games. The order has also changed over the years, as well. As time moves on, items disappear while new ones replace them. Initial impact loses uniqueness and is reduced to being just an answer to a trivia question. These moments have became benchmark achievements and help explain to the uninterested why we like watching the best in the world combine the unthinkable with drama to create history.
Honorable mention, you ask? Maybe in another column if Ladas will let me.
And now as promised, the elusive Top 10. Although the order has changed over the years, the original ten are still intact. Touching moments no matter where they occur, tend to stick for a long time. Even after details become blurry, enhanced, or even forgotten, it is the images that stay put. So here are the details to go along with the images.
10 1974 One would think winning Tournament of Champions and Player of the Year honors would be enough to make anyone's list. Sure. But the 1974 Jim Stefanich 300 game stands out for a couple of reasons. It was the middle game of one of the first 800 series seen on 'Pro Bowlers' Tour.' Perfect games were much less frequent in those days, especially on TV. Johnny Guenther's was five years prior while the next would not be for 13 more. This game may have been first 300 game seen by an entire generation of bowlers. (And covered quite nicely in this publication, I'm sure.)
9 1961 Game shows were a staple in the early days of network TV. Bowling was featured in several of them, including Jackpot Bowling. After a number of bowlers came up short, Chicago's Therm Gibson was the first to roll the necessary six consecutive strikes for an unheard of jackpot of $75,000. The photograph remaining from this show was host Milton Berle planting a kiss on the cheek of a stunned looking Gibson.
8 1997 Women's pro bowling had been on the air a number of years with its share of dramatic matches, but not much attention by the mainstream media. Michelle Feldman put that to rest by authoring the first solo TV 300 in PWBA history and a sidebar story in 'USA Today.'
7 1994 One event of this magnitude would be enough for any spot on this list, but a second event in the same show may keep this in the top 10 for a long time. Johnny Petraglia had flirted with a TV 300 sixteen years earlier while finishing with 298, a score he said he would not like to bowl, ever again. The second of four matches in the PBA National (now World Championship) saw the 47-year-old become the oldest member of the 'ABC-TV Pro Bowlers Tour' 300 game club and nab the $100,000 bonus in the process. The following match saw Petraglia lose a tough semi-final to Dale Traber. He and brother David had bowled each other for a regional title once, but never for a major on the PBA National tour. A rare brother vs brother title match saw David win his first tour title defeating Dale 196-187.
6 1993 Two PBA Hall of Famers put on one of the more incredible title matches ever by rolling 23 strikes out of 24 chances at the PBA Wichita Open. The only miss was David Ozio's near 7-10 leave in the eighth frame. After sparing the 7-pin, The striking stopped only after Mike Aulby threw the first TV 300 game in five years and picking up $100,000 from the PBA and the $300 from Northrock Lanes. The 300-279 score remains the highest scoring match in PBA television history, later tied by the Learn-Petraglia in the opening match at Erie three years later.
5 1988 Bob Benoit had been a struggling pro until leaning how to apply more revolutions on the ball by cupping his wrist throughout his approach. His tour career hit a flash point by first leading the Quaker State Open and then defeating Mark Roth 300-255 in his first-ever TV appearance.
4 1994 Norm Duke a highlighted a fantastic year by winning five titles, including the Tournament of Champions and won the first of two Player of the Year awards. One match he is remembered for this year may have been his biggest disappointment. Although Duke set five scoring records during the week, it's hard to imagine being unhappy with a 280 in the title game. But he was. Goebel didn't miss until a slower-thrown 12th ball, ending with a 296 game and 4 pins shy of a $200,000 bonus offered by tournament sponsor True Value Hardware. The 280 game remains as the highest losing score in any TV match in PBA history.
3 1987 In his 25 years as the 'Pro Bowlers Tour' lead announcer, Chris Schenkel had not called any of the prior three 300 games due to other assignments. True Value Hardware had backed the $100, 000 TV 300 game bonus for several years without it being claimed. Both streaks would end on this day. In the opening stepladder match against Wayne Webb, Pete McCordic opened with the front ten strikes. Before the 11th strike, the camera zooms in to McCordic's face and captures an image rarely seen on television; a pro athlete visibly shaking from the pressure of the moment. McCordic rolled a dead-flush strike, setting up what had not happened on TV for thirteen years. As the last of the pins fell, Schenkel gave one of his typically simple, but more dramatic calls, "We have it! We have it! " This moment was one of the first PBA moments to be a news item on ESPN's SportsCenter, and selected as CNN's Sports Play of the Day. A McCordic interview opened the telecast the following week, plus an excerpt from that interview aired on his next finals appearance four weeks later.
2 1991 Del Ballard needed 27 pins in the tenth to close out Pete Weber for the Fair Lanes Open title. The first two strikes were on line as expected, although Ballard's ball path would get as wide as the 2nd board at its widest point. The last ball, however, looked different for two reasons. First, Ballard leaned, then stepped to the right after the release. Second, the ball path looked frightenly further steeper and appeared to be projected much further right than the last two. Those two points stick in my mind to this day, but did not prepare me for what I and milions of others were about to see. Man bites dog. Tree leaves remain green in winter months. Steve Bartman pushes foul ball-hungry fans out of way. Did I see what I think I just saw? The gutter ball seen around the world on yearly sports highlight shows thankfully did not ruin Ballard. He won in Long Island two weeks later and joked about it on the air after wrapping up the title match early. That was not mentioned as much, of course. But the whereabouts of THAT ball today remain a mystery. I do know its whereabouts, but was sworn to secrecy not to tell. By the way, Weber had his own moment in the last 30 seconds of the show before sign off six weeks later (see #19, last month).
1 1970 The image is stark and will remain forever. We see a man lying prone on the approach after a stellar week and after only twelve balls on the TV show. We saw two prior matches with winning scores of 269 and 263, but scores were usually high at Riviera Lanes. We saw the first PBA TV 300 only three years before here, you know, the one Steffy won in the rolloff. Dick Ritger and Don Johnson both started out with the front six, something not common for the time, at least on TV. Ritger spared, Johnson kept going. He needed the first strike in the tenth. Got it. The next shot was dead flush. Billy Welu reminded us Koko "had $25,000 in his pocket and $10,000 on this ball." This would be like a perfect pitched game in a World Series 7th game, or 59 on Sunday at Augusta National. ABC Television's split screen showed Johnson on the left half approaching the line; on the right were the last ten pins standing between him and a game for the ages. The gathered crowd screamed its collective encouragement the nanosecond the ball touched the lane. His distinctive follow through was the same as it always was, the window-washing wave up then to the right, but the crash of the pins seemed louder than the others. There it was, the most famous 10-pin in bowling history. And to the left was that image, for two seconds or so the realization of having missed something taking nine prior frames of suspense, pressure, and athletic talent. Ritger was first to help Johnson to his feet, followed by TV alternate Carmen Salvino, both offering congratulations and condolences. According to "urban legend, " he tried for years to figure out exactly what happened on that last shot, later offering it was thrown too well. That day, Johnson became more that just the best bowler of his time. Who else noticed? Sports Illustrated did with a multi-page instructional piece in'71. Johnson later started the Professional Bowling Camps which featured six days of classroom and on-the-lanes instruction in such places Issaquah, Washington and Sheboygan, Wisconsin and inspired the next generation of youth bowlers, many of whom are still in the bowling business today (and closer than you think).
There you have it, the Top 25 TV Bowling Moments list for this year. Everytime I revise and rewrite this list, I can't help but playback in my head the moments as they occured in real time, not just slowing it down frame-by-frame on the VCR or on the DVD player. You see, we do have a history of the game with great athletes, drama, and personalities. If it takes this column in the WCS and on the Internet to prove that, so be it. And you got to read it first right here.
As soon as I finish these words, a quite pleasant notice arrives. Remember that wish list from about a three years ago detailing what needed to be done to get the PBA word out to the general sports public? Check one more off the list. Starting Monday October 3, ESPN Classic will show a handful of the original 'ABC Pro Bowlers Tour' series. That's right. We get to hear Chris, Billy, and Bo once again. The shows air at 11 am Central and will include numerous (like four for starters) items from the Top 25 list. You will also get a Sunday PBA Marathon Sunday October 23 from 12 noon to 8 pm, more than likely honoring the memory of the recently-departed Mr. Schenkel. Get the blank discs and VCR tapes ready. These shows have not been seen since their original airing.
Next month, the 2005-06 PBA Tour begins.
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