Over the past 25 years, attending a PBA Hall of Fame induction dinner in Akron, Reno or Chicago always has been a personal pleasure. The reality of the event always lived up to expectations.
But that all changed Thursday night in Chicago.
There was a dull ache inside me because I had just interviewed Mark Gerberich, who had served as commissioner of the Professional Bowlers Association from 1995 until late September. He had just announced that he was resigning his position as general manager of Akron (Ohio) operations, effective the next day.
To me, this was a staggering loss since Gerberich was the only man in the new PBA hierarchy who actually knows anything about the bowling industry.
Also unsettling was the fact that my good buddy and fellow PBA Hall of Famer John Jowdy was not there to hear new inductee Parker Bohn III thank Jowdy for his free coaching sessions over the years. Jowdy had flown on a Delta plane from San Diego to Cincinnati and was scheduled to arrive in Chicago at about 3 p.m. to attend the 7 p.m. dinner. But he got hung up in Cincinnati for the night, thanks to Delta equipment problems.
Then there was the case of the late Jim Fitzgerald, a veteran bowling writer for the Chicago Tribune who long ago joined my undaunted campaign to make the PBA start its bowling tournaments on time. He had been on the ballot for about 10 years before being elected in 2000. Unfortunately, he died in 1998 and was inducted posthumously.
Another pall over the ceremonies was the fact that the Brunswick Corporation, which had sponsored the dinner and the ensuing Tournament of Champions since 1995, was in financial trouble and would not renew contracts with some great bowlers and longtime employees—Walter Ray Williams Jr., Mark Roth, Mike Aulby, Dave Davis, and Randy Pedersen to name a few.
Also unsettling was a hint from new PBA Commissioner Ian Hamilton that there may be some changes in store for the way future PBA Hall of Famers are selected.
Having served on the PBA Hall of Fame Board for almost 20 years, I personally like the current rules. But like Gerberich, I have to understand that things always are changing.
"Bowling and the PBA Tour have been very good to me," Gerberich said. "I would never have dreamed about becoming commissioner when I joined the PBA right out of St. John's University in 1983."
But Gerberich realized that when he found Chris Peters and talked him into buying the PBA last Thanksgiving, his days at the helm were numbered.
"I felt that securing financing for the tour would be a great note to leave on, and I look forward to focusing on new career opportunities."
Steve Miller, who was named PBA president in late September, said, "We would like to thank Mark for the role he played in making the transition as smooth as possible."
No one would ever accuse Mark Gerberich of being anything but a team player. He will be missed.
Speaking of miss, Delta missed getting me back to Daytona Beach on time by 75 minutes.
* * * *
A sad scoring trend — Sanctioned league bowlers continue to roll honor scores are record paces, including 41,473 perfect games during the 1999-2000 season. That total dwarfs the 36,178 perfect games bowled the previous season. The 800 series total jumped from 8,335 to 10,683 in one year. Somebody has got to figure out a way to bring sanity back to bowling when it comes to outlandish scores. ... Membership in sanctioned leagues stood at 3.756 million last July 31. And just think: Before scores started to soar 15 years ago, the combined league membership was about 8.2 million. ... Keep watching the "Ed" show on NBC every Sunday night at 8 p.m. It's been consistently funny and has not thrown bowling any curve balls.
Dick Evans is a member of the ABC and PBA Halls of Fame.