These trials were taxing

Bowling Digest, Fall, 2004 by Brett Ballantini

NO ONE I SPOKE TO AT THE PBA Tour Trials recalled anything like it in the past few years, possibly ever.

The unique circumstances that brought 129 bowlers to the middle of the country (Stardust Bowl II in Merrillville, Ind.) in the middle of the year (the early days of June) resulted in no middling efforts, that's for sure.

John Jowdy was calling it one of the most exciting and nerve-wracking tournaments he'd ever been to--and John has been to a bunch. Lydia Rypcinski, who covered all the highs and lows of the Trials for us in this issue [page 34], somehow managed to talk to nearly every principal figure involved in spite of the extremely trying circumstances. In essence, 129 players--Hall-of-Famers and PWBA superstars among them--were bowling for their lives.

Ostensibly in an effort to further exalt a PBA tour on the rise, new ownership boldly trimmed the tournament fields to 64 bowlers for all events starting with the 2004-05 season. For the 50 pros who either won an event in the 2003-04 season or racked up enough tournament points to automatically qualify for 2004-05, the bead of worried sweat that represented the threat of not being exempt was wiped away early. No tour "superstar" was in jeopardy as the seconds became sparse in the 2003-04 season.

That's not to say some big names weren't still looking to punch their ticket to 2004-05. Lining up at Stardust to compete for the eight final season-long spots on tour--bowling to make their professional status permanent for at least one more year--were a PBA Hall-of-Famer in Wayne Webb; veteran stars such as Del Ballard Jr., Brian Goebel, Steve Hoskins, and Randy Pedersen; budding bowlers like Tim Mack, Jeff Carter, and Ritchie Allen; and even some of the brightest stars of the women's tour, Kendra Gaines and Kelly Kulick.

The results were an intoxicating tangle of tension through 45 games in five torturous days. Tour veteran Mike Edwards, a PBA persona non grata in recent years, and out-of-nowhere Canadian youngster Patrick Girard finished 1-2. Familiar faces like Eugene McCune, David Traber, Brian Kretzer, Mike Wolfe, Jim Pratt, and rookie Shannon Buchan rounded out the exempt field.

A furious final-game rally--a 290--earned Traber his exemption. Another star, Ballard, bowled a 300 in his final game--but still fell 190 pins short. The two PWBA veterans in the group finished No. 29 (Gaines) and No. 31 (Kulick)--and had Carolyn Dorin-Ballard been able to participate as she'd hoped, she may well have finished at the top.

Allen fared worst of all. After being knocked from the top 50 qualifiers for exemption in the last event of the 2003-04 season, he fell a mere 17 pins--barely a third of a pin per game--short of qualifying at the Tour Trials.

As Rypcinski writes in her piece, the Trials did represent a New World Order for the PBA. But it's not without flaws. Where will veterans such as Webb or Goebel turn now that the PBA has shut its door? And on a more emotional level, is it fair that those helped strengthen the tour in its healthy years or extended its life in the lean ones be left out in the cold?

For those now on the outside looking in, the Trials was an excruciating--perhaps final--chapter to terrific bowling careers. For fans, the Trials were as exhilarating as any tournament's TV round we've seen in some time.