Angling to make more Canadian history: Bill Rowe Jr. has won international medals by the boatload, but that elusive first PBA title is what motivates him today - Then & now: Bill Rowe Jr

Bowling Digest, Dec, 2002 by Dick Denny

Aulby doesn't know Rowe well, but he calls Bill "a very good player who throws the ball well. I saw him bowl in Germany, too. He's been very successful in all kinds of international competition."

Bowling was a demonstration sport at the 1996 Summer Olympics at Atlanta. Rowe earned his way there by finishing well in all events at the 1995 World Championships.

"They took the top four from each of the zones--American, European, and Asian," he says. "We got day passes and ate with the athletes at the Summer Games, but it was really a backstage kind of event. Our competition ended the day before the Games began.

"Roberto Silva of Mexico led the qualifying. I beat Raymond Jansson of Sweden in the semifinals and Silva in the finals. It was a great experience, although I didn't get to stay for the Games because I was going to college. [Rowe has a computer science degree from Mohawk College in Hamilton--Ed.] I'm hopeful that bowling will become an Olympic sport."

A year after his Atlanta success, Rowe had an outstanding performance in the 12th FIQ American Zone Championships in Santa Domingo. He earned five silver medals: five-player, trios, singles, all events, and individual.

"If it weren't for Chris Barnes [of the U.S.], I would had a few gold medals," Rowe says with a chuckle. Barnes won four golds: five-player, trios, all events, and individual.

Rowe's final international competition representing Team Canada was in 1998 at the Commonwealth Games in Malaysia. It was one of his most memorable experiences while bowling for his country.

"I won a bronze medal in mixed doubles with Jane Amlinger and a silver in men's Masters," Rowe says. "I also had a 300 game. Bowling was a full-medal sport, and they really hyped bowling through the press.

"The center where we bowled had 30 lanes. If you can imagine a PBA tournament at its best, this competition was 10 times better. There must have been 1,000 to 1,500 people wall-to-wall, and they were screaming."

The day after he finished competition, Rowe went to a field hockey game with Woodhouse. "I must have signed 20 autographs while there," he says. "For a little while, I felt like a superstar. On the way home, there was a line to check in at the airport, but people saw me and said, `Oh, you're Bill Rowe. You bowled a 300 game. Go ahead to the front of the line.' Unfortunately, when you come back to Canada, it's not that way at all. It's the same way for American [bowlers]."

Why didn't Rowe try the PBA tour in the '90s when he was at his peak, physically and mentally? "The time was never right," he says. "The amateur world was nice and lucrative. From 1992 through 1996, I had some really good paydays. The PBA began to slip in the late '90s. If it were what it is today back then, I might have considered it."

Rowe is not looking back with any great regrets. On the contrary, he's steering his ship straight ahead into the Canadian sunset. "Bowling for Team Canada was a really good thing," he says. "It's allowed me to travel, to learn about different cultures, and to represent my country. Through my international experiences, I've had about 10 invitations overseas to Malaysia and Europe.