MAY 7, 2020 CALIFORNIA 7502B Florence Ave, Downey,OWLING CA 90240 • Website: CaliforniaBowlingNews.com • Email: [email protected] N • Office:EWS (562) 807-3600 Fax: (562) 807-2288 Youth Sports Leaders Form PLAY Sports CoalitionPLAY Sports Coalition Press Release by Lucas Wiseman Nearly 20 years have passed yet those iconic words from Nelson Man- dela stand tall and today are the foundation PLAY Sports, a first-of-its-kind collaborative coalition among more than 400 com- munity and national sports organizations and leaders, Anthony Sharpsteen’s masterpiece ranks as the highest has been built on. series in L.A. history. Photo by Fred Eisenhammer PLAY Sports, which stands for Promoting Lo- cal and Youth Sports, rep- A Local Blast From the Past: resents a united front to support young athletes, Anthony Sharpsteen’s 888 working families, coaches by Fred Eisenhammer and volunteers across all 50 turn. Left to its own, youth have experienced, or are pandemic. More than ever, MISSION HILLS – It’s That distinction goes to states, particularly those in sports families and organi- facing, layoffs, furloughs, sports can teach critical now been six months since Anthony Sharpsteen, who’s underserved areas, through zations will struggle, and a bankruptcies and facility values to our youth, provid- Frank Chiodo crushed an known as “Mr. 888,” or as the COVID-19 pandemic return to play would at least foreclosures. This includes ing families and especially 886 series, firing games of elite bowler Johnnie Engle- and beyond. be delayed, if not fail. direct impacts to millions youth opportunities for 288, 300 and 298 in Win- hart calls him: “Triple 8.” The fragmented and According to recent of grassroots coaches who character and leadership netka Bowl’s star-studded The monikers are a trib- grassroots nature of youth poll results shared by the provide invaluable time development and repairing Mixed Classic Handicap ute to Sharpsteen’s majestic sports necessitated an in- Aspen Institute for Sports, and leadership to their a society that needs com- league. performance on Jan. 25, dustry Coalition to work nearly 60% of local sports young athletes and sports. munity, connectivity and Chiodo’s masterpiece 2011. He finished with cooperatively, and with leaders said their organi- PLAY Sports’ mission joy. ranks as the second-highest scores of 289, 299 and 300 the federal, state and local zations will project to lose is to ensure that the insti- The immediate and series in L.A. history. during competition in the governments and agencies, at least 50% of their rev- tutions connected to youth time-sensitive first initia- The highest? continued on page 6 to advocate for a collective enue over the next year and local sports survive and tive of the Coalition will be survival and impactful re- due to COVID-19. They thrive coming out of this continued on page 4 A History Lesson: The Gutter Ball That Was Heard Around the World by Fred Eisenhammer zarre and shocking mo- Ballard, of North Rich- before putting them behind ments almost 30 years ago, land Hills, Texas, coolly his head in shock and sym- it’s worth repeating. struck on his first two balls. pathy for his opponent. The Let’s set the scene: “Oh, baby!” Ballard trium- agony that was painted on Date: March 7, 1991. phantly exclaimed after his Ballard’s face said it all. Event: PBA’s Fair Lanes second strike. “I could have thrown it Open tournament in Balti- “I’ve never seen Dale down the middle and hoped more. Ballard so charged up, so for seven. I wanted to be The stepladder cham- aggressive,” one of the aggressive on the shot and pionship match pitted top- broadcasters said. “Seven just rushed it,” said Ballard, ARLINGTON, Texas ship changing to 18 with seeded Pete Weber against pins is no gimme, and when adding that a shot down the – International Bowling the start of the 2020-2021 third-seeded Del Ballard we’ve seen players miss, middle had risk “because if Campus Youth Develop- season, the U20 division Jr., both right-handers. they get seven pins or less. you barely hit the head pin, ment has set the dates and will take place during the Del Ballard Jr. suffered a Ballard advanced to the So, it’s not over yet.” you could only get five.” divisions for the 2021 Ju- first week of the event, heartbreaking finish in the championship match with Those were prophetic Ballard later said: “My Fair Lanes Open tournament nior Gold Championships breaking away the adult in 1991. It was one of the victories of 247-208 over words, indeed. adrenaline was flowing too that will take place in In- from the youth divisions. most memorable – and shock- Robert Lawrence and 257- Ballard’s last shot was fast. I just ran up there and dianapolis. The U20 division will be ing – moments in PBA history. 223 over Norm Duke. trouble as soon as he re- threw it. I didn’t take my The 2021 Junior Gold for bowlers born between BALTIMORE – Being Weber led Ballard by six leased it. And he knew it. time and use my head.” Championships will be Aug. 1, 2000 and July 31, a bowler is more than just pins through five frames The ball rolled shakily Weber said “I thought held July 5-17, 2021. India- 2002. knowing etiquette and the but failed to mark in the down the right side of the it was over when Del got napolis will extend its re- The U18 division be- rules of the game and how sixth, allowing Ballard to gutter before collapsing in the first two. I felt like I cord for most times to host, comes the oldest division to knock down pins. seize a 15-pin lead after the channel about three- reached out and stole it as the 2021 event marks for USBC Youth bowlers, It’s also being aware of seven frames. Weber then quarters of the way down. from him.” the event’s sixth visit to the with the U18, U15 and U12 the sport’s history. struck out and forced Bal- Final score: Weber 213, Ballard, 27 at the time, city. divisions hitting the lanes For those unaware of lard to nail the first two Ballard 207. won $15,500. Weber, with With the maximum age following the U20 compe- one of the Professional strikes and tally seven pins Weber immediately his then-16th tour title, won for USBC Youth member- continued on page 5 Bowling Assn.’s most bi- in the 10th frame. raised his hands in victory continued on page 6 View Past and Current Issues at CaliforniaBowlingNews.com PAGE 2 CALIFORNIABOWLINGNEWS.COM MAY 7, 2020 by Lucas Wiseman FloBowling will offer a first look at its latest docu- mentary as part of a week that celebrates two-handed bowling. The new film titled Two Hands On History will de- but later this year and the first teaser will be shown on May 7 following a re- release of FloBowling’s documentary Anthony Simonson Simonsen: Leave It Behind. Two Hands On History will chronicle the rise of competitive two-handed in the Pro- fessional Bowlers Association. It will prominently feature the first two-handed PBA Tour champions, Jason Belmonte and Osku Palermaa. The teaser will be revealed immediately after the re-release of Simonsen: Leave It Behind, which tells the story of the tough upbringing and rise to stardom of Anthony Simonsen. The broadcast will begin at 7 p.m. Eastern on May 7. To kick off the teaser of the new documentary, FloBowling will offer a week dedicated to two-handed bowling. The Salute To Two-Handed Bowling week starts Monday will feature various content around two-handers and rebroadcast the stepladders of events related to them. On May 5 and May 6, there will be two full days of rebroadcasts for bowling fans to enjoy. The first day of rebroadcasts on May 5 will be dedicated to many of the early wins by two-handed bowlers. The second day of rebroadcasts on May 6 will showcase seven shows where two- handers met for the title, three of which came in the 2020 season. Here’s what the schedule looks like (all times Eastern): Tuesday, May 5 9 a.m. – 2009 The Bowling Foundation Long Island Classic (Belmonte’s first title) 10:18 a.m. – 2011 PBA World Championship (Palermaa’s first major title) 11:30 a.m. – 2011 PBA Players Championship (Belmonte’s first major title) 12:42 p.m. – 2013 USBC Masters (Belmonte’s second major title) 2:17 p.m. – 2015 PBA Wolf Open (Kyle Troup’s first title) 3:45 p.m. – 2016 PBA Tournament of Champions (Jesper Svensson’s first title) 5:20 p.m. – 2016 USBC Masters (Anthony Simonsen’s first title) 6:40 p.m. – 2017 PBA Doubles Championship (Svensson/Troup’s first doubles title) WPWednesday, May 6 9 a.m. – 2017 PBA Players Championship (Belmonte vs. Simonsen final) 10:33 a.m. – 2017 PBA World Championship (Belmonte vs. Svensson final) Western Pacific 12:09 p.m. – 2018 Bowling Storm Lucky Larsen MastersSupply, (Troup vs. BelmonteInc. final) 1:49 p.m. – 2019 PBA Players Championship (Simonsen vs. Belmonte final) 3:52 p.m. – 2020 U.S. Open (Belmonte vs. Simonsen final) 5:57 p.m. – 2020 PBA Indianapolis Open (Svensson vs. Maldonado final) 7:57 p.m. – 2020 PBA World Championship (Belmonte vs. Simonsen final) Thursday, May 7 7 p.m. – Re-release of Simonsen: Leave It Behind, followed by the teaser for Two Hands On The Future 1216 W. Grove Avenue, Orange, CA 92865 We Specialize in: Distributors For: Happy Holiday • Qubica / A.M.F.