Bowlers Journal International - February 2008 - (Page 41) ANALYSIS ALAN BRUNETTIN The PBA may not recognize some of their titles, but how can it erase two of the "majors" won by Earl Anthony? By the same PBA math, Dick Weber lost four majors, while Don Carter lost ten. he always seemed to want to shift his game up to that next gear.” As far as we saw — and we covered all four events — it was the same for his two Tournament of Champions wins, as well as his pair of Masters triumphs. Nobody argues with the notion that the Tournament of Champions deserves the status of being labeled a major. However, some questioned that status when the new owners served up a truncated format at the beginning of the new millennium. (The Seattle braintrust heard the grumbles, and re-adjusted the format to restore the event to its rightful place among the Tour’s most prestigious.) By the same token, nobody questions the inclusion of the World Championship — along with its former incarnation as the National Championship — on the list of Tour majors. The same can be said about the U.S. Open, arguably one of the most prestigious events today. Some wonder why its predecessor, the All-Star, is excluded from PBA’s list. After all, once a major, always a major, right? So that is as good a place as any to start our peek into some of the ”tainted” events that no longer earn the PBA’s revisionist imprimatur among the list of majors. ALL-STAR & WORLD’S There is little question that the All-Star and World’s Invitational had hitherto been acclaimed as majors by all but the most determined of revisionists. Why were they regarded so highly? The 100-game formats of both events, in particular, lent them a legitimacy and credibility that few events can match today, even the U.S. Open. Credibility? With 100 games, it was usually the big stars and established names that rose to the top. There were few flukes or one-shot wonders. ”People might not remember, or even understand, just how many games they bowled to win the All-Star or the World’s,” said McGrath, who won the 1973 U.S. Open. ”They just can’t relate. I don’t even know how they bowled 100 games. For me, 60 games [as in the ’73 edition] were plenty.” Other factors elevated both events. The All-Star had great media coverage, which — incredible as it might seem now — included radio coverage. How do you cover a bowling event by radio? We don’t know, either, but columnist Pezzano insists that it was a popular feature of the tournament. Another clue that the All-Star was huge in its day? ”It invariably produced the Bowler of the Year,” said Pezzano. The All-Star was prestigious from the very start, and why not? It was the brainstorm of then Chicago Tribune Sports Editor Arch Ward, who also invented baseball’s All-Star game. Because of that genesis, bowling’s inaugural All-Star marked its December 7, 1941, start with banner headlines across six columns atop the Tribune’s sports section. The same thing happened the next day, too, although the front page was covered with huge headlines about Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. With that kind of a dramatic kick-off, the All-Star remained a Chicago staple for more than a decade-and-a-half. When sponsor BPAA began to move its All-Star venue around the country, the by-now tournament-savvy Chicago BPA launched the World’s Invitational, which enjoyed the same type of prestige with the bowling media of the day. ”Both the All-Star and World’s Invitational had great formats,” recalls Pezzano. ”[Chicago BPA publicist Jim] Kearns came up with the World’s Invitational, and he was a good promoter who knew what the fans liked but maybe the 100-game format might’ve been a tad too long.” The fans grew accustomed, however, and the players embraced it as well, although a massage therapist always was on duty to help them combat the bowlers journal international 41 FEBRUARY 2008
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