Pin Action: Small-Time Gangsters, High-Stakes Gambling, and the Teenage Hustler Who Became a Bowling Champion (29 page)

This chapter’s account of the 1969 Greater Buffalo Open mingles the recollections Schlegel shared with me and my own observations upon watching a DVD copy of that show, which I acquired from the PBA. Additionally, PBA.com, the official website of the Professional Bowlers Association, contains an extensive, historical archive chronicling the results of PBA tournaments going back to 1959. It is one of the world’s greatest resources for professional bowling history. I regularly combed over that source over the years for information on where Schlegel and others placed in various tournaments throughout the decades, including the 1969 Greater Buffalo Open.

CHAPTER FIVE

THE BICENTENNIAL KID

In addition to many hours of interviews with the Schlegels—both Cathy and Ernie—I drew upon a variety of sources to stitch together this chapter’s glimpse into the most colorful moment in Schlegel’s professional bowling career. The Schlegels provided me with many pages of archival stories that appeared in magazines and newspapers in the 1970s and ‘80s. I found many allusions to—and some more involved examinations of—Schlegel’s “Bicentennial Kid” days in those stories. They include E.J. Kahn III’s profile of Schlegel in a 1976 issue of the now-defunct magazine,
Oui
; and several stories from back issues of
Bowlers Journal International
, including an
interview with Schlegel in February, 1997 on the heels of his induction into the United States Bowling Congress and Professional Bowlers Association Halls of Fame, an October, 1975 piece called “Ernie Schlegel, U.S.A., is the Bicentennial Kid” by Jim Dressel, and a February, 1979 story called “The New Testament and Old Wounds of Ernie Schlegel.” Other stories that helped lend some perspective to the significance and controversy of Schlegel’s daring garb on the PBA Tour included a February, 1979 Dick Evans piece for the
Miami Herald
called “Schlegel Giving Bowling a Needed Injection of Flair,” a 1977 story by Chuck Frank called “Outspoken Bowler Schlegel: Mr. USA Does it His Way” that appeared in the
Suburban Tribune
, and a March, 1982 story Herm Weiskopf produced for
Sports Illustrated
called “Licorice Out, Snails In.”

This chapter’s information about Billy Hardwick, Bobby Jacks and Curt Schmidt derives from interviews with Len Nicholson, Larry Lichstein, Curt Schmidt, Billy Hardwick, Nelson Burton Jr., and, of course, Ernie Schlegel. Additionally, the following stories also helped: an August 7, 2005 story by Mike Henry for
The Bradenton Herald
titled “The Billy Hardwick Story: Tragedy and Triumph”; an August, 1964 story by Dick Denny titled “The Boy with the Golden Claw,” an August, 1976 story by Jim Dressel titled “Billy Grows Up,” a December, 1986 story by Lynda Collins titled “The Trials of Bobby Jacks,” and a November, 1983 story titled “Whatever Happened to Curt Schmidt?” all written for
Bowlers Journal International
; and a June, 1985 story by Wayne Raguse titled “Schmidt ‘Pitched’ the Pins Over” that appeared in
Bowling Digest
.

CHAPTER 6

THE GORILLAS OF VANCOUVER

This chapter’s stories about Gehrmann’s gorillas derive from in-person interviews I conducted with Gery Gehrmann and
Schlegel during a 2009 visit to Vancouver. Schlegel and I met up with Gehrmann at a local bagel shop, where Gehrmann emerged out of the fog like some unsteady vessel and entered through glass double doors that almost seemed too narrow to allow his passage. He waved a leathery hand the size of a catcher’s mitt in recognition of Schlegel. The paper cup he grabbed to fill with coffee reduced to the size of a kiwi in his grip. Anytime Schlegel complained about the grueling nature of the training regimen to which Gehrmann subjected him, Gehrmann would flash Schlegel a look with those beady blue eyes of his and say “I had no sympathy for you then, and I have no sympathy for you now.”

This chapter’s recollections of the 1979 Dutch Masters Open rely on interviews with Schlegel and my observations on a DVD copy of the show I obtained from bowling superfan Keith Kingston. Kingston frequented the now-defunct PBA.com message boards, where I connected with him after hearing he had an extensive collection of archival PBA footage he had recorded over the years. I asked him to send me any recordings of PBA shows on which Schlegel had appeared and he was kind enough to send me the 1979 Dutch Masters Open along with several other shows from the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s.

Other sources for this chapter were Larry Lichstein’s November, 1978 story for
Bowlers Journal International
, “The Greatest Non-Champion”; Barry McDermott’s December, 1978 story for
Sports Illustrated
, “Their Prix was 10 Grand”; Jack Rux’s January 23, 1979
Oakland Tribune
story, “PBA Cramps Schlegel’s Style”; and an undated story Chuck Pezzano wrote for
Bowling
magazine titled “Take it from the Pros.”

The material about Mark Roth in this chapter comes from interviews with Mark Roth, Ernie and Cathy Schlegel, and Teata Semiz. Also helpful were PBA.com’s online archives, and
a July 18, 2004 story by Martin Fennelly for the
Tampa Tribune
called “A Legend in the House.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

SHRUGGING OFF THE MONKEY

This chapter’s account of the legendary career of Nelson Burton Jr. and the first PBA Tour title Schlegel won at his expense were gleaned from my interviews with Burton and Schlegel, a copy of the 1980 King Louie Open show sent to me by Kingston, stories from back issues of
Bowlers Journal International
, and PBA.com’s extensive online archive of past PBA Tour events. I combed over that archive to read about each of the 18 tournaments Burton won in his competitive career, and each helped me unpeel another layer of the man—both as a bowler and as an announcer.
Bowlers Journal International
stories I found particularly helpful in understanding Burton included an April, 1972 story by Don Snyder called “A Portrait of Determination,” a November, 1965 piece by John J. Archibald titled “A Chip off a Splendid Block,” and a January, 1986 story by Dan Herbst called “Is an Emmy Next for Bowling’s Bo?”

Aside from reading up on Burton, I also had the chance to get to know him a bit myself. I happened to bowl league for a couple years at Stuart Lanes in Stuart, Florida, where I moved after obtaining an MFA in creative writing at The New School in New York City. One day, while practicing at Stuart Lanes, I noticed a guy who looked an awful lot like Burton down on lane three shooting some games with his buddies. I walked up to the woman at the front desk and asked who he was; she confirmed my suspicions. I watched him cruise to a practice score of 264, his arm swing smooth as a mirror. At the time, which was 2004, Burton still maintained a 238 average and had the league’s high series, an
804. In January of 2014, at age 71, Burton broke the record for three-game series in the Friday Morning Match Play League at Jensen Beach Bowl in Jensen Beach, a small town neighboring Stuart. He bowled games of 300, 288 and 290—an 878 series. Obviously, the man still has game.

CHAPTER EIGHT

THE LAST GREAT ACTION MATCH

I have had the opportunity to speak with Randy Pedersen on a number of occasions. I interviewed him for
Bowers Journal Interactive
in 2013, and I nominated him for the United States Bowling Congress Hall of Fame that same year. The 1995 Touring Players Championship is not an event one just casually discusses with Pedersen. On the rare occasion when that topic did come up between us, I learned that the way things went down that day still irk him to this moment. An October, 1987
Bowling Digest
story by John J. Archibald titled “A Mature Winner,” a May, 1986 story by Bob Johnson titled “The Secret Behind Randy’s Work Ethic” and an April, 1989 interview titled “The Amazing Adventures of Captain Happy,” all produced for
Bowlers Journal International
, also contributed to
this chapter’s material on Randy Pedersen. The PBA’s online archives also yielded a lot of information about Pedersen as a bowler and as a man.

The 1995 Touring Players Championship is freely available to view on YouTube. I have watched it probably close to 100 times; I first saw it live the day it aired on ESPN. My interviews with Schlegel added valuable context and insight to the show, enabling me to watch it with new eyes so many years after I saw it for the first time. In addition to watching the show and talking about it with Schlegel, PBA.com’s online archive and stories sent to me by the Schlegels also helped a great deal.

This chapter’s accounts of the televised championship rounds on which Schlegel appeared in the 1980s derive from PBA.com’s online archives and YouTube videos of those shows. Interviews with the Schlegels contributed to the material on John Mazzio. Additionally, a July, 1978 story for
Bowlers Journal International by Jim Dressel, “Shrink to th
e Stars,” also helped. The stories about evolutions in bowling ball technology, and the machinations pros indulged to manipulate their performance, derive from interviews with Len Nicholson, Larry Lichstein, Ernie Schlegel and PBA.com’s online archives.

ILLUSTRATIONS

This is a photo from the 1963 American Bowling Congress National Tournament, now known as the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships. Back in the day, this was
the
tournament at which to prove yourself. This photo features a young Kenny Barber standing by the ball return on lane 13, about to set up for his next shot. If you glance up at the scoreboard, you can see that Barber has four strikes in a row. Only one other player has strung together that many strikes.
Photo courtesy of Kenny Barber/the United States Bowling Congress.

The Schlegels weeks after Ernie won the 1996 Masters.
Photo courtesy of Cathy Schlegel.

Schlegel with Toru Nagai, the Japanese restauranteur who drove Schlegel throughout New York City and beyond in his black Cadillac, looking for fish wherever they could be found.
Photo courtesy of Cathy Schlegel.

The apartment building on Sickles Street in Inwood where Schlegel grew up. Schlegel’s father, William, the superintendent of the building, would make him sweep those stairs clean every evening before he was allowed to eat dinner
. Photo courtesy of Gianmarc Manzione.