The lost art of action bowling
By GIL SANCHEZ For the News & Messenger
Published: June 23, 2010
In the sport of cricket, bowling action is the set of movements that result in the bowler releasing the ball in the general direction of the batsman. There is a technique for this and coaches spend hours teaching the proper bowling action.
In the game of tenpins, bowling action refers to something entirely different. In the sport of bowling, action refers to bowling opponents for money. Yes, putting money on the line and winner takes all.
Back in the day
If any of today's action bowlers could go back in time to the mid sixties and early seventies and walk into almost any bowling house on a Saturday night they would think they died and went to action heaven. They would find a few lanes with action bowling going on featuring some of the better bowlers. This was called pot bowling back then.
In most of these long ago action games spectators would be watching the matches and betting money on the side. Bowling has changed a lot since then and action matches are not what they used to be. In fact, action matches these days are hard to find.
A true tale?
A story has been told that 35 years ago a poll was taken among a group of veteran bowling writers who were asked to select an all America men's bowling team. Ten bowlers were to be selected. The one stipulation was that the bowlers had to be from the pre-1950 era.
The first nine men selected were no surprise since they were all Hall of Famers. They were Hank Marino, Jimmy Smith, Ned Day, Joe Wilman, Andy Varipapa, Jimmy Blouin, Joe Norris, Junie McMahon, and Buddy the bomber Bomar.
The 10th man chosen was a surprise. He was John "Count" Gengler. Gengler did not bowl competitively. Not in leagues or tournaments. He did not like publicity because it was in his best interest to remain anonymous. This was because Gengler was a bowling hustler.
Gengler went around the country hustling other bowlers for lots of money. He was easily able to get bowlers to bowl against him because he seemed non-threatening. He had a simple one step delivery and looked to be an average bowler but he was anything but average. In fact he was an amazing bowler.
It's been said that the Count once bowled a 300 in the dark. Today Gengler is often mentioned as one of the best bowlers of all time despite the lack of statistics to back up the claim.
Look out for hustler
Although hustling certainly isn't in vogue these days any bowler who likes a little side action should follow three main rules in order to avoid being hustled:
First, never bowl against anyone you don't know unless it's in a recognized and supervised competition.
Second, if you are tempted to bowl against strangers, keep the wager down to a few dollars. If you lose your money chalk it up to the price of an education.
And, finally, apply the test that nearly always exposes a hustler. Watch him or her on key shots, the ones that have to be made. If the bowler suddenly looks like a 220-average bowler instead of the 160 bowler he or she pretended to be, you are being hustled.
Gil Sanchez is a freelance bowling writer for the News & Messenger. He is a member of the Bowling Writers Association of America and the United States Bowling Congress Advisory Council. Reach him at 703-587-6792 or at gsanchez@insidenova.com .
