PBA 50th Anniversary Gala

In the words of virtually everyone who was a part of the PBA’s 50th Anniversary Gala in Las Vegas, it was an event they will never forget. Many said the Gala at Red Rock Resort, Casino and Spa on Jan. 25 was the greatest night in the history of the Professional Bowlers Association.

The Charleston Ballroom at Red Rock was a “Who’s Who in Bowling,” packed with superstars past-and-present, industry leaders, long-time PBA support staff members and awe-struck fans of the sport. The crowd witnessed an event-closing parade of 38 of the players named to the list of the PBA’s 50 Greatest Players and welcomed three new members of the PBA Hall of Fame.

John Handegard, a one-time plywood mill worker who grew up in the Pacific Northwest, became the first inductee into the PBA Senior Tour Hall of Fame. Handegard, who now lives in retirement in Spring, Texas, emerged from a failed career as a young PBA Tour would-be into the most successful Senior Tour player in history with 14 Senior titles. And to cap that feat, he finally won the PBA Tour title he coveted his entire life at age 57 – the oldest ever PBA Tour winner – in the 1995 Northwest Classic.

“This is really some kind of night,” Handegard beamed.

Del Ballard Jr., who has four major titles among his 12 PBA Tour victories, drew laughter and applause from the gathering when he said, “I want to thank the hall of fame voters for finally getting it right.”

The native Texan related a story about how he developed his unique bowling style. A bowling addict at a young age, he said he broke his right arm at age 13, but his fingers were free enough in his cast that he could “bowl” a golf ball down the hallway at home, trying to hit a hole he had cut into a shoebox.

When he proclaimed to his family that he was ready to take on the world’s best bowlers, “my dad gave me a credit card with a $5,000 balance in 1983, and he told me, ‘When that’s done, you’re done.’ That’s why I never quit.”

“I’ve been part of a lot of bowling history,” Ballard said in concluding his remarks, “but this has to be the No. 1 night of my life.”

The final inductee was Norm Duke, who had seen his record three-consecutive-major titles streak ended three days earlier. He came to the Gala with 31 titles on his resume, including titles in the PBA Triple Crown and Grand Slam events, and he’s still at the peak of his game.

Fellow PBA Hall of Famer Brian Voss, Duke’s closest friend for more than 20 years on tour, introduced Duke by saying, “He showed up with a gunslinger attitude, an ‘I can beat anyone’ presence. There are dreamers who can make those things happen, and Norm did.”

Duke first raved about the autograph session earlier in the day when all 38 of the “50 Greatest” lined up on the approach at Red Rock Lanes to sign autographs for fans for two hours.

Then he recalled the reality of his career, of being the youngest player in PBA history to win a title (age 18 in Cleveland in 1983), and the void of failing to win again for the next eight years.

“I really wanted to quit after eight years out here,” he said. “When I met my wife (Karen) in 1990, I had one title. Today I have 31, so to say she wasn’t a big influence in my life…” He left the rest unsaid.

Of his young son Brandon, Duke related a story about packing up to leave to bowl in the Tournament of Champions, and telling his son he’d be gone for a week. “Brandon asked if Pete (Weber) and Walter Ray (Williams Jr.) would be there. I told him they would. Brandon looked at me and said, ‘Dad, you have no chance.’”

For a solid week, the future stars of the PBA mingled with the players and behind-the-scenes workers who built the organization. Chris Peters, Rob Glaser and Mike Slade – the former Microsoft executives who rescued the PBA from certain bankruptcy in 2000 – got a chance to experience what their investment has meant to the sport.