Month: February 2024

Approximately every four years, we get an extra day. This is done to synchronize the calendar year with the astronomical year, and “approximately” in this case means every four years, except when a year is divisible by 100 but not 400. Obviously. If not for the occasional leap year, who knows what kind of mind-boggling chaos we’d be living under. (The most recent “skipped” leap year was in 1900 and the next will be in 2100.)

When applicable, as it is this year, the extra day is tacked on to February, giving us the chance to enjoy February 29. Things happen every day of the year, so when we get February 29, things happen then, too. But how do we mark the anniversaries of pivotal events? Those who are born on February 29 are known to joke they’re only ¼ their real age. Born February 29, 2004? Happy fifth birthday.

Only three PBA Tour titles have been won on February 29 (arguably four—read on), but several big moments for all-time greats have taken place on leap day that either led to titles, celebrated titles or gave a man a moment to almost rest between titles.

This month, with an extra day to savor, we bring special attention to those rare bowling events that took place on the esteemed, rare date of February 29.

February 29, 2020

Jesper Svensson won his ninth PBA Tour title when he defeated Shawn Maldonado to win the PBA Indianapolis Open. Even better for Svensson: earlier in the day, he and partner Kyle Troup won the Roth/Holman Doubles Championship (their second time doing so), a taped show that would air March 8. Not only was February 29 a great day for Svensson, but it’s also part of the wonderful chronological lore of bowling in which Svensson, in real time, won the doubles event for his ninth title, but because the singles event aired live that night, the singles event counted as number nine and the doubles counted for 10. Regardless, Svensson became performance-eligible for PBA Hall of Fame consideration four years (or one February 29) ago.

February 29, 2012

Pete Weber was three days in to the immense national media attention he received for winning his record fifth U.S. Open title and uttering the most legendary phrase in the history of sports: “Who do you think you are? I am.”

This moment is still, even 12 years and three days (five if you count the two February 29s in between), talked about and celebrated, in bowling and out, partly evidenced by being mentioned here even though the original exclamation happened on February 26.

February 29, 2008

Best-of-seven match play captivated Sequoia Pro Bowl in Columbus, Ohio at the PBA Buckeye State Classic. The top 32 players were trimmed to eight by the end of the day, a group that included Kelly Kulick two years before her Tournament of Champions win. Chris Barnes, the man who would finish second in that 2010 Tournament of Champions, was also part of the top eight. Two days later, after winning three more matches, Barnes was the champion. It was the 10^th title of his Hall of Fame career.

February 29, 2004

Tommy Jones was two days into celebrating his second career title, which came in the PBA Cambridge Credit Classic on Long Island. Jones has since won 20 titles and been inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame.

February 29, 1996

Defending champion Bryan Goebel fended off Ricky Ward to qualify as the top seed for the next day’s stepladder finals in the Tucson Open. Goebel then defeated Ward in the title match, earning Goebel back-to-back victories in the Tucson Open. It was Goebel’s eighth victory in what would become a 10-title Hall of Fame career.

February 29, 1992

Chris Warren won his fifth of six career PBA Tour titles, climbing the stepladder as the No. 4 seed to ultimately defeat Bob Vespi in the championship match.

February 29, 1976

Earl Anthony was presumably on the road between Windsor Locks, Connecticut (where he’d just won the Midas Open on the 28^th) and Tamarac, Florida (where he’d win the Dick Weber Five-Star Open) on March 6.

February 29, 1964

One season removed from his 1963 Player of the Year effort at a mere 22 years of age, Billy Hardwick won the Birmingham Coca-Cola PBA Open for his fifth career title. It was his first of three victories on the season. Hardwick went on to win a total of 18 PBA Tour titles and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1977.

The PBA Tour will be in Delaware on February 29 this year with the cut to the top 24 coming in the early afternoon. If PBA Leap History tells us anything, someone who makes that cut will some day enter the PBA Hall of Fame.

This installment of The One Board originally appeared, surprisingly, in Bowlers Journal International, January, 2024

One of the few great features of pop culture is the generic sitcom plot: the person who abhors gambling accidentally finding a lucky streak and becoming addicted on a trip to Las Vegas or Atlantic City, the husband trying to watch the big game when he’s supposed to be on a date with his wife, kids throwing a party that goes way too far while their parents are out, to name a few. And, of course: The Bowling Episode.

In The Bowling Episode, the character portrayed as being new to or bad at bowling inevitably ends up facing a 7-10 split in the 10^th frame. This split must be converted to win the league or a bet with his spouse or some other ultimately meaningless pursuit. We need to ignore the writers’ ignorance regarding bowling scoring and strategy (if converting the 7-10 wins, then knocking down one of the pins ties, resulting in whatever detailed roll-off procedure the Writers Guild negotiated in their last contract). The smart strategy would be for the inept character to be content with knocking down one pin and hope for the best in the roll-off.

In fairness, there may have been a roll-off in waiting on at least three dozen of these episodes, but thankfully our character converts the split every time, then celebrates wildly. Sometimes, the character strikes on the first ball in the 10^th and the 7-10 split is on the second, meaning his spare attempt is the final shot and celebrating is acceptable. Other times, the split comes on the first shot in the 10^th and the conversion on the second, meaning the TV crew should be just off camera shouting at the elated individual, telling him to stop being happy and immediately throw his meaningless fill ball before resuming his enthusiasm, but maybe that happens during the credits.

Regardless, what we’ve learned from all this is what TV writers, who write for the masses, believe: the most compelling way for a bowling match to be decided is by someone converting the 7-10 split in the final frame to win.

Of course such a thing would be exciting in a real bowling match between two top professionals. But take a week or so and ponder: has it ever happened in the history of the PBA Tour? Not the 7-10 split, necessarily, but a big split like a 6-7 or even 2-4-10. And not one of those third-frame conversions we’re told to remember because that might prove to be big later, and not a ninth-frame conversion that kept the guy in the match he eventually won, but an actual, winning shot.

Mark Roth’s 7-10 conversion happened in the ninth frame against Bill Straub. Had Roth not converted the 7-10, Straub could’ve won. Kris Prather made the 3-4-6-7-10 in the 10^th frame of game one of the race-to-two 2019 PBA Playoffs, which was important but was not the winning shot of that game, let alone the match. Similarly, Mike Aulby made the 6-7 split in the ninth frame of the title match in the 1998 ABC Masters that kept him in the match, but he and his opponent, Parker Bohn III, still had to bowl the entire 10^th frame.

Pondering further: why would it happen? If a pro needs to convert the 7-10 to win, he’s going to be happy taking out the 10 and going to a roll-off. If he needs to convert a big split to earn a fill ball, still needing at least one pin, then sure, he’ll go for the split. But has that ever happened? Has professional bowling ever given society what they allegedly crave based on generic sitcom plots?

In Kingpin, which is not a sitcom, Big Ern needed all three strikes in the 10^th. That is far more common in professional bowling and one could argue even more compelling. A hypothetical 7-10 split conversion to win a tournament would be met with disbelief and euphoria from the player and the crowd, but drilling all three strikes when they are required showcases the athleticism and determination of the player, which is better for many reasons.

Sitcoms, you’ve been getting it wrong, but it doesn’t matter. We only watch sitcoms if they’re aired live so we can record them and watch later while chastising some stranger on social media who posted about what happened.