Sioux City Journal Online - December 7, 2010
This time of year brings back memories of when bowling, yes bowling, ruled in Siouxland.
One of my fondest memories is bowling with my dad in the Saturday morning “Little Pigs League” at the Sioux Village Bowling Alley, formerly located on Highway 75 North. The league was named after the former Little Pigs Barbeque house on Hamilton Boulevard and teams selected their names from the menu of the restaurant. My dad chose the appropriate name “Hot Fish” and we would square up against the likes of Shakes, Cole Slaw, French Fries, etc. One year “Hot Fish” was already taken so my Dad chose “Cold Fish,” which happened to be one of the few years we were not bottom feeders in the standings (pardon the irresistible pun).
The only requirement for the league was to have a bowler over the age of 18 and someone under the age of 18. There were plenty of father-son, mother-daughter and other combinations. I was only eight years old our first year in the league. I threw the ball with two hands and had to bowl in my socks since they didn't have shoes big enough for me. (I was shocked recently to see on ESPN that there actually is a professional bowler from New Zealand who bowls with two hands!)
Back in the day, a lot of people bowled in leagues and the Sunday paper was loaded with league standings and individual scores. Downtown had two lower-level bowling alleys (Sioux Lanes and the War Eagle). There was the West Lanes on West 7th as well as the Park Bowl in Greenville and Gay Lanes on Nebraska Street (name later changed to Bowlmore when “gay” came to mean more than happy). Along with the Sioux Village, these bowling alleys are all long gone.
My dad, a Greenville kid, worked at the Park Bowl as a pin setter, a job that people actually used to do. He got his fair share of bruises from errant pins. When he wasn't setting pins, he was actually a pretty decent bowler with the classic Dick Weber hook.
The Park Bowl was owned by Bernie Schreiber and Jim Goergan, two distinct personalities and both premier “keglars.” After the Park burned down in 1986, Jim bought a bowling alley in Sanford, Mich., which his two sons, Rick and Bo, still operate. Both are professional bowlers and Bo recently won the national singles title with the highest series ever bowled.
Sundays at noon “The Big Bowl” was on Channel 9 featuring live bowling. The program matched up the best bowlers from Sioux Falls with the best from Sioux City in head-to-head competition. Co-anchored by legendary Sioux City sportscaster Gene Sherman from KCAU-TV and Dave Dedrich from KELO-TV in Sioux Falls, the program had a substantial viewing audience from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s.
Bowling's heyday pre-dated color television, not to mention the Internet, cable and satellite TV, iPods and countless other distractions that compete for individual and family time today.
Not the huge pastime it used to be, bowling is still enjoyed by many, although there have been some changes over the years. According to Bruce Widner, owner of Don's Proshop, a Sioux City fixture since 1970, technology in bowling balls and lane modifications have increased scores substantially. “You have some bowlers carrying a 220 average which was unheard of 30 years ago,” says Bruce.
Today's bowling alleys have become entertainment centers like the Lewis Bowl complex, the first bowling alley built in Sioux City in 40 years. Loud music, fluorescent lights, and flat screen TVs, all designed to make bowling more “fun,” are the norm, replacing the dark, dingy, smoke-filled bowling alleys of days gone by.
While I enjoy taking my own son bowling at today's “fun centers,” I'll never be able to create the same kinds of memories I shared with my dad in “The Little Pigs League” and I doubt we'll ever see local bowling televised again.
Next week: Brent Hoffman
