Bowling Ball of Choice: The “Dick” Ball

UPDATE: MY father read over this article and I’m proud to boast that the story was pretty much dead on except that I was actually mad at him for a number of weeks rather than days.  Not a bad memory, huh??

Never fear…my goal of kingpin-bowling.com, much like my time on the lanes, is not to land in the gutter.  Although the title of this story may seem a bit edgy, please know that my father and I are both named Richard, and “Dick” is a nickname, much like Dick Vitale or Dick Van Dyke.

Bowling was a family staple for me in my toddler stages as my father was very much into the sport and rolled in several different leagues.  When he went out on league night, my mother and I would tag along and we’d watch him toss the rock around and have a pretty good time with the other league players and such.

My father’s house of choice was one that had a pro shop sharing the same area as the service desk and they always had a lineup of new bowling balls and other products sitting in the glass case to show off and entice potential buyers.  During one particular evening at the alley, my father had noticed a brand new ball that had just been placed up for sale that he really liked.  It was a nice dark red, but it was transparent and had a ‘glittery’ decorated cone with the flat end of the cone available for personalization.

Oddly enough, around this time, my father and I were also very much into professional wrestling and Hulk Hogan with his red and yellow theme was all the rage.  Sure enough, the bowling ball in question had a fingertip span, and yellow pads so maybe it was an omen that my father needed this ball.  For weeks, he’d stop by the pro-shop display and drool over the ball, asking to see it here and there and seemingly ready to shed a tear when he had to give it back to the clerk.

Of course, I was the son that idolized his father and sure enough, I liked the ball just as much as he did.  It was red, shiny and the glitter made it that much better when it moved in the light.  I kept asking him if he didn’t want it, could he buy it for me, after all…I was an aspiring bowler myself and needed the best equipment, right?

The league was coming to a close and since it was right around Easter, the Easter Bunny was walking around the bowling alley for the kids.  Toward the end of the night, and I’m not sure whose idea this was, but my father was asked to hang around and not go anywhere for a bit while the rest of the group finished up and prepared to call it a night.  I was hanging out with my mother when the Easter Bunny himself comes over and throws his arm around my father’s shoulder.

Then, from behind Mr. Bunny’s back, the red, transparent bowling ball, perfectly fitted and personalized with the name, “Dick” on the flat end of the cone, was handed to my father as a gift.  Now, you would think this would be a time of celebration and joy for everybody…well, it was…except for me.  I pulled the toddler card, cried my eyes out and screamed that it was my ball and that someone made a mistake!!!  I was actually mad at my father for the next few days, and anytime he bowled with it, it only rekindled my pint-sized rage.

When I was about five years old, I joined my first league on my own and at the time, I was using either a house ball, or my mother’s bowling ball.  I was doing well enough in the league and my father surprised me by handing off the “Dick” ball to me as a gift.  The first day I used the ball on my Saturday morning league, I rolled the league high game of 191. This was truly the best present I had ever received from my father and to this day, I still roll with that very same ball.  Although it hasn’t happened yet, I hope to get my first 300 game with it before it goes to the ball conditioner in the sky.

So, ladies and gentlemen, without further delay, prepare to witness the glory of the 30 year old bowling ball still in play…The “Dick” Ball!!