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As stated earlier, writing this
column for BowlersParadise.com is giving me the luxury (and opportunity)
to pass along many different things (in many different areas) to
you, the bowler. Below is one of my favorite stories about one of
my favorite bowlers who bowled on the Tour. This story is one of
over 40 stories that are on the CD that is being sold on this web
site. The name of the CD is: "The Tour Would Be Great "IF" You Didn't
Have To Bowl". ENJOY !!!
Sports Psychologists will often lay claim to the fact that staying
calm during competition is, the: "Key-To-Success". They try to teach
athletes to stay on an even keel; never getting too low (down) when
things don't go your way; and try not to get too high (excited)
when things do go your way. That is a very true statement. Some
of the greatest athletes of All-Time never lost their composure
during competition. This is especially true in: "individual" competition.
Without question, one of the coolest performers that I ever saw
was a player from New York who bowled in the 60's and 70's, Mike
Lemongello. He must have had "Ice water in his veins". It is no
wonder that he is in the PBA Hall Of Fame. He was a great bowler
and one of the true characters in the history of all sports.
We were at the old Showboat in Las Vegas in the early '70's and
the PBA Tournament Director, Mr. Harry Golden, came to me before
the practice session (on Sunday, as this was a long format) and
asked me if I could go to the airport to pick Mike up. I knew Mike,
and I said, "Sure". I arrived at the airport and there he was standing
at the curb. All he had was a small, vinyl, carry-on clothes bag
over his shoulder. I said, "Where is all your stuff?" He said, "This
is it, I like to travel light." I assumed that he had transported
his bowling equipment and his other luggage on the Tour truck with
Larry Lichstein, who at the time was the PBA Player Services Director.
On the ride back to the Showboat Hotel, Casino and Bowling Center,
Mike asked me to stop at Sears so he could pick something up. We
went in and he asked a clerk where the men's clothing was. He then
proceeded to buy: seven tee-shirts, seven pairs of socks and seven
sets of underwear. When we got to the hotel lobby, he stood in line
and attempted to check-in. They said they were sorry, but they were
sold out. He hadn't bothered to make a reservation. He asked me
if I had a roommate and I said no. He said, "OK, I'll room with
you." I said, "OK." We went to my room and he unpacked his stuff
(a few pair of pants, a few nice shirts, two pair of dress shoes
and his shaving kit) along with the new stuff that he had just bought
at Sears.
I told him that practice session was getting ready to start and
he should go to the truck to get his equipment. He told me that
he didn't have any bowling balls on the truck, that he would just
use somebody else's. I thought that he was joking. We went down
to the bowling center and I took my usual seat in the stands to
watch ball reaction, which was part of my job as laneman. I noticed
him wandering up and down in the settee areas, talking to a lot
of the guys. This was the first tournament of the year that Mike
was bowling (he had passed up the 1st 2-stops on the West Coast)
and he was renewing old acquaintances. As he was talking with all
of his old friends, I saw him continually picking-up their bowling
balls and putting his hand in them. He was (as I found out later),
going to use someone else's ball. One that "they" were not going
to use, and one that felt half way decent to Mike.
Unbelievable.
In the past, I had heard a lot of stories about him, and now I was
witnessing some of them first-hand. I knew right then that I was
in for a real experience, but what I was about to witness was one
of the most memorable weeks of my entire life. I have known and
hung around with lot of characters in my day, but he is perhaps
the most unforgettable one that I have ever met.
After the practice session was over (by the way, he didn't practice),
I went up to the room to get some sleep. About 2-hours later, Mike
came back to the room with one of his New York buddies, Jimmy McHugh.
Jimmy was a brash, young PBA player with a reputation as an "action"
bowler; one who would bowl anybody, for any amount of money, at
any time. I was trying to sleep because I had been up all night
doing the lanes. I didn't know Jimmy, but had watched him bowl a
little on the Tour. In his N.Y. accent, he asked me if I wanted
to play Gin Rummy. Before I could answer, Mike told him to leave
me alone because I was a nice guy. Jimmy just looked down and never
said another word, as if Al Capone had told him to shut up. They
left to go down to the Casino to play "craps". I went back to sleep.
I got up around 10:00pm., had dinner and fooled around with the
quarter slots for a while. At about 1:00am., I went into the bowl
(which adjoins the Casino) to make sure that everything was ready
for my nightly chores. The Pro-Am was finishing up and I overheard
some guys talking about what had happened earlier that night at
the dice table. They went into detail about how some PBA bowler
was winning all kinds of money. I had to know who it was, but, they
didn't know his name. They did say that the "guy" was very calm
and never smiled or frowned the entire time he was rolling the dice.
At that point, I just knew that it had to be Mike.
I went into the Casino to snoop around and heard a lot of noise
at the main crap table. It was the only table in operation and it
was packed with participants. I walked over closer to get a better
look, and sure enough, Mike & Jimmy were still in the crap game.
Jimmy looked a little bedraggled, but Mike still looked as fresh
he did when I picked him up at the airport yesterday. I watched
until 3:00am, and then went to work on the lanes.
I finished at 8:00am and waited for A-Squad to start. After watching
the first two or three games, I wanted to go back to the room to
get cleaned up. On my way to the room, I had to go through the Casino.
You guessed it….they were still rolling the dice. They were now
there for about 17-hours. I caught Mike's eye and motioned for him
to let me know how he was doing by putting my thumb "up" and "down"
in one motion. He waved his hand with the palm "up" and then the
palm "down", meaning: "so-so". I watched for about an hour. On almost
every roll, every player would yell and holler. Every player that
is, except for Mike. Nothing fazed him. I left and went to the room
to shower and get cleaned up. When I went back down to see how A-Squad
was wrapping-up, I once again had to pass through the Casino. They
were still there. Jimmy was just about out on his feet. Mike looked
as though he had just stepped out of GQ magazine. Not a hair out
of place.
Amazing.
This guy was something else.
I reminded him that he was on B-Squad and he had to bowl in about
an hour. He thanked me and said he would be there. I said, "What
about sleep?" He said, "Oh, I'm ok, I got a couple of hours on the
plane."
At the completion of bowling that day, with 360-bowlers in the field,
Mike was in 5th place.
At the completion of his round, he left immediately for The Fremont
Hotel to play cards.
He was too much.
PART 2 of 2……NEXT MONTH. |
