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Legacy of charisma, skill left by Anthony

By PHIL GULICK

© St. Petersburg Times,
published August 23, 2001

He was Mr. Smoothie, the Oil Man, the Machine, and he walked away from the game that made his name synonymous with McEnroe, Palmer and Petty.

Earl Anthony, 63, died Aug. 14 while visiting friends in Milwaukee.

Anthony brought class, charisma and skill to a much-maligned sport during an era without high-powered balls and techno lane conditions. He was bowling's greatest champion.

The left-hander won 41 PBA titles and four senior crowns, including six PBA National Championships, two Tournament of Champions and six PBA Player of the Year Awards. He was the first to eclipse the $1-million mark in earnings and was named Bowler of the Decade for the 1970s. His 41 wins top the PBA and he ranks third on the all-time money list.

Anthony emerged from a company league in Tacoma, Wash., with a 204 average and hit the pro tour in 1970s. He had a picture-perfect delivery and a winning consistency unmatched then and now.

Anthony quit the game in 1990. "I don't even own a bowling ball anymore, but I have golf clubs in my car trunk," he said. "Let's just say I had my turn, had some degree of success and that's that. It's all over now." Anthony, however, returned to competition on the PBA Senior Tour in 1996, then bowed out again a year later.

During one of his rare appearances in the Tampa Bay area in 1992, Anthony announced to his fans at Seminole Lanes that he wasn't going to roll a ball this day. "I've come here to work with the veterans and I won't be putting on any exhibition," he said.

I talked with him:

Q : When did you start bowling?

A: I didn't pick up a bowling ball until I was 21, in 1959.

Q : Were you a natural?

A: No, I don't think so. I was born with great hand-eye coordination and I've always had that. I usually could hit what I was looking at. I think much of the rest of it is luck.

Q : You were a baseball pitcher?

A: Yes. I played three sports at Lincoln High in Tacoma, but baseball was my sport. I didn't finish high school, joined the Air Force when I was 17 and pitched for the all-service team. While I was in the Air Force, the Baltimore Orioles offered me a contract. We dickered back and forth over the signing bonus and I went to spring training with them in Yuma, Ariz., in 1959.

The day I was to sign, I injured my ankle covering first base. It screwed up my pitching delivery and I eventually hurt my shoulder. I never did sign.

Q : When did you turn pro?

A: I won my first pro tournament in Seattle (1970) in my 13th tournament on my 13th wedding anniversary and I gave my wife 13 red roses.

Q : What was your most memorable match?

A: Against Mike Durbin for the national championship at Toledo in 1983. I was behind 25 pins after five frames and beat him, 210-183.

Q : How has the pro tour changed since you started?

A: It's still the same game, but played differently. I think the biggest change on the tour was brought about by advances in the bowling ball. When bowling centers had to change lane surfaces because of the danger of lacquer and high insurance rates, they went to a harder surface. That meant bowlers needed a different ball to match the conditions.

The guy who made that happen was Don McCune. He was the first pro to soak a bowling ball. He took a hard-shell ball to a chemist and found out what chemical would soften the cover. He was the only one doing it on the tour around 1973 when he became bowler of the year. I had three firsts and five seconds and should have won that title, but I wasn't soaking.

Anyway, everyone started soaking the ball until the tour put a stop to it. That's when the manufacturers came out with today's softer ball.

Q : Do left-handers really have an advantage?

A: On house conditions, there's no doubt about it. There's less play, the lanes are smoother and the oil pattern holds up better. Not on the tour, though. The tour has its own maintenance people and they can set up conditions to make them equal.

Q : Does the tour favor certain players?

A: The tour has stats on how many lefties are out and they want to end the year with a certain number of them in the percentage of money won. When I went on tour, there were 30 lefties out. Lane maintenance started the year after and, by 1973, there were only six lefties out. They all went broke.

Q : Is there anything you didn't accomplish during your career?

A: I never won the U.S. Open. I finished second four times.

Q : Why did you walk away from bowling?

A: I've been traveling for 22 years, living the rat race on the road and that gets old. I'll do some TV work and things like that, but I'll stay at home now.

-- Phil Gulick can be reached at xerxes8@msn.com.

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