The Best of the Best - Dressel and Duke 

Bowlers Journal Magazine is celebrating its 95th anniversary this month. Wow! . . .A remarkable achievement to keep a business going for so long. A huge salute to Luby Publishing, the Luby Family (Mort, his father and grandfather) the current owners, Mike Panozzo and Keith Hamilton, and the new Editor, our friend Bob Johnson.

However, the man who deserves a standing ovation for his enormous contribution to the BJ success is Jim Dressel, now Executive Editor. It is Dressel’s passion, drive, and skill that have been the heart and soul of the BJ for more than three decades. Mort Luby gave him the keys to a nice Chevrolet in 1975, and he molded it into a fine-tuned Ferrari.

We first met Jim Dressel in the early 1980’s after joining the Bowling Writers Association of America as editor of Joe Gennaro’s Dallas-based Bowling News. At that time, he had been with the Bowlers Journal for less than a decade. No one knew me on the national level at that time, but everybody knew him. Having the biggest job in bowling journalism will do that for you. It also demands a high standard. In his case, some of it came from his great boss, Mort Luby, but most of it was self-imposed.

We admired Dressel because he stood out from the crowd. He had plenty of friends, but he didn’t pal around with anyone in particular. One thing we noticed right away – he was very dedicated to his job, and he worked very hard. While many of the other bowling writers were whining and dining (and drinking), he was working. Camera in one hand, note pad in the other, he would rush from one interview to another. Only when the work was done would he relax with a beverage and occasional cigar.

In addition to his BJ duties, he wrote a syndicated column called "Write On" that appeared in several bowling papers for many years. We became fast friends, and it didn’t take long to discover that we shared similar views on things like integrity and credibility in bowling, sports in general, and when we got to know each other better, politics. Baseball is his other sports passion, and one of ours as well – but we can’t keep up with his ability to know almost all the players on every team. He published a rotisserie league newsletter for a while.

A few years later, we started operating bowling centers, and attended the annual BPAA convention, which later became Bowl Expo. It came as no surprise that Dressel was there too, camera around his neck, notepad in hand, rushing from interview to interview.

One thing we have in common is that we both enjoy a good interview. Having a subject’s own words in print in response to some well researched and thoughtful questions is one of the purist forms of journalism. It won’t win any awards in this industry, but it is the best way to get to know a person’s heart and mind.

We’ve read all of Dressel’s BJ interviews for the past 25 years, and we learned several things that have helped with our own interviews. First, he knows the subject, and learns as much as he needs to about the person. He’s not afraid to ask tough questions, and re-phrase them to get a clear answer. He listens to the answers and asks intelligent follow-up questions.

In 1996, we turned the tables. We interviewed ‘the man’ himself during one of the first Bowl Expos at the Las Vegas Hilton. It was a bit awkward and uncomfortable for the first few minutes for both of us, but we soon settled into a rigorous give-and-take that revealed that bowling’s best editor really knows the game, and he has high expectations and standards. Reading the interview today makes us proud that it was one of our best ever.

We almost take it for granted that the BJ is a quality sports magazine that is up to par with any other magazine in any sport, but we seldom stop to think about what it takes to make it what it is. During Dressel’s 33-year tenure, The BJ has been the bowling industry’s bible. Keeping it that way for all those years is a remarkable achievement.

A few months ago, Bob Johnson stepped into the editor’s role, and Dressel was named Executive Editor. The heavy workload now falls to Bob, and he has big shoes to fill; but he has had an excellent mentor, and Keith Hamilton has stepped up to take a more active role. He now writes a monthly column, and is very active in the industry.

In our ’96 interview, Dressel had some profound and prophetic things to say . . .

· About controversy – "Controversy is just things that people want to talk about . . .we don’t create the story; nor is it our job to suppress it. If it’s legitimate, we’ll cover it. Some are of controversial nature. If we just wanted to throw roses at everybody, we should start a cheerleading magazine."

· About flamboyant bowlers, like Ernie Schlegel – "Good for the sport in the same sense that Dennis Rodman is good for basketball, and John McEnroe is good for tennis. I would say bowling needs more. Some may not like it, but to show flair, and flamboyance and enthusiasm is good for the sport.

· On Mort Luby – "I was probably a lot harder on Mort than he was on me. I’m surprised he didn’t fire me years ago! Seriously, I’ve always respected and liked Mort. He is a very nice person."

· On Andy Varipapa and Sam Levine – "Varipapa was intuitively and acutely aware of what was going on in the game, and even in those days, spoke out about it. He was a delightful character. He always told me he liked my ‘tell it like it is’ style. If he were around today, people would say ‘Wow, maybe we should listen to this guy.’ He said a lot of things that guys like us and Taylor and Kouros are saying today, but he said it first."

   I consider Sam Levine my mentor. When I was nobody, he always had time for me. Sam is a man I truly loved. Because of him, I’ve tried to make time for others and encourage their efforts.

· On Heroes – "I have always admired people in the public arena who have fought for losing causes for all the right reasons. One example would be Frank Capra – he fought the Hollywood establishment, and had some success, but never really got the recognition he deserved. I’d like to see more movies like the ones he made instead of some of the junk that is out there today."

· On the ABC, WIBC and BPAA – Will groups like this always be around? I really don’t know. I was talking to one proprietor who said if the recreational trend continues, there might not be a need for BPAA. Maybe a new group will be formed to protect the rules and integrity of the game. If integrity does not exist, we are just miniature golf. What kind of business base can you have if you are just miniature golf?"

· On the scoring epidemic – "If a bowler has no pride in achievement, there is no achievement. We can define achievement as real accomplishment. If there is no accomplishment, then there is no achievement."

· On the PBA promoting high scores – "I think it is a mistake for the PBA to insure against failure. Failure is one of sport’s grandest achievements. If we have no respect for failure, we have no game. If a bowler fails on a legitimate condition, we should respect that. In baseball, when a player wins a batting title with a .333 average, they failed two-thirds of the time! But we respect that 66% failure rate because we know how difficult it is to achieve the 33% success rate. If bowling loses sight of this, we will have nothing left."

There you have it – the man who has always strived for excellence while ‘telling it like it is.’ These days, Dressel is still putting in more hours than most writing, doing his weekly bowling business BJ Cyber Report, and making regular appearances on the Phantom Radio Show and at events and tournaments. He is also still very involved in producing the BJ every month. It seems retirement is not well suited to the man who has been bowling’s hardest working journalist for three decades.

Speaking of Phantom Radio, yours truly will be the guest on the show the week of October 29 – November 4. . .a very eventful week. Of course there is Halloween, which happens to be the 29th anniversary of my 29th birthday, but more important, our grandkids favorite holiday. November 1 is All Saints Day, but also a day to celebrate the birth of two bowling industry legends – Walt Steinsiek and Jim Wyckoff. These two great friends and gentlemen will be 82. Both are WWII vets, and have been best friends for decades; they went years before discovering they were born on the same day in 1926.

And something is happening November 4 . . .oh yeah – don’t forget to vote, and if you haven’t decided, consider the party that has the best tax and business policies for the bowling industry – hint . . .it’s not the party of Reid and Pelosi.

One of the things we will talk about on phantom radio is our top ten PBA player’s list. We were disappointed that the PBA didn’t ask us to participate in naming its TOP 50, but those who were on that panel tell me it was very difficult. We are proud that Stars & Strikes has received the PBA’s General Excellence Award four times for best overall PBA coverage, and we wish much continued success.

If you tune into the Phantom show (www.phantomradioshow.com) on your computer, you will hear that Norm Duke is in our top ten. Based on his recent and remarkable accomplishment of winning three consecutive majors, he moved up a few notches. Tune in to find out how far. You can also reach the show through the Stars & Strikes website www.starsandstrikesbowling.com, or through the Bowlers Journal website www.bowlersjournal.com. Just click on the frightening phantom icon to hear the current show, and if you have time access the archives for many more revealing interviews with the who’s who of bowling.

I have long said that Norm Duke is the most versatile bowler I have ever seen, and in recent years; he is proving it more and more. He can hook the ball; he can throw it straight, he can even back it up if that is what it takes. Here’s a prediction – if he’s healthy, he will win the special "Plastic Ball" event the PBA has on this season’s schedule. He wins with talent and grit – not just equipment.

One of the benefits of reaching the magic of maturity is that we get to witness not just a snapshot of a player’s achievement, but virtually their entire career. Such is the case for us with Mr. Duke.

When he was a kid, newly arrived from his small Mount Pleasant, Texas birthplace to the big city of Dallas, we learned quickly how talented he was. We called him "Juicy" back then, and teamed him up with our local phenom, a kid named Del Ballard Jr. to experience his first ABC National Tournament in Baltimore. The pair also anchored the Jupiter Lanes team that won the Traveling Classic league title. Jupiter proprietor Phil Kinzer, former National Bowling League member Ronnie Diamond, Gary Dickinson and others took the young guns through the ‘action’ circuit, and they were fearless.

We predicted greatness for these young men in the early 80’s before they joined the PBA, and where are they today? Ballard, who owns 12 PBA titles and four majors, just won five gold medals as a Team USA member, is one of the sport’s top instructors.

Duke just won his 30th PBA crown and became the first in history to win three consecutive major titles. He now has six major titles. Both have produced Hall of Fame careers, and will go down in history with the greatest bowlers of all time.