COLUMBUS — It was about bowling, honoring family, operating a business and showing support to the troops — not necessarily in that order.
But for 65-year-old PBA and USBC Hall of Famer Wayne Webb, it was all rolled into one event, with plenty of kinks along the way.
On the bowling end, the Columbus right-hander advanced to the Round of 24 during Monday’s PBA60 Tristan’s T.A.P.S. Memorial at his center, Wayne Webb’s Columbus Bowl, before falling to left-hander Gary Reh 631-612.
“It’s not a good pair in the house for me. In the first round, I shot 140 on it,” Webb, and right-hander and owner of 20 career PBA titles and five PBA50 crowns, said. “When this condition breaks down, it’s hard for me. I had to go through different ways of trying to figure out how to get around the puddle down the lane.
“I did, but it wasn’t good enough, and I didn’t make good enough shots.”
You can’t blame Webb for being distracted over the previous two days of the event. After all, play was stopped three times due to assorted power outages caused by storms in the area.
“This was just the craziest thing. Unfortunately, I’m a control freak, and when things like that go wrong, it drives me nuts,” said Webb, who has owned the former Rainbow Lanes since 2010.
“The power outages blew up a bunch of my scoring units. It was just a mess and, mentally, that’s hard for me. You have to think about bowling but, at the same time, run around fixing scores and calling in stuff (he carried a walkie talkie during competition). I just feel like if I can do it myself, I will do it.”
And bowling has taken a backseat in recent years, with his last senior title coming in 2010.
“I bowl six games a week in two leagues in the winter and three games a week in the summer,” Webb said. “So being here eight hours on Saturday was a little demanding and the day before was six more hours.
“I’m not in shape, but as the tourney went on, I got a little better. But I’m not sharp.”
Then there are the physical limitations of years of bowling.
“My right big toe is bad, my knees are terrible and my back sucks. Besides that, everything is great except for what’s up here,” Webb added, pointing to his head.
REMEMBERING FAMILY
The tournament is called Tristan’s T.A.P.S. Memorial for a reason close to Webb’s heart. It is named in memory of his late stepson, Senior Airman Tristan M. Ross, who died six years ago. In the Air Force at the time, he was killed in an incident involving a former girlfriend and her father, according to Webb.
“They never paid a penalty and we never got closure. We found out the truth, but they wouldn’t do anything,” said Webb, whose wife, Elaine came up with the T.A.P.S. slogan — Treasures of Amazing Patriotic Servicemen.
“We salute him in everything we do, and M-A-S-H Pantry is our main charity. You see Tristan’s name on everything here. We are huge supporters of veterans and the military, and this is to recognize them.”
FUTURE OF STATE TOURNEYS
Webb’s center also has been a big supporter of high school bowling, serving as host for the OHSAA State Championships in Division I and II for the past 12 years. But that time may be ending.
“We’re tired. I really lose money putting it on every year and we are stressed out because we have to take a whole bowling center down on Saturday night and then put it back together the following week,” Webb said. “Our contract is for one more year. They will have to come up with one heckuva contract for it to continue here.
“It’s a bad time of year when we are so jam-packed. We love the kids and all, but Elaine and I are tired and all we do is stress over it. It’s too much work, and they make too much money and we make nothing.”
LOOKING TO FUTURE
Webb purchased the center on April 10, 2010, with Dayton’s Mike Irwin, who talked him into getting involved during a senior stop there. He has since bought out Irwin’s interests and brought in partner Jerry Fertel.
How long will he remain in the business?
“I open this place seven days a week. We’re even closed on Mondays, but I’m still here … doing the lanes, doing the financials, being the gopher … when they need something, I go,” said Webb, who says he has another “12-13 years left on the loan before he owns the business 100 percent.”
He looks at himself as a bowler first; then as a businessman.
“Bowlers respect that there is a pro bowler running their bowling center, and I think like a bowler,” said Webb, who still resides in a mobile home on the Columbus Bowl property. “Because I’m a bowler, probably financially as a businessman I haven’t made the best decisions all the time, but it always comes back the way it’s supposed to.
“But we just keep getting better. We’ve been voted best in Columbus every year since 2014 and we plan on getting it another three years to get a perfect game (10). This is our home.”
Webb, who has never resident anywhere longer than five years before settling in Columbus, also wants to continue giving back to the PBA Tour, especially the PBA60 players.
“We love supporting the PBA, and my way now is supporting the old guys. They need more tournaments, more money, to come out and have a good time and get treated right,” said Webb, who also hosted the PBA Players Championship in 2019 and 2020. “This was the first weekend where they got to be treated like celebrities.”
And despite the early glitches, Webb’s hands-on approach still produced results, both on and off the lanes.