By BILL SNIER
snieronbowling.com
AKRON — From his start in the sport, to coaching and running junior programs to being the oldest player in the most competitive traveling league in Northeast Ohio, there is no doubt how important bowling is in Doug Rich’s life.
“It went from being 50 percent important when I was playing 10 other sports besides bowling, to now playing one other sport,” the 71-year-old Akron right-hander said. “Besides family, bowling is the most important thing in my life.”
Two of Rich’s sons — Chris and Sean — were raised in the sport, with the former now being a Professional Bowlers Association card-carrying member in Florida and the latter still bowling with his father in the Northeast Ohio Traveling League.
The fact that Doug Rich, who still is averaging 217 in his only league, is able to complete the season is a story in itself.
COMEBACK AFTER SURGERY
Rich had never missed a league night during his 35 years of involvement with the traveling league until this season.
That was until he was diagnosed with colon cancer earlier this season. He missed just five weeks of bowling.
But Rich still showed up for his team.
“I had that streak going and I didn’t want to end it,” Rich said. “So I had to at least show up.”
Despite that and his average, Rich said he had a “couple of down years.” That came despite shooting 300, the “13th or 14th” of his career, this season at Eastbury Bowling Center in Canton.
“I’ve had some finger problems, but I was just starting to figure that out when this happened,” said Rich, who had a portion of colon removed. “But the biopsy showed I’m free and clear.”
The night of that 300, Rich threw 20 strikes in a row, finishing with a 776 series. He owns “14 or 15” 800 games, but only one of those has a 300 involved.
CAREER VOLUNTEER
Despite his bowling prowess — he has never bowled in more than two leagues a week, which now is down to one — Rich is more known in Summit County for his work with youth bowlers at Spins Bowl Akron.
He has been involved with the youth program through four owners of the center since the 1993-94 season — all on a volunteer basis. He also worked for 12 years at Park Centre Lanes, learning the game from Greater Canton Bowling Association Hall of Famer Mike Dragomir.
“It was Jim Mitchell who got me started, but Drags helped me a lot. One time we were practicing and I shot 270 something and he went and out and shot 300 on me. Thanks a lot, Mike,” Rich said. “But I’ve learned from some of the greats, guys like Drags, Bob Fitt, Karl Kraus and Bill Gaume.”
Rich had just 10 lanes being used when the youth program began, peaking at nearly 33 lanes in recent years before the Ohio High School Bowling Association added bowling as a varsity sport.
“Back then, we didn’t even have an all-star team to bowl in the junior traveling league,” Rich recalled. “We had to take the kids to (former) Bel-Air Lanes to bowl in that league. We eventually won four championships and I took over the league for six years.”
But the advent of high school bowling caused changes in junior programs throughout Northeast Ohio.
“Now that the high school kids are back, we have 32 teams, including 15 high school teams,” Rich said. “But when they leave it hurts us, but it also hurts the business.
“I talked to the former OHSAA bowling director about it four years ago (Roxanne Price), but her response was she wasn’t a bowler and didn’t care. They change the rules for other sports, but not bowling.”
Currently, high school bowlers are not permitted to bowl in other leagues during the sport’s OHSAA season, which runs from November into early March.
“Our divisions are down across the board,” said Rich, who stresses continuity among his junior coaching staff is what keeps his numbers steady. “But other sports in the fall don’t hurt us since teams and players can bowl out.
“We’ve heard that some programs have coaches who might come down when they first start, but then they don’t see them the rest of the day. It hurts when there are not enough coaches. The way the kids are treated here has a lot to do with our success.”
All of his work is on a volunteer basis, including coaching 15 years as a junior high basketball coach at Green High School.
“Bill White gave me some free equipment and practice over the years,” Rich said. “Plus I got to coach my kids and some high school players of the year. That’s part of my payment … watching these kids grow up and stay with the game.”
CHANGES OVER THE YEARS
Rich admits the biggest change in junior bowling has been the influx of two-handed players.
But the key element his program teaches in sportsmanship.
“That’s the most important thing … make friends and be a good sport,” said Rich, who also has ranked at the top of his division squad in several of the famed Petersen Classic events in the Chicagoland area.
“I still teach some of the old-school stuff. I see some of these kids come in with 10 bowling balls and I ask them, ‘What are those for?’ ” Rich said. “Adjust your feet and keep your target. Duh … it’s that simple.”
Meanwhile, Rich, a nominee for the Tri-County Bowling Hall of Fame, continues working a late-night maintenance job for McDonald’s, going into work after bowling Thursdays in the NEOTL.
And, despite his age, the frustrations of every-day bowlers are evident.
“I told the buys I’lm going to have a bonfire this summer with 10 pins,” Rich said. “Any left-handers who want to bring 7-pins can also come down and throw them in.”
How long will he continue?
“I told Jeff (DiMarzio) that I’ll leave (the NEOTL) when he does (DiMarzio is 70),” Rich said. “But this sport just means a ton to me.”