Eddie Elias - Father of Pro Bowling

Written by: Chuck Pessano

The beginnings of most sports are shrouded in mystery, to put it mildly. But there is no doubt that the father of organized professional bowling was Eddie Elias: the one-of-a-kind pioneer who comes along only every century or so. To succeed at such undertakings, you must have unlimited energy, patience and the lofty hopes of a dreamer who believes.

Eddie’s dream lives on, half a century after he came into the spotlight, convinced he would do what no one else had done, convinced he could convince all, even those who needed a little nudge, or a big push.

The young lawyer had to sway players, proprietors, press, manufacturers, and sponsors - in short - the entire bowling industry - and the world outside of bowling.

No person ever did it better or did it at all before he came along. He created a tour where bowlers could earn a living for the first time through their talent on the lanes, just as so many other athletes did in their chosen field. He brought credibility to a sport that never had its due visibility. He vaulted bowling to the heights of national network TV and top bowlers became household names because of the highly-rated shows.

Elias spurred generations of bowlers into thinking they could make it big, and gave them what they needed, the opportunity. Even if they didn’t make it, they could try, and trying is a learning experience in itself.

He uplifted the status, not only of the most talented of bowlers, but all bowlers, and the perception that bowling is a sport for all, from youngsters under five to oldsters pushing 100.

Though Elias left us in 1998 he remains in so many ways. His ideas are still used and memories of him inspire. Eddie always called the pro bowlers “his boys” but he helped every bowlers and every group he could, whenever he could, despite a heavy schedule with many of his clients from all fields. As Phil Donahue said, “Long before free agency, long before pro sports rose to billion-dollar levels, there was Bid E., bargaining his heart out for big and small clients alike.” Elias has many monuments to his life in bowling, his Hall of Fame elections, and his citations from every group in the sport, his innovations that thrive. Now there is the Edward G. Elias Bowling Center on the campus of The University of Akron, his alma mater, a fitting way to memorialize the life of Elias and his legacy.

Article was posted with permission from Stars & Strikes, America's Bowling News Magazine.

www.starsandstrikesbowling.com