Oct 25, 2009 By Gary George for The 5 min read

I had a running joke with Dave Simpson last year. We roll in the Thursdayniter’s League together at Manor. I started teasing him about how every time he would throw six or seven strikes in a row in a game, I would begin to write this bowling column about him for the next Sunday. I would even walk down to the front counter at Manor and grab a sheet of paper and a pencil and come back to my seat and pretend I was starting to write my column about him.

Then, whenever his string would stop, which it always did, I would tear up the paper and throw it away and act all upset because I had nothing to write about. Invariably, he would laugh and so would I.

One time last year, at the very bottom of this column, I wrote: “Dave Simpson hasn’t done anything”. And another time, I wrote: “Dave Simpson still hasn’t done anything”.

You see Dave is a pretty special fellow. He is a very busy member of the Pennsylvania State Police, and he is also a good bowler. And, every Thursday night for as long as I can remember, he has come to league and left all the stress of work behind and turned into the most likeable, simple, idiot that you can imagine. We have laughed at this man at times so hard that it brings tears to our eyes. There is not a single guy in the league who at one time or another hasn’t had to deal with Dave Simpson.

The only problem has been “that he ain’t never done nothing worth writing about.”

That has now all changed. Last Thursday, the Crime Dog, actually rolled the coveted 300 perfect game. And, I can honestly say, that I have never heard a crescendo of screaming and yelling from a group of fellow bowlers on the 12th ball of a 300 game like I did last Thursday. It was a special moment.

He drilled every single shot in that big game. But in typical Dave Simpson manner, right after he threw No. 11, he turned around and made some comment about how hard it was to walk up to the foul line. Then, he proceeded to bury ball number 12.

In addition his games of 211, 300, and 217 gave him a nice series of 728.

So now, I have something to write about Dave Simpson. Great game. Great series. And for the first time, I didn’t have to start the article on the sheet of paper and then have to tear it up. That just tickles me to death.

Congratulation Dave. Wear that sanctioned 300 ring with pride. That was truly great bowling.

INTERESTING IDEAS: I read last week that the days of $1 a game bowling are back, at least they are at Rusch’s Bowl in Kimberly all day Tuesdays and Sunday mornings when they turn back the clock. That’s $2 off the standard rate.

“We were kind of just chuckling about that,” said Tim Rusch, who has owned the business for 31 years. “We run a dollar-a-game special and those were our same prices that we had 30-plus years ago.”

In a similar vein, at the 10th Frame in Appleton, they take it one step further, offering free bowling to those over 21 on Thursday nights from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. and during Green Bay Packer games with the purchase of a club card.

“You’ve got to be creative,” said Chad Van Daalwyk, who just celebrated his seventh anniversary as owner of the 10th Frame. “It’s made my Thursdays twice as good as they used to be. We have the Direct TV package, where we get all the NFL games and baseball games. People can come in here and bowl and if they buy a soda or beer, great, but it’s just one of those things where you come in, bowl for free, have a good time and bring in some friends and, hopefully, you’ll order something, but I don’t rely on that. But it’s done great for business. That’s for sure.”

Those are just a few of the measures that lane owners and managers are using to attract bowlers into their establishments during these tough economic times of lost jobs, layoffs, salary cuts and business closings.

As in every other business, the continued success of most bowling houses is strongly tied to promotion. Today’s proprietors need to promote the sport in order to get folks to come and play. Once the public sees how much fun and how easy the game really is, most of them will be hooked for life.

BOWLING NEWS: Uniontown resident Gary George writes a weekly bowling column for the Herald-Standard. If you have any bowling news, contact George, a member of the Professional Bowlers Association since 1997, via email at probowler48@aol.com or fax at 724-438-7290. Information is welcome from all area bowling establishments