Way back when, The Bus bowled 'em over in Detroit

I thought. I crawled. I found.
I thought I read a story about Jerome Bettis and his bowling.
I knew it was in a magazine underneath my desk somewhere, so I crawled around the cluttered floor.
Eureka!
The story in the April/May 1994 issue of Bowling Magazine wasn't front page, but a few pages were devoted to the now-retired Pittsburgh Steelers running back early in his NFL career when he was a rookie with the Los Angeles Rams.
The article, by Bill Vint, talked about the Bettis family and "little" Jerome's youth.
Now that Super Bowl mania enlightened us on Bettis' hometown, I thought a flashback would be timely.
In the article, which illustrates Jerome carrying the ball in his Rams uniform and jersey No. 36, Vint starts off by saying that Gladys and Johnnie Bettis Jr. didn't want their children falling victim to the drugs and violence that began to invade their inner-city neighborhood.
"The way out," it said, "was as close by as Schaefer Lanes."
"I thought I was going to raise a pro bowler," Gladys is quoted as saying in the article, "but they all went on to other things."
Youth champions
All of the Bettis children won Michigan youth bowling championships.
When their teen years arrived, Kimberly was an Olympic skating prospect and Johnnie III was a baseball prospect.
Kimberly, at age 27, ended up working in New York, while 25-year-old Johnnie III just completed his first rap album.
Little Jerome? He was going to be the academic star of the family.
However, at 22, Jerome was an emerging pro football superstar.
A consensus All-American at Notre Dame in 1992, Bettis was a first-round draft choice of the Rams and was the overwhelming choice as NFC Rookie of the Year for the 1993 season.
"I grew up watching Earl Anthony," Bettis said at the time. "I even had an Earl Anthony Magnum 6 ball. I liked everything about him. That's why it was especially great to be at the National Bowling Hall of Fame and Museum's Salute to the Champions the night Earl was honored."
Discipline lesson
Bettis, a five-time Pro Bowler, said that bowling taught him discipline.
"You can't get mad when things go bad. If you get mad at a 7-10 split, you blow the whole game. I learned self-discipline in bowling, that you have to do things yourself. That's the big thing the sport gave me. It carried over to the rest of my life."
Looking back, Bettis' goal line fumble that nearly cost Pittsburgh's victory against the Indianapolis Colts in January, would have been a reason to get mad.
In closing in the article, Jerome said that he'd like to give the pro tour a try.
"Hopefully," he said, "I'll have time to get my average together and give the pro tour a try, if I still have my knees. Hey, if Michael Jordan can play baseball ... ."
Apparently, Bettis didn't forget his bowling roots.
During Super Bowl week, the running back sponsored a bowling fundraiser. Local TV in Detroit showed footage of Bettis and teammate Hines Ward arriving in a limousine at a bowling alley.
Rash of 800s
The Spiech Classic at Bell-Wick had a rash of 800s on Feb. 6, led by Bob Eckenrode and Bruce Curall with 816 apiece. Eckenrode's included a 300 game. Matt Mariano had the third 800 of 807 with games of 290 and 300. Joe Beeson Jr. also had 300.
With a scratch score of 3750, Eckenrode, Curall and Mariano enabled the Doughton Golf Course team to qualify for a USBC national team award. John Doughton Jr.'s 699 and Dave Cramer's 612 rounded out the series.
Last weekend, Bob Eckenrode finished 74th in the Denny's PBA Tour West Virginia Championship in Parkersburg. Eckenrode averaged 207.71 and won $360.
Theresa Florjancic's 724 topped L & amp; M Mixed at Holiday on Jan. 23, when it was 10 pins better than secretary Tom Simon's 714.
Jennifer Gossett's 268-933 led Wedgewood Ladies Trio on Feb. 7 and Julie Tufaro's 269-711 was high among Hively's Ladies at Amron.
Top Notch Remodeling won Kernan Insurance Classic's third quarter at West Side with team members Sean Spencer, Jeff Kalmer, Anthony Carkido, Doug Avery, Jim Spencer Jr. and Jim Spencer Sr.
Also at West Side, Rich Perrine Enterprise won Downtowners' third quarter.
Judy Jacisin won Lohr Nationwide Insurance Matchplay's third quarter at Bell-Wick and Trumbull Industries won D & amp; R Garage Door's third quarter at Wedgewood.
The secretary of Frederick Dodge Sr. League at Boardman caught on to the flaws of some computerized scoresheets. It seems that the printouts fail to show all the characters in names longer than nine letters. Thanks.
To the Poland United Methodist Mixed League's secretary at Boardman Lanes, the Valentine's heart on your scoresheet is appreciated.
Applications
Candidate applications for the Youngstown Bowling Association's Hall of Fame are available at area bowling establishments and at the YBA office at 7255 Glendale Ave. in Boardman.
The YBA hall of fame class will be elected on April 29 and selections will be honored at the hall of fame and awards dinner June 11 at the ITAM Centre.
bassetti@vindy.com