Evening star., 1934-01-14
NATIONAL RIVALS
IN EPIC STRUGGLE
Purse of $1OO Minor Matter
as BoWIers Battle for
Top Ranking.
BY ROD THOMAS,

BY ROD THOMAS,
TIME hottest bowling match of
the season was effected last
night when Astor Clarke,
national sweepstakes cham
pion, snapped up a challenge
hurled by Ollie Pacini, for two
years the ranking duckpin shooter
of the country.
A week from tomorrow they will
open a 15-game series for a purse of
$100 and an extra look-in on the No.
spot in the rankings Of the National
Duckpin Bowling Congress and the
washington City Duckpin Association.
They Battle for Laurels.
( 4 5-GAME set will be rolled Monday
~ night a week at the Northeast
Temple, of which Pacini is the
manager; a second at the Lucky Strike
the following Monday and the final at
Convention Hall the succeeding wash
day.
Strangely, for bowlers best known for
their ability to collect the long green,
the main objective of each in this in
stance is credits in the contest for ma
tional and local ranking, precarious
struggle, won for two successive seasons
In which Clarke hopes to cap sky
rocket career.
They Make . Swap.
TN THIS respect it is give-and-take
affair. If Clarke can down the
man who for the last two seasons
has ruled the country's duckpin bowl
ers his claim to the throne will be
strengthened in no small degree. On
the other side, Pacini faces, in the
minds of most bowling critics, the fore
most contender at present for national
honors. Clarke has won the two big
gest money tournaments of the season
so far, won his entry fee in another,
the Campbell classic, and in effect has
been conceded victory in still another,
the Virginia State Sweepstakes which
opened last night at Alexandria, and
from which he withdrew his entry by
grinning agreement.
Recognizing the importance Of the
contest from a purely sporting angle.
the president Of the Washington City
Duckpin Association, Harry z. Greer,
accepted the Office Of referee. For the
want of an official arbiter a number OF
major duckpin events of the past have
resulted in unfathomable tangleS. With
in the next several days the principals
and the referee, as well as the man
ayers of the establishments where the
games will be rolled. will 60 over de-
tails, with Charles Oliver representing
the Northeast Temple.
Hearkening Back.
TINE match is the first Of general
interest since the days when
Glenn Wolstenholme was in his
prime as a singles bowler and moving
down the Poehlers, Rosenbergs. Works,
EllettS, McPhilonyS and SpinellaS, bat
ties that gave birth to the Howard
Campbell Sweepstakes, from which
tournaments galore have sprung and
made Washington the duckpin pace
maker and model of the country.
The long stretch of Is games Is to
Pacini's liking. Only a few times In
. uniformly successful career has the
dapper Italian achieved the sensational.
but neither has he fallen but rarely
below high standard.
To win the Dixie Sweepstakes, in
which the best of Washingtons bowl
ers were gathered with many Of the
topnotchers of other cities. Clarke shot
718 for District record. But he failed
to qualify for The Evening Star tour
nament short time later in competi-
ton with mediocre bowlers. His five
game score in this test was 566.