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Personal Q&A [1-20] [21-40] [41-60] [61-80] [81-100]
 Josh October 16, 2006 Gallipolis OH Hi Walter Ray. I'm 19 years old. It seems as though I have been a Walter Ray fan for as long as I can remember. My aunts name is Marlene Cooper, a womens horseshoe pitcher from Defiance, Ohio. She has met you on many occasions and I have always been envious of her because of it. I'm just wonderin are you going to be in the Southern or central Ohio area anytime soon? I would love the oppurtunity to meet you. If not, I understand how overwhelmingly busy you are during the season..Thank you. Hi Josh, I do know your aunt, Marlene Cooper. I don't have any plans to be in the southern or central Ohio area any time soon. We are bowling in Wickliffe, OH November 29 to December 3rd. Other than that I will probably be pitching horseshoes in Greenville, OH around the 4th of July. Duane September 22, 2006 Sandusky MI My son just turned 15 and has been bowling since he weighed more than the ball. He comes from a bowling family. My dad, brothers and I all average well over 200 on house shots and in most tourneys. All this from my dads tutolage. He has since passed on and I would like my son to try and take his game to the next level, college and so on. What is the best way to be sure he is properly trained beyond my knowledge? Hi Duane, I would have your son bowl in as much competition as possible. Look for some good colleges to bowl at where he would get some great coaching and a good education. Experience is one of the best ways to learn. Brad May 22, 2006 Loomis CA Walter Ray, Carl Steinfeldt, Sr.,(NHPA Hall of Fame, 1972) recently passed away in March at the age of 88. He had resided in Largo, Fl, for many years after leaving his home state of upstate New York because of the cold winters. Carl was my cousin(my grandfather's, brother's, son) and attended most of our family functions including my highschool and college graduation and my wedding. I vividly remember the horseshoes being a part of any family function. Could you relate to me any stories you might remember of Carl in any of your horseshoe competitions. Carl showed me over twenty years ago his horseshoe grip and delivery(turns), but I have forgotten them. Are you aware of Carl's horseshoe grip and delivery? I recently retired from 20 years in the Air Force and now am a civil service employeee managing an Air Force base bowling center in northern California. Thanks, Brad Hi Brad, Carl Steinfeldt was one of the best horseshoe pitchers. It is amazing that he only won one Men's world championship. I think that after he retired he got even better and at age 67 finished 2nd to me at the world championships. I had many good games with him with each of us winning our share. I don't specifically know his exact grip, but it looked similar to mine except he held the shoe closer to the heel than I did. Larry May 25, 2006 Tacoma WA Walter Ray, Congrats on catching Earl, he is a hometown hero and I was lucky enough to bowl next to him a few times in midnite pot games before he hit it big. My question is, how good are you in bowling from the left side? Is it okay in the PBA to switch from one side to the other? I have followed your career from the start, coincidentally I go to Pomona twice a year for NHRA events and I used to visit a bowling center in that area that has now dissapeared. Earl is still my hero despite his shortcomings and it will be bitter sweet to see pass him, however it couldn't be to a more dserving player. I remenber early on those t.v. finals it seemed like you couldn't get abreak but look what happened. Horsehoes, I throw mine backwards, have you seen anyone else do this? Get some more distance from PDW. Regards Larry Overland Hi Larry, I don't bowl left handed. I can throw a back up ball, but I don't know what I would average, maybe 200. In the PBA, you can pretty much do what ever you want as long as you use your hand(s) to deliver the ball don't allow more than one hole not covered by your fingers or hands. I am not sure what you mean by throwing horseshoes backwards, except maybe what is called a reverse. Most pitchers who turn their shoe turn it in a clockwise fashion (for right handers) when looking from above the shoe. Alan Francis who is now 12 time Men's world champion throws what is called a reverse 3/4 turn. Even though it isn't used by as many players it can be very affective. Tov March 14, 2006 San Francisco CA Was wondering if you could answer a few personal questions? Just like everyone else I too and a big fan. Thanks in advance.. Do you have a "click" of fellow PBA bowlers that you hang out with during the PBA tour? Travel together? Do you have a "funny guy" on tour? Some one that plays practical jokes with fellow PBA professionals? After the tour is over, do you still keep in touch with any fellow bowlers? Still hang out together after the tour is over? I'm just curious with life on the road. What was it liked the first years and how has it changed now? Does Paige travel with you? How much equipment (balls) do you carry on the tour? Just curious, thanks once again. Hi Tov, There are a few guys that I sometimes hang out with, but mainly I hang out with my wife. I don't normally travel with other bowlers. There are many guys out on tour with a sense of humor. There aren't many guys playing too many practical jokes on the other guys. There are few guys that I do stay in contact with, but not many. I play golf with a couple of guys that live close to me once in a while during the off season. Things have definitely changed since I started on tour 23 years ago. When I first came out on tour I roomed with other bowlers in motel rooms. Now I travel on tour in an RV with my wife. I will probably have about 30 balls with me when I finish on tour. Scott March 13, 2006 Cincinnati OH Hello WRW- Are you a sports fan in general? Obviously bowling and horseshoes are where you excel. Just curious if take interest in other college or professional sports? Thanks, Scott Hi Scott, I like to watch bowling and golf. I also like to watch horseshoes when I am not competing. I am not a big fan of team sports as it seems like a lot of work to keep up with your team. Also, teams are always changing. I tend to like good competition and don't necessarily care who wins. John March 7 2006 Syracuse NY Hey Walter Ray, you're my favorite bowler. Question 1: Have you ever messed around with friends and bowled a game completely left-handed? Ever bowl a 200 left-handed? 2: Have you ever picked the 7-10? 3: Have you ever rolled a gutter ball on live TV? Hi John, I have bowled 2 games left handed in the last 20 years. Last year while I was in Japan, my wife convinced me to bowl against her left handed. Since she doesn't bowl very well, we had a good match. I think I bowled around the 120's. I have never bowled a 200 left handed. I have picked up the 7-10 a few times in PBA, but not in the last 71 attempts. I may have rolled a ball in the channel on a spare on TV, but I don't think that I have done so on my first shot. Bill February 20, 2006 Fishkill NY Walter Ray; It was good to be able to watch you bowl again this past week at the US Open (thanks to the PBA for allowing fan access to the pre-TV rounds of action). Of course it would have been better to watch you ON the TV finals!!! You seemed to be bowling ok during the Thursday through Saturday that I was able to watch in person; some times better than other times but you never seemed to be off or bad just not getting some carry - would you agree with that assesment?? I recall you only missing a "make-able" split or spare once or twice and making some fairly tough ones (nice solid 4-10). INHO - You were looking really, really good Thursday night (it was a joy to watch); except for the last game where it got a little too "exciting" (you left some fairly nasty spare shots which you made!!). Thanks; keep it going!!! Bill ... Hi Bill, Unfortunately I didn't really feel that I bowled that great at the Open. The lane conditions were very demanding, but it seemed to develop into a condition where you needed to hook the ball to about 7 at the break point at around 45 feet. I just wasn't able to get that much hook on the slick lanes that we bowled on. My break point was probably 9 at about 40 feet and I wasn't able to repeat that shot often enough. Ron January 31, 2006 Manhattan KS Hi Walter Ray, 1. I have noticed there seem to be an extraordinarily large percentage of top players who live or have moved to Florida. I used to think that it was just to escape the cold weather like everybody else, but all the Californians like Randy Pedersen and yourself have moved there. A lot of the other players like Norm Duke, Jason Couch, etc. live there as well. I think some of the top bowling instructors live there. I also didn't know if it cut down on all the driving since I suppose a larger percentage of the tournaments are in the eastern part of the United States. Is there some bowling-related reason why so many of the top players move there? 2. After being out there on the road for like 25 years, you must have driven like a couple of million miles. Does all the driving/travel get to you or you don't mind it so much? I guess a few players travel by airplane (I think Mark Baker did sometimes) or is this not even remotely economically feasible for most players? I guess I just think players would arrive a lot fresher and probably bowl a lot better if they weren't driving across the country from Arizona to Alabama and the like. Thanks. Ron Hi Ron, Besides the pretty good weather, which California also has, Florida has an added benefit of no state income taxes. Randy Pedersen met his wife while bowling in south Florida and moved to where she lived. I believe that Jason Hurd moved to Florida because of his wife and her family, but I am not positive. Most of the other pros like Jason Couch, Steve Wilson, and Steve Hoskins (not exempt any more) grew up in Florida. There are many other places which are more central to most of the tournaments, but Florida is closer than California to most of them! I could do without all of the travel that I do as professional bowler, but it comes with the job. I like to travel in an RV as we can take a lot of stuff with us. As long as the drives aren't too long, I drive, but sometimes I will fly. The problem with flying is that you are limited on how much stuff you can take. Tim January 22, 2006 St.Charles MI Walter Ray. what is happening? Being an avid bowler and horseshoeist,I have watched the PBA for many years and also have followed your many great feats. My idol, at one time was Earl Anthony and now of course I am pulling for you all the time. What has happened so far this year on the tour? You have to get that monkey off your back and get the magic number "41". Did you change anything? It seems to me that your speed is not consistant. Stay focused and concetrate. Remember we're pulling for you and Earl is to. Tim Hi Tim, I had a couple of bad tournaments earlier in the season, but I feel like I have been bowling pretty well the last couple of months. Unfortunately I haven't been getting many breaks in match play. The last two tournaments I was in I had the 3rd and 2nd high average yet finished 17th and 19th. I lost both of my matches despite knocking down more pins than each of my opponents. That is one of the reasons that I never liked the idea of elimination match play. Bowling well doesn't guarantee a player making the TV finals. He needs some luck also. I don't know if you have been at every tournament, but my speed is bound to change based on the different conditions that I face. Also, I sometimes just don't throw the ball as well as I would like. But, I promise you I am trying my best! I really don't feel like a 'monkey is on my back'. Sometimes things just don't work out the way we want them to. Thanks for your support. I do appreciate it! Rita January 15, 2006 Council Bluffs Iowa Since you have not been quite as prominent on the tour this year, do you feel like its been a tough year so far. When you was in Council Bluffs this year I noticed you rubbing your arm or wrist area. I am anxious to see you beat the all time record. Hope this year will still be it. Do you feel like your not bowling as good as usual? I'm watching and hoping and watching. Thanks for your time Rita Hi Rita, For the last few years my hand and wrist have had a bit of pain. Sometime weeks are worse than others. I feel like I have been bowling much better the last couple of months, but things haven't quite clicked during the whole tournament. My opponents have been bowling very well against me for the most part and I could use a few breaks. Hopefully I will get back on TV soon and maybe even win. I am not giving up yet. Thanks for your support! I really do appreciate it. Cameron January 8, 2006 Bennettsville SC Dear Walter Ray, I hope to see you soon on the telecast. Almost there with you and Mika. I would like to know how did you overcome obstacles that would lead you to that you could not reach the tour. I have very high hopes of making it on there one day, but I feel like the world is against my decisions, or that I could never make it. How would you recommend getting past these critics. Hi Cameron, Being a professional athlete is not an easy road. You have to be the very best to be one. It takes talent, hard work and a good head. My suggestion is to enjoy bowling. If you get good enough, then move up levels until you are bowling on the PBA regional tour. If you are successful at that level then you might be able to make it on tour. Critics don't always know what they are talking about. The world is what you make it. Try to enjoy life. Scott December 19, 2005 Cincinnati OH Walter Ray, Just curious, do you watch the ESPN telecasts when you don't make it to the Championship Round? How did think Dave Ryan and Randy Pederson compare to some of the previous commentators of the tour? Thanks for your time! Scott Hi Scott, I do like to watch the PBA telecasts. I think Dave & Randy work pretty well together, but my favorite bowling commentating team was Marshall Holman & Phil Fergeson. Mark October 28, 2005 Roswell GA I was looking at your bio on pba.com and I was wondering how did you manage to complete a B.S. in physics while competing on tour for like 30 or more events each season? Hi Mark, I went to college before going out on tour. In fact I had light loads and dropped out of my first semester due to a ruptured appendix, which threw, off my schedule. I joined the PBA while at college and would bowl regional tournaments plus 3 to 5 national tournaments a year. I was living on my own my last couple of years of college and put myself through college by bowling in local tournaments and some horseshoe related income. I finished my classes in December of 1982 and went on tour full time in 1983. I did my senior thesis, which was about the physics of bowling while on tour and finally got my degree in the spring of 1984. Max September 29, 2005 Baldwin WI Somebody told me that you don't answer all your mail, is that true? Also will you be bowling in Wi. this year? Best of luck this year for getting past your 40th win. Hi Max, I try to answer all of my mail. But I don't answer junk e-mail. Sometimes somebody will ask a question which doesn't make any sense to me or was poorly written. Other times they don't include their own e-mail address like you did and we can't respond to them personally. I will be bowling in Wisconsin this year at the USBC Masters. Michael August 25, 2005 Erie PA Hi Walter Ray, I would like to ask you how old you are. I am 46 and thinking about getting ready to compete in the seniors tour. My leauge average was 215, I was ready to get to the 220+ range when I had to stop 4 years ago. I divorced and became a single dad of three boys. Priorities. Time has passed, and I want to compete again. I'm healthy, young at heart and not over exposed or used up. I'm an aquaintance of Ron Polombi and Bob Learn, and even taught Mike Machuga a thing or two while he was learning. I consider Mike a friend. With Tom Baker doing so well now and John Hirshina's history makes we think I can compete. I've bowled with both of them and competed respectively against them. Bowling jackpots in Erie, I never sweated bowling anybody with one exception, Polombi, he seemed to get the best of me. I can't help but wonder if I endever to the Senior tour, will I compete with you? I've watched you for years and you are a carbon copy of my style or I am of yours. Your experience would be such a callenge to compete with. I'm sure it would be a pleasure not less an honor to compete with you, and I know from watching you over the years we could be friends. I guess I'm a little scared but full of curiosity of my potential talent. I hope I may recieve some advise from you. I also hope that maybe, just maybe are paths will cross someday. Thank you very much, Michael Hi Michael, I will be 46 very soon. I do plan on bowling senior events when I get to that age. You might want to bowl in regional tournaments to test yourself. You might even want to ask Ron, Bob or Mike their opinions of if you have a chance. The problem is that there isn't an excessive amount of money on the senior tour, so making a living bowling as a senior isn't easy. Most of the seniors have regular jobs and bowl to supplement their income. Of course having a job which lets you have 10 - 12 weeks of off time to go bowl national tournaments isn't always easy to do. Bonnie Lee August 7, 2005 Pahrump NV Dear Mr.. Williams, You don't know me, but I need to know something from you, My Mother always told me that We were somehow Related, I,am not sure how, but will tell you something about my family. My Mother,s Name was Gladys K. Smith at birth.she was born in Dickson City Penn, Her Mother was Millecint Greening. my Great Grand mother was Clara Bell Miller My great Great grandmother was Cristina Mollies, I had an Uncle Mathew Kine. all on my mothers side. My Maiden name was Barr. I,am really not sure how it ties in, But Mommy was a good bowler too.lol. Sincerly your, Ms.Bonnie Lee Gray. Hi Bonnie, We may be related, but the names that you mention aren't familiar to me. I'll send this to my mother and see if she knows any of those names. Bobby Stives July 13, 2005 El Paso TX Hello Walter Ray, how are you doing? This is Bobby Stives I had the privilege of bowling you in El Paso TX in the round of 32. I would hope that you would remember. We went to Game 7. I was just wondering but during those 7 games what were you thinking. For me, I felt like I had no pressure since I was the amateur and in many bowlers eyes I wasn't suppose to be in that situation. How would you rate the tournament that I had. It was a pleasure bowling against you and good luck in the future. Bobby Stives General Manager Oasis Lanes 1660 North Zaragosa El Paso TX 79936 915-855-1183 ext 33 bstives@fiestalanes.com Hi Bobby, I do remember you and you bowled extremely well, especially during qualifying. Seeing as how you made the cut to the top 32 easily I would say that you bowled very well. It would be interesting to see how you would do on some of the other patterns. Unfortunately it doesn't look like we will be in El Paso this coming season. Maybe you can bowl the qualifier in Phoenix? If you do, we will see you there! Russell June 22, 2005 Bayonne NJ Hi Walter Ray and Paige: I am a great fan of yours. I would be interested in knowing when is the next time you are coming to New Jersey and where you will be to greet your fans. Sincerely, Russell V. Steuber Member Deadeye Diehards Hi Russell, I don't know the schedule for this upcoming season yet. But we had the US Open in New Brunswick, NJ this last season and I believe that we will be there again this coming season. If it is similar to last season then we should be there around February. We also usually have a tournament in Long Island and I hear that we may be going to Philadelphia. Mike June 30, 2005 Baltimore MD Walter Ray, I am passionate about the sport of bowling and I realize I got a late start in just beginning my first year of league bowling at age 22. I have been working on my mechanics and concentrating on the little things that mean so much in the long run. My girlfriend's Uncle is a superior bowler who teaches me on a weekly basis. There is a singles league in the Perry Hall, MD area which has about 80 bowlers in it now. I currently bowl in a foursome league and a doubles league. I'd like to know how I'd stand up to the scratch bowlers one-on-one. I don't mind losing to a good bowler, because when your competiton is better, you tend to bowl better (like any sport I guess). Is it a good idea to jump into singles competition at this point, or do you recommend waiting another year or two? Thanks for your time and taking my questions into consideration. It's greatly appreciated! Mike G Hi Mike, If you are interested in becoming better, then finding the toughest competition is a great way to improve. I can't say if bowling in a singles league is proper for you right now. But if your uncle thinks it would be ok, then have a good time. Personal Q&A [1-20] [21-40] [41-60] [61-80] [81-100] | ||