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BY J.R. SCHMIDT |
SUBSTANCE |
JOE KRISTOF ALWAYS HAD A REPUTATION AS A BOWLER WITH 'TEXTBOOK PERFECT' FORM. THE RECORDS IN HIS SCRAPBOOK ALSO MADE GREAT READING |
| THEY USED TO SAY THAT NO bowler could be as great as Joe Kristof looked. He was the finest stylist of bowling's golden age, with the graceful perfection of a Michelangelo statue come to life. Pick up an instruction book in the '50's or '60's, and chances are you would find line-drawings based on Kristof's classic form. Watch him in action, and you immediately understood the meaning of the old cliche, Poetry-in-Motion. Joe Kristof is now 81 years old. He hasn't bowled seriously in nearly twenty years. But visit his pro shop in Columbus,and you will find he still carries himself with elegance. The memories are there, too -- vivid and sharp. He came out of the Hungarian East Side of Toledo, Ohio. As a 14-year-old schoolboy, he wandered into Larry Gazzolo's lanes one day in 1935, intent on trying another sport. Joe put his first four shots in the gutter, then switched balls and finished with 121. And did anyone ever learn bowling quicker? His next tree games were 200,212, and 256. Young Master Kristof went to work for Gazzolo and began perfecting his game. The exquisite form that would become his trademark was developed through observation, trial-and-error, and long, unglamorous practice. Always looking for an advantage, |
he quickly found a way to make the best use of that time. "Gazzolo allowed us a half-hour of
practice," Joe says, "I had the pinboy set up the 5-pin only. Then, the last five minutes, I would shoot at the full set. That way I could get more shots." The payoff was a 200-plus average and a 300 at the age of 17. At the time, he was the youngest bowler ever to roll a sanctioned perfect game.
He began impressing the big boys in 1943. World War II was on, Joe was in the Army Air Corps, and came to Chicago on leave to bowl the Petersen Classic. 
With the country's best bowlers gather together, there were plenty of after-hours matches going on. He soon found himself rolling against ex-Petersen champ Vince Mikiel. "I beat Mikiel five or six times," Joe recalls, "Mort Luby (Sr.) was there. He like to bet on matches, |
and asked me if I'd mind bowling the next day. So he set up three matches. The first was with Junie McMahon, the second was with Paul Krumske, and the third was with Connie Schwoegler. Well, I took all of them. I don't know how much money Mort finally won." After that, Luby stayed in touch with Joe. When the war ended and Luby was helping put together the Lustre Creme Shampoo team, he advised sponsor Harry Daumit to sign Kristof. So in 1946 Joe moved to Chicago. Lustre Creme was captained by Buddy Bomar and featured an all-star lineup. Joe stayed with Bomar for the next eight years through various sponsors and changes in personnel. The Bomar teams became a power in the Chicago Classic League, and were always ranked among the country's best. For two years, they held the BPAA Team Match-Game title. In the 1949 matches Joe rolled a 300, one of the few perfect games ever in that event. He won a number of individual tournaments, including the Midwest Singles, the Du-Bowl, the Petersen 2-in-1, and the Blong Classic. At the All-Star Tournaments, his greatest success came off the lanes. In 1949, the BPkAA inaugurated a Women's Division in its showcase event. One of the bowlers was a yound lady from Columbus named June Zimpfer. Joe met June, and romance developed. They were married in 1951. |
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