He was the dominant force in bowling during the mid-70's, kinda of akin to Lance Armstrong's domination of cycling, Earl Anthony.
Posted on 09/11/2005 2:22:47 PM PDT by John W
RIP Chris, you were the only guy I know who could commentate on bowling and make it interesting(for the youngins out there who didn't know of TV with 100's of channels, Chris Schenkel hosted the Pro Bowlers Tour on ABC on Saturday afternoons right before Wide World of Sports came on. I know, I know hearing the stories of having only 3 or 4 TV channels is akin to having to hear my parents say, "we had to walk through 3 feet of snow to get to school and it was never cancelled")
He was the dominant force in bowling during the mid-70's, kinda of akin to Lance Armstrong's domination of cycling, Earl Anthony.
Wasn't he also the announcer for the Giants-Colts 58 championship game that put the NFL on the map, at least on television?
Chris had a rather pollyanna broadcasting style, typical of the 1950s, best exemplified when he innocently asked commentator Bud Wilkinson as the camera zoomed in on a young Hawaiian woman on the sidelines during a Hula Bowl telecast:
"Bud, isn't that the young lady who gave us both a lei when we arrived at the airport?"
I do remember him as ABC Sports' primary play-by-play announcer in the 1960s, particularly on college football and NBA telecasts.
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RIP Mr. Schenkel--"ever grateful, ever true*". You were a good old Boiler, and we will always remember you.
*This is one line of the Purdue school song, "Hail Purdue".
Coincidence: I have family in Fort Wayne and didn't know Chris Schenkel was from Allen County.
Also I thought Chris Schenkel preceded Paul Page as the Indy 500 "local" announcer.
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