'He's always there if you need him'
—Photo by ERIC PLUMMER Ralph Crabb, an avid bowler who carries a robust 176 average, has been running the leagues in Sandpoint for five decades.
—Courtesy photo Pictured from left to right, at the Idaho State Tournament at Sunset Lanes in Coeur d’Alene in 1985, are Chet Whitney, Jack Coleman, Wayne Hawkins, Kim Hawkins and Ralph Crabb.
By ERIC PLUMMER
Sports editor
SANDPOINT — One by one, a parade of older bowlers stroll into Huckleberry Lanes, ready to knock down some pins, spin some tales, and most importantly, have a fun time at the weekly Wednesday Seniors Bowling League.
Right before the action starts, the secretary and treasurer calls the group, ranging in age from 50-somethings to 90-somethings, together to make a special presentation. He explains to a surprised 82-year-old Marge Hulquist that she had won the high average award by less than one pin, and presented her with a plaque.
After a round of applause and a few laughs, the seniors went about their weekly business of pounding the pins.
The special touch was courtesy of Ralph Crabb, who decided recently to step down after running a host of bowling leagues in Sandpoint for the past half century. He started as secretary/treasurer of the local bowling leagues in 1966, and has been doing it ever since.
“He does everything,” says Wednesday Seniors member Marylou Griffin. “He's always there if you need him.”
Denis Cohen, exemplifying the social and lighthearted nature of the Wednesday league, agrees with Griffin.
“All we have to do is come in and make fools out of ourselves bowling,” describes Cohen. “He's wonderful. He takes care of us like a grandfather.”
Crabb was driving a home delivery milk route for Carnation when he first started running the bowling leagues. He was just starting to raise a family with Leona, his wife of 55 years.
Now an 81-year-old grandfather, he's loved bowling for as long as he can remember, putting in countless hours organizing teams and leagues, as well as traveling to tournaments around the region.
“People ask where'd you meet Ralph? I say ‘in the alley,'” jokes wife Leona, who bowled many a game with her husband over the years. “We've gone to a lot of tournaments together. He loves bowling, he wouldn't give it up for anything.”
Crabb has always been able to mow down the pins, once carrying a robust average in the high 190s. While he can't maintain that lofty standard anymore, he still sports a rock-solid 176 average and still dabbles in the 200s on occasion.
One of his biggest highlights as a bowler was taking a team from Sandpoint to the nationals in Reno, Nev., in 1998, teaming up with Warren Cox, Terry Burnham, Robert Ramsay and his son Scott Crabb.
Speaking of his son, the two recently bowled nine games together, and the old man more than held his own, actually posting a higher final three-game series of 561. He doesn't plan to stop rolling anytime soon.
“As long as I'm able,” says Crabb, adding what he loves most. “The exercise, meeting people, the different houses you bowl in.”
Back in the day, there were occasionally perfect 300 games bowled in Sandpoint, and Crabb remembers the likes of Stan Jackson rolling 700 plus series often. Scott Crabb has three perfect games on his bowling résumé, a fact not lost on Ralph, who has never rolled one of the fabled games.
He did come as close as you can once, finishing with the dreaded 299 after missing a strike on his 12th and final roll, which felt perfect leaving the hand.
“I hung the 10 pin on the last ball. It was the best ball I threw,” recalls Crabb, who could only stare at the lone defiant pin. “It never wiggled. It just stood there like ‘I dare you.'”
Like some from his generation, Crabb is old school, and none to quick to embrace new technology. It's one of the reasons he's passing league duties on to the next person.
“I'm not on the internet,” claims Crabb, letting Leona handle the computer results. “I told them I'm not going to.”
Crabb also played a roll in reviving the bowling leagues in Sandpoint, after some began trekking to Bonners Ferry and others simply fizzled out. Huckleberry Lanes owner Corrie Kinman, who along with husband Raymond has the lanes in their finest shape in many years, appreciates the effort Crabb has put into running the leagues.
“He's super-committed,” says Kinman. “When we first opened, Ralph made contact with us and brought the league's back. He said ‘we really want to bowl here.'”