If you were to ask any normal sports fan who Joe Norris is, most wouldn't have a clue.
Ask anyone who's had any involvement in the sport of bowling who he is and they will tell you he's a living legend.Norris competed in his 67th American Bowling Congress Championship Tournament this past Tuesday and Wednesday at the Salt Palace, second in ABC tournament participation history only to Bill Doerham who competed in 71.
But Norris isn't known only for his amazing longevity in the sport. He is known mostly for his accomplishments, outgoing personality and for being an ambassador of the game.
Norris' achievements rival those of any athlete in any major sport.
He's been elected to six different bowling hall of fames, including the National Bowling Hall of Fame in St. Louis in 1954. He has been a member of two ABC Tournament team champions in 1934 and 1954. He bowled his first 300 game in 1927 at the age of 19, at the time the youngest person to reach perfection. Joe rolled another 300 in 1994 at the age of 86, the oldest person on record to reach perfection. He leads the ABC Tournament in career pinfall. He had been voted All-American eight times by the time he reached 38 years of age.
The rest of his accomplishments fills eight pages of a press packet solely about him.
With all of that, Norris says his greatest accomplishment was winning the 1934 ABC Tournament team title.
"The ABC is the dream of every bowler," said Norris, "at that time the ABC champions were considered the world team champions and we would travel the country bowling in exhibitions. At that time they would hang posters in a city and we would pack the bowling centers for the exhibitions."
Norris got his start in the sport by working as a pinsetter in 1922.
"My mother was dead set against it but it was a chance to make some money," Norris said. "I fell in love with the game working as a pinsetter."
Even after so much early success, his career wasn't headed in the bowling direction.
Norris was working comfortably in the automobile industry in Detroit in 1937 when he was offered a job by Brunswick. He accepted the position even though it meant a paycut.
"That was tough but I made the right decision," Norris said. "In life you have to be lucky, and I have been."
Norris has been so lucky he's made it his life goal to promote bowling, especially to the youth of America. "We are not spending enough time on the youth even though the collegiate and junior programs are great," said Norris.
He has worked hard in the San Diego area, where he lives, and now bowling has been instituted into the San Diego inner city games as well as the state Olympics.
"Bowling is good for kids," he said. "It gets them of the streets."
Norris explains that his dedication to the game not only stems from the competition but also because he has had the chance to meet a lot of people.
"I love the competition and the thrill of winning . . . and the aggravation of losing," Norris said, "but I've traveled to every continent and every major city. In what other sport could you do that?"
When you think of the legends of sport, Mickey Mantle, Julius Erving, or Jim Brown, many say Joe Norris' name should be included.
"Bowling has been good to me so I've tried to give something back and leave something for someone else," Norris said. "It's still a wonderful game."