Four Whitmores hit lanes this week

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By Don Doxsie | Saturday, September 6, 2008 11:56 PM CDT | () comments

Bowling always has been a family game.

But in the Whitmore family, it often has been the only game.

Cal Whitmore has been a local bowling legend for more than half a century, as a competitor, organizer and chronicler of the sport. And next Wednesday at Highland Park Bowl he may have another special moment: A chance to bowl in the Plow City League with his son, grandson and great grandson.

That would be four generations of Whitmores and if it works out this week, they all will be exactly 20 years apart in ages. Cal is 81, son Steve is 61, grandson Rod is 41 (until next Friday) and great-grandson Jeff turned 21 on Saturday. Jeff currently is a student at Monmouth College and there is some doubt as to whether he’ll be able to be there, but if he can, it will be another mark in the record books for Cal.

“We’re definitely going to get this done before the year is over one way or another,” said Steve Whitmore, who lives in Albany, Ill. “But it will be even better if we can do it this week when we’re all 20 years apart.”

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Former basketball coach Tom Davis joined ex-football star Marv Cook, former NCAA wrestling champion Lincoln McIlravy and others in being inducted into the University of Iowa’s athletic Hall of Fame at halftime of last week’s home-opening football game.

Who received the loudest cheers? Davis. By far. A few years of Steve Alford and Todd Lickliter have made people appreciate Dr. Tom a little more than they did when he was unceremoniously pushed out by Bob Bowlsby.

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Anyone alarmed at how many times we see helmets come flying off in the middle of football games? It seems to happen with increased frequency these days. In the first quarter of that Iowa-Maine game last week, it happened three times in the first quarter alone. Hawkeye running back Shonn Greene lost his helmet once early in the first quarter, then lost it again in the second quarter.

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Hard to believe, but according to football historians, helmets were not even required equipment until 1939. President Gerald Ford allegedly played center at Michigan in the 1930s without ever wearing one.

Come to think of it, that might explain a lot.

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This is how meaningless NFL exhibition records are: The only team to go unbeaten in the preseason this year was the Detroit Lions.

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The NFL sends out a raft of little trivia nuggets every day in the weeks leading up to the regular season. It’s the kind of stuff you can’t get anywhere else.

One of the items from last week: Three current NFL players formerly worked at Best Buy — Bears wide receiver Rashied Davis, Tennessee kicker Rob Bironas and Tampa Bay defensive end Greg White. Not surprisingly, the 270-pound White was one of those security guys who checks out people’s bags as they exit the store.

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Northern Illinois used just three true freshmen last Saturday in its near-upset of Minnesota, and one of them was former Bettendorf defensive lineman Adam Coleman. Not a shock. Some of us were a bit surprised Coleman wasn’t more heavily pursued by Big Ten schools.

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Indiana is a school with a growing reputation for creative ways to deal with off-field incidents involving its athletes.

When star quarterback Kellen Lewis violated team rules earlier this year, football coach Bill Lynch slapped him with a four-month suspension.

Of course, the four months were April, May, June and July. Lewis was back in the starting lineup last Saturday against Western Kentucky.

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One more reason the Cubs will hold off the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central race: While the Cubs are concerned with trying to win games, the Brewers were busy quibbling over whether their pitcher threw a one-hitter or a no-hitter last week. They even petitioned major league baseball in an attempt to have an official scorer’s call overturned.

Don Doxsie can be contacted at (563) 383-2280 or ddoxsie@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.