After having kicked the idea around for several months, Scoot and I finally knuckled down and programmed the newest feature to the league – the Hall of Fame. With the league into its 23rd season now, we thought back through the hundreds of people that have bowled over the years and remembered a great number of bowlers who have contributed to the league by donating their time to originally get it started (Angela Bradford!), bringing in a ton of new recruits (Jason Carpio!), keeping weekly stats before there was a web site (Freda Schroeder!), bowling each season without question...even after heart surgery (Dennis "Pops" Laube!), drinking more beer than the bowling alley carried (Pat Searcy!), programming GutterAlley (Scott Murdock!) or simply by making the league more fun by just being themselves (too many names to mention). So it was with this in mind that we sat down and drafted up the Hall of Fame as a way to honor these individuals as voted upon by you, the bowling community. Here's how it'll work: at the beginning of each new season, we'll open up a section on the site that will allow you to nominate an eligible candidate (someone that has bowled four seasons, doesn't have to be consecutive seasons either...don't worry, we have a program that will generate the list of who is eligible each season). You'll merely select his or her name and then write something about why you feel this person should be included in the GutterAlley Hall of Fame. Nominations will remain open until the conclusion of the position round (the mid-way point each season). A committee of four* will then weed through the submitted nominees and choose six worthy candidates for the bowling community (translated: anyone with an active GutterAlley.com account that has completed at least one full season in the league) to vote upon as they see fit. Based upon one's longevity within the league, you are given a set number of votes. A person that has completed 1-2 seasons will be able to cast one vote. A person that has completed 3-4 seasons will be allowed to cast two votes. Anyone with 5+ completed seasons under their belt will be allowed to cast three votes. Those inducted into the Hall of Fame will have four votes to cast. You are not able to vote for the same person more than once with your votes nor can you vote for yourself. Also, you do not have to use all of your votes if you so choose. Voting will remain open until Week 15, the week before the Finals. At the end of the season awards ceremony we will announce the winner and hopefully have them in attendance to receive their award. We will be creating a unique trophy to present to each Hall of Fame inductee. We're really excited about this new feature on the site since we all spend so much time talking trash about one another throughout the season it'll be a welcome addition to hear something nice for a change about those with whom you spend your Tuesday evenings. * = As I mentioned above, a committee of four (that we call the Screening Committee) whose role it is to weed through the nominations each season to present the best candidates from those nominated will be picked by you...as the first four inductees into the Hall of Fame.This inaugural class will be the only inductees enshrined not through what will become "the normal process." For the inaugural class, we're going to do it differently. To start things off: (1) Rather than a pool of six candidates, EVERY person that qualifies for candidacy into the Hall of Fame will be listed as a potential candidate.(2) Voting will begin now. When you reach the page to vote you will see your set number of available votes to cast. Again, if you have not completed one full season in the league you will not be eligible to vote this season. Those of you that have bowled 1-2 seasons will get one vote. Anyone with 3-4 seasons will receive two votes. And, lastly, those of you that have been around 5+ seasons will get to vote for three candidates. (3) Voting will run just like the rules say above with the poll remaining open until the end of Week 15 (the Tuesday before Finals).(4) The top four vote getters will be announced at the awards ceremony at the conclusion of this season. We will try to get the winners to be present at the meeting to receive their trophy.(5) The four inductees will comprise the Screening Committee going forward.So there you have it. Welcome, one and all, to the Hall of Fame!What are you waiting for...?!?
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New Feature: The Hall of Fame
March 22, 2011 Spring 2011
For those of you that don’t really know the full history of the league from the beginning, allow me to fill you in on the four people that I feel should make up the inaugural class…not in any particular order.
1. Scott “Scooter J” Murdock
Although Scoot doesn’t hold any of the top personal bowling records (outside of earning more 1st place finishes than all but two people throughout the league’s history), this man has given up countless hours to initially develop and continually improve GutterAlley.com since 2003. He’s been the league’s secretary and treasurer season after season and helps keep everything running smoothly. That alone should earn him your vote.
2. Angela Bradford
AB holds the #1 spot on e-v-e-r-y single individual record for women (don’t believe me? Check it out at http://www.gutteralley.com/records ) and was the mad scientist behind forming the very first VML bowling league back in the Spring of 2000. If not for AB, *none* of us would equate Tuesday nights with bowling. For that, I thank her dearly.
3. Carl Goetz
Carl is a competitor, pure and simple. His ability to come through in the 10th frame when the game is on the line — with his determined and extremely focused demeanor — has always been something I have loved watching time and time again. Carl’s bowling accomplishments over the years have earned him spots in the top 5 for men’s high series/game both scratch and handicap. There’s no one else in the league’s history that I’d rather have on my team than Carl.
4. Freda Schroeder
She was the league’s first statistician, keeping weekly spreadsheets with the scores and standings for those of us that craved that kind of data in the pre-web site era. She’s been responsible for bringing in dozens of bowlers when the league needed new recruits the most. She’s won titles. She’s the only woman in the league’s history to finish the season as the cumulative #1 Power Ranked bowler. And, like Carl on the men’s side, Freda sits in the top 5 for women’s high series/game both scratch and handicap. Freda deserves to be in the inaugural class.
Freda has done it all…including giving birth to half the people on my four top candidates list.
And that’s my two cents. Vote ‘em up, people!
My first response is to ditto what Ken posted, the league would not exist at all without Freda and Angela, while Carl is an icon. However, he was being humble in leaving himself off the list…
Ken Wilson deserves your vote because not only has be bowled (almost) every season from the very beginning — starting out on a team of 2 in early 2000 at a bowling alley that no longer exists — it’s possible that the league would have fizzled and died years ago without him. His recruiting efforts every 6 months have kept the league going strong. There have been times when it seemed the league was on the verge of folding, but his continuous efforts have brought in enough bowlers to save it time and time again. Not to mention the fact that he’s one of the league’s best bowlers.