Pro bowling announces big trade, seriously

It was a trade for the ages. It happened on Jan. 5, 1920. The Boston Red Sox traded Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for $100,000. There were no draft picks involved, no players to be named later, nobody named Lebowski, be it big or small.

It was a blockbuster deal, even without a Lebowski.

But now pro bowling has a date that may live in infamy, too.

Nov. 5, 2014. Mark it down.

News out of PBA headquarters in Chicago has put it all to rest: The Pittsburgh Jack Rabbits of the PBA League program have traded Hall of Famer Walter Ray Williams back to the Brooklyn Styles for Osku Palermaa of Finland, who bowls with two hands.

Say it ain’t so, Walter Ray.

Longtime bowling observers are saying the Williams-for-Palermaa trade might turn out to be even bigger than when Alice forgot to wash and iron Ralph Kramden’s Hurricanes bowling shirt before the big Raccoon Lodge tournament, and Ralph was concerned people wouldn’t know what team he bowled for.

I’m not sure if the PBA office had its tongue in its cheek when it released news of this big bowling trade. But PBA league bowling is the real deal.

It’s called the Elias Cup, and it will be held March 28-29 at Bayside Bowl in Portland, Maine. All rounds of PBA League competition will be televised on ESPN on four consecutive Sundays, beginning March 29.