Monday, May 18, 2009

The Unforgettable Guppy Trout

Growing up, my parents subjected me to a variety of sports on TV - whether it was tennis, golf, Soccer Made in Germany, or even ABC's Wide World of Sports, I was watching it ... loving it. I couldn't get enough of Karl Heinze Ruminiga, or pool tournaments featuring Minnesota Fats and Willie Mosconie ... or classic McEnroe vs. Borg matches ... if there was some kind of "sporting" competition, I would start to salivate.

And yes, this even included the Professional Bowlers Tour on Saturday afternoons. I would watch bowling legends like Earl Anthony, Marshall Hollman, and Mark Roth ... My parents would cheer the "traditional" bowlers (also known as bowlers who had no charisma), and would boo the bowlers who wore funny clothes, or showed too much emotion. I would cheer and boo with my parents, but I secretly liked the over-the-top bowlers.

One specific bowler I absolutely couldn't get enough of was a bowler by the name of Guppy Trout ... let me repeat that - Guppy Trout. The guy had a red-afro, would wear sun-glasses, and always wore plaid pants, and a plaid shirt that was a different color and had different patterns than the pants. It was fantastic, he was like the clown-prince of the PBA ... he seemed to make the cut about once a month, but would never win any tournaments ... obviously, he was more concerned with his Krustacular appearance as opposed to bettering his skills and ability.

Here's the depressing thing .... in the age of the internet, wikipedia, and You-tube, there is not an image or video of this guy around ... how does this happen? I didn't think this was even possible. I was so hoping to be able to show you this guy .... now, you'll just have to take my word on him.

6 comments:

Jeff said...

Try googling "Guppy Troup" (not Trout). And, yes, it looks like he's wearing a different ugly curtain on each leg.

sirgeb said...

...but if you now google guppy trout- your blog post is the first listing on google.

This could be your call to fame- list two separate words in your blog and it's automatically the top hit in google.

Heff said...

I dig bowling. I'll have to look this guy up.

El Padrino said...

pete weber?

Los said...

Thanks to Jeff - apparently, he was forgettable ... his name is apparently Guppy Troup ... although, I'll always remember him as Guppy Trout ... for some reason. And heck, it's a better name, anyway.

Lisa said...

OMG, I remember ALL of those bowlers including Guppy Trout. I watched the Wide World of Sports with my Dad all the time, which is probably why I still enjoy watching any kind of sport. Hell, we even watched golf.

However, I drew the line at the fishing shows. They were nothing like "The Deadliest Catch" back then. ....babs