Veteran bowling writer Joe Lyou Santa Paula, Calif., a.k.a. "Tenpin Slants" died Thursday, March 20, at the age of 88. He was a graduate of the University of Southern California, where he majored in journalism. Joe was one of the great bowling writers of all time and one of the nicest men in the business. He became the editor of the Pacific Bowler in Southern California and later purchased the publication. Joe is survived by his daughter Tracy, son Joe and five grandchildren.

Tenpin Slants loved bowling and was still writing monthly bowling columns that appeared in many bowling publication plus here on bowlingdigital.com. Short after his return from his favorite tournament, the Golden Ladies Classic in Las Vegas, Joe suffered a massive stroke and was hospitalized in a coma in Santa Paula, where he passed away.

Joe Lyou was one of the last generation of daily newspaper reporters who covered bowling as one of their regular beats like one of his best friends, Dick Evans.

Several years ago Joe and Dick decided to write their own obits about their lives. They sent them to each other and promised that they would send it out on the Internet when the other died.

Dick and Joe's numerous friends were praying that by some miracle Joe would recover, but the prayers weren't answered. It is with a heavy heart that Dick has sent us Joe Lyou's obit.

Headline and Story Written By Joe Lyou

The country's No. 1 Korean bowling writer is no more. Joe Lyou, who wrote about bowlers and bowling for more than 50 years, died peacefully in his sleep (hopefully!). He was 101 (hopefully!).

Lyou was a graduate of the University of Southern California, where he majored in journalism (class of 1949). He always said that he was able to attend USC--along with 19,000 other World War II veterans--because of the G.I. Bill.

The native Angeleno began his newspaper career at the Los Angeles Mirror as a copyboy in 1950. When an opening occurred in the sports department, the job was offered to Lyou, who jumped at the opportunity since he was a huge sports fan.

A prolific writer, Lyou covered a variety of sports at The Mirror, including boxing and hunting and fishing. His favorite beat, however, was writing about the sport of bowling. He continued to write two bowling columns every week until The Mirror (then The Mirror-News) closed on Jan. 5, 1962.

A generous financial severance pay arrangement enabled Lyou to pack up his family and move to Hawaii. After almost two years, when the severance money began to run out, the Lyou family caught a boat back to the mainland.

In 1964, Lyou was offered a sales position at AMF. He was with the company until 1967, when he left to join the California Bowling News as its managing editor. Five years later, Lyou went to work for Publisher Alan (Ol’ Knobby Knees) Post at the Pacific Bowler, lured by the promise of eventual ownership.

Lyou purchased the Pacific Bowler in 1977. He was the editor and publisher until 1988, when he sold the popular tenpin tabloid to his managing editor, R.F. Corderman (and his wife, Berdalee), and retired.

For the next 15 years, Lyou continued to write his “Tenpin Slants” column, which ran regularly in Red Pfeiffer’s Bowling World (now owned by Donna Hazel) and occasionally in the Pacific Bowler. (EDITOR's NOTE, after Joe Lyou purchased a computer he started writing monthly bowling columns that appeared in many bowling publication plus the International Webpage www.bowlingdigital.com).

Lyou, a longtime member of the Bowling Writers Assn. of America, was always delighted when his three Hall of Fame colleagues--Dick Evans, John Jowdy and Chuck Pezzano--would introduce him to their friends as “the country's No. 1 Korean bowling writer.” The inside joke was that there were no other Korean bowling writers.

The recipient of several tenpin honors, Lyou was proudest of the Mort Luby Sr. Memorial Award--the BWAA’s highest honor--and the National Flowers for the Living Award. Lyou, a past two-time president of the Southern California Bowling Writers Assn., was a member of the SoCal Men’s Bowling Hall of Fame and the Southeast District Bowling Assn. Hall of Fame, both for meritorious service.

Lyou is survived by his daughter Tracy, a son Dr. Joseph Keith (Lorraine) Lyou, and five grandchildren. A member of the Neptune Society, Lyou will be cremated and his ashes scattered at sea, as were those of his wife, Heidi, who died in 1993. At his request, no funeral services were to be conducted.

That was brevity from a superb journalist who lived a full 88 years.

He was one of bowling's best writers and possibly the best editor in the bowling business in my opinion.

Joe and I shared a love for betting on thoroughbreds and trying to pick football winners in Las Vegas or Reno and even once in Laughlin. He was good at it, like he was at everything else he did in life.

I marveled at his ability to dissect the Daily Racing Form and his astute knowledge of how and when to bet. He always was shooting for the big payoffs while I was happy just to have a 2-1 favorite win for me.

During our last visit together at the Golden Ladies Classic in Las Vegas, we again shared a room and ate all our meals together. This time we got to talking about his war experiences and he told me he shipped over to England in early 1943, fought his way across Europe and arrived in New York City on Dec. 7, 1945.

He loved bowling but hated high scores. He defended his friends with fierce loyalty and seldom if ever said an unkind word about anyone.

He would travel all across California and Nevada to attend bowling tournaments and was especially was fond of watching the women pro bowlers.

But he often joked that he never traveled East of the Mississippi to attend a bowling function although I saw him several years at the Firestone Tournament of Champions.

Joe was a generous man. He brought me a book to Vegas last week that he thought I would enjoy reading.

But it will be tough to open now that Joe Lyou has died.

I urge anyone who enjoyed a better life because they knew Joe Lyou to read the moving tribute to him by Bob Johnson, now editor of Bowlers Journal International but as a young, young man a protege of Joe Lyou.

Joe Lyou will be missed.


To read Joe's last column click here
.