Lynn Swann inducted into the bowling hall of fame, too

You will not find too many instances where a hall of famer in one sport is inducted into the hall of fame of another sport. The International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame announced last week that Lynn Swann will be the third inductee into the Bowling Hall of Fame Celebrities Exhibit and the first to be in-ducted into the brand new museum to be completed in early 2010.

Almost every football fan will recognize Swann as the former Pittsburgh Steelers' All-Pro and Super Bowl MVP. But why is he being inducted in a bowling hall of fame?

Lynn Swann has earned many honors in his career but it's his enthusiasm for bowling that has made him a recognizable and supportive force and an ambassador for the sport of bowling.

"Bowling is a great activity for people of all ages," Swann said, "and I'm so proud and honored to have helped to play a small part in helping to drive the resurgence of this great American past time.

"The more than 67 million people who bowl every year are a testament to the sport's tremen-dous popularity. Bowling is a true part of Americana and I'm humbled to have a place in the Bowling Hall of Fame," he added.

Swann has hosted the NFL Super Bowl Celebrity Bowling Classic for the past three years and also served as the lane-side reporter for CBS' "Clash of the Champions" in 2008. The broadcast marked bowling's return to network television for the first time since 1999.

He is not the first celebrity from another sport to be inducted in the bowling hall of fame. He will be joining former NFL running back and fellow Steeler Jerome Bettis as well as ex-major league baseball pitcher and radio analyst, Tom Candiotti.

The International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame

The International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame (IBMHF) has served the international bowling com-munity for more than two decades by collecting and preserving its history and making information avail-able worldwide to help promote the sport. The new facility is being constructed at the International Bowling Campus in Arlington, Texas.

In late 2007, it was announced the IBMHF would relocate from St. Louis -- where they shared the facility with the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team -- to be part of the newly formed International Bowling Campus in Arlington. The campus also includes the headquarters for the Bowling Proprietors' Association of America (BPAA), the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) and the International Training and Re-search Center.

In addition to preserving the history of the game, the IBMHF maintains statistics on halls of fame for the BPAA, USBC, the Professional Bowling Association, the Professional Women's Bowling Associa-tion and the World Bowling Writers.

You will also find all kinds of bowling trivia. Example No. 1: PBA Star Walter Ray Williams Jr. also has been highly successful at the national level in this sport. (Answer: Horseshoes.) Example No. 2: In the early 1900s, infamous bowler Count Gengler bowled a 300 game under what unusual condition? (An-swer: With the lights out.)

Gil Sanchez, a member of the Bowling Writers Association of America, is a freelance bowling writer for the News & Messenger. Reach him at 703-587-6792 or at gsanchez@insidenova.com.