Bill in the Media
Above180.com
On November 4, 2010, March 17, 2012, March 17, 2015,
October 2, 2017, August 11, 2018 and November 22, 2023, Bill was the featured guest on the ABOVE180.com
podcast, hosted by Tim Burg, a lifetime bowler and long-time radio producer and Steve Kloempken from
Storm. Each week his podcast features interviews with Hall of Famers, coaches, or up-and-coming
collegiate stars, sponsored by Storm. CLICK HERE to listen to Bill's November 4, 2010 podcast; CLICK HERE to listen to Bill's March 17, 2012 podcast; CLICK
HERE to listen to Bill's March 17, 2015 podcast; and CLICK
HERE to listen to Bill's October 2, 2017 podcast, CLICK
HERE to listen to Bill's August 11, 2018 podcast, and CLICK
HERE to listen to Bill's November 22, 2023 podcast.
To make it easy to listen to ABOVE180.com each week just come to this page and CLICK HERE and you'll be able to listen to current and archived ABOVE180.com podcasts.
Associated Press
Each year the Associated Press publishes changes and updates to their
Stylebook which is a reference manual that journalists use to know the proper/accepted way to report
news and sporting events results. It was nice in the 2000
AP Stylebook that they used a tournament Bill was leading to show the proper way to report PBA
match-play scoring.
Battle Buddy Bowling – Chicago
In 2013 Bill gave free tips and video analysis at the annual "Battle Buddy Bowling – Chicago" held at Fox
Bowl, 1101 Butterfield Road, Wheaton, IL. "Battle Buddy Bowling – Chicago" raises money
for The Puppy Rescue Mission that helps
our troops bring to the United States the pets they have bonded with while serving in war zones such as
Afghanistan. These animals help our military personnel cope with the trials and emotional aftermath of
war as well as accompany and protect them on patrols and at the base.
Bowling This Month
The late, great bowling coach John Jowdy wrote "Should Coaches Rely on Cameras for their Watchful Eyes?" for the April, 2011 issue in which he names Bill as one of his Top 8 elite bowling coaches in the world. He also discusses the use of video and video coaching software (which Bill uses in all of his lessons) and how it can help pinpoint the areas a student needs to work on.
In the March, 2013 issue USBC Open Championships on-site instructor Mike Jasnau discusses how to prep you and your equipment for the USBC Open and Women's Championships. Bill is one of the featured coaches interviewed.
Bowling Center Management
Bill and some of the Hawthorn Lanes staff were on the cover and in an article in the September, 2002 issue of Bowling Center Management magazine. The use of bowling-style shirts had started to catch on in businesses outside the bowling industry at that time and Bill and the Hawthorn Lanes staff were the featured models in the article. CLICK HERE to view the article.
The Bowling News
Bill and wife Barb were interviewed January, 2015 by Mark London for his "Just Paying Attention" column that appears weekly in the Dallas based "The Bowling News". The interview centers around Bill's coaching, old-school vs. two-handed bowling,
and Barb's experience working as the Chicago White Sox photographer. CLICK HERE to read the interview.
CBS Sunday Morning
Bill had the fortune of being on the February 2, 2014 edition of CBS Sunday Morning about the 100th anniversary of Bowlers Journal International. They did around 20 hours of taping – in Chicago and in Detroit – for the 5-minute piece and spent around an hour taping Bill (they only used ~10 seconds of it!) giving correspondent Bill Geist some bowling tips and educating him about the changes in bowling balls. CLICK HERE to go to Bill's Photo Gallery page view the bowling segment and to view more pictures under the "CBS Sunday Morning" dropdown
Daily Herald
"5 Minutes With..." feature that the Daily Herald ran on February 17, 1997. It's a Q & A I did with some quick tips on how to improve your bowling. CLICK HERE to read the article.
The 11th Frame
On August 8, 2013, Bill was highlighted in the 11thframe.com blog "Who is the Best Coach in Bowling?" written by award winning bowing journalist, 28-time PBA Regional Champion, and USBC Hall-of-Famer Jeff Richgels. Written after the death of legendary bowling coach John Jowdy on August 1, 2013 at the age of 93, Jeff's blog mentions Jowdy's feeling that Bill is one of the world's top coaches. CLICK HERE to read the blog. Jeff's daily (most days more) blogs are about all facets of the bowling world. Available on a subscription basis, Jeff's 11thframe.com blog is well worth the $19.99 a year subscription. CLICK HERE to subscribe.
CLICK
HERE to go to Bill's facebook page – "Bowling Lessons by Bill Spigner". Click "Like" (if you
haven't liked it yet) and then you can ask Bill questions, post comments or a Bill Spigner lesson
testimonial if working with Bill has helped you bring your game to the next level.
Final Phase IV – The 'Coaches' Book of Instruction
Bill is one of the featured coaches in "Final Phase IV--The 'Coaches' Book of Instruction" written by Len Nicholson, who was the PBA Lane Maintenance Director for over 25 years. Len is considered one of the world's leading experts on lane maintenance and conditioning. He also has hosted Kegel's 'Phantom Radio Show' Podcast since 2002.
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Freeport Journal-Standard
The Freeport Journal-Standard’s Graham Couch wrote this feature in 2003 on the behind-the-scenes trials and tribulations I had of bowling on the PBA Tour off the lanes. CLICK HERE to read the article.
Golf Digest
Bill was featured in an article Cliff Schrock of Golf Digest magazine wrote for www.golfdigest.com on bowlers who have shot a 300 game and also have had a Hole-In-One. Bill's first 300 was on April 30, 1971 at Valley Bowl in Ansonia, CT, in the Charleton Press Classic League, on lanes 23 & 24, using a Manhattan rubber bowling ball. His Hole-in-One came on August 15, 2010 at the Hickory Point Golf Club in Decatur, IL on the 136 yard 8th Hole. He used an 8 iron and a Titleist golf ball. The interesting fact is his Hole-in-One was witnessed by PBA Hall of Famer Wayne Webb, Tom Adcock, and Tom Carter. CLICK HERE to read the Golf Digest article.
Groupon Guide to Chicago
On December 16, 2014 Bill was featured on Groupon's
Guide to Chicago posting – "How to Bowl Better in Six Steps" – written by Sandra Kofler.
It's a quick guide to help the novice bowler knock down more pins and have higher scores. CLICK
HERE to read the article.
Here We Are
"Here We Are: What Makes Us Human" is a podcast hosted by Joy Bork and in her third season she had the theme of "Your Flavor Of Nerd" where she interviews people who love something so much they could "nerd" out about it all day or talk someone's ear off about it. So she interviewed Bill about bowling. CLICK HERE to go to her podcast page and click on the July 28, 2021 podcast to listen to it. It's around 22 minutes long.
2015 ITRC Super Senior Classic
On August 5, 2015 Bill was on BowlTV doing color-commentary with USBC's Matt Cannizzaro of the step-ladder finals of the ITRC Super Senior Classic featuring Tom Baker, Mike Lucente, Sam Maccarone, Kerry Painter, and Willie Wells. Not revealing who won in case you didn't see it. Below is a video of the step-ladder finals.
Lake County Gazette
Brent Zell
of the weekly Lake County Gazette did a nice interview with Bill for their August 8-14, 2016 edition.
The article talks about Bill's successes on the lanes and how his back issues have curtailed his
tournament activity; how bowling has changed; and his teaching style. CLICK HERE to read the article.
The Mark Roth Book of Bowling
In the 1981 book "The Mark Roth Book of Bowling" authors Mark Roth
and Chuck Pezzano mention that Bill is a "fine teacher".
NEBA Livestream
On April 19, 2020 Bill was one of the featured guests on NEBA'S first Livestream which took the place of their April, 2020 tournament which had to be cancelled/postponed because of COVID-19. Unbelievably, it was the first time in 57 years that NEBA hadn't held a monthly tournament. The livestream was hosted by NEBA's Chris Forry, Bruce Hall, and Jon Wilbur and Bill talks about many things including two-handed bowling. CLICK HERE to listen to the livestream. Bill's interview starts around the 21:15 mark.
Parks and Rewatch
Right before the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, Joy Bork and Joe Patterson started their podcast "Parks and Rewatch" about the TV show "Parks and Recreation". Each podcast they delve into an episode and it evolves into something more in depth that happened or was discussed in that episode.
Joy contacted Bill as she needed a better understanding of bowling for their discussion of the April 12, 2021 "Bowling for Votes" episode and she wanted to know if the bowling that was shown in the episode was anywhere close to reality. It turned into a discussion of "being on stage" and the courage and finesse it takes to do it well. Bill is heard in the first ~25 minutes of the podcast. CLICK HERE to go to their podcast page and scroll down to April 12, 2021 "Bowling for Votes" to listen to it.
Phantom Radio
On November 9, 2022, November 2, 2022, August 20, 2014, November 7, 2012, and August 11, 2010 Bill was the featured guest on Phantom Radio, an internet streaming talk show hosted by former PBA Lane Maintenance Director Len Nicholson. CLICK HERE to listen to Bill's shows by clicking on ARCHIVE on the right-hand side of the page.
The Storm Morning Bolt
On Monday, January 15, 2024, Bill was the featured guest on Storm's "The Morning Bolt" hosted by Storm Bowling's Kendle Miles and Blair Blumenscheid. They discussed coaching and the "Beat the Champs" competition that was happening on Thursday, January 18, 2024. CLICK HERE to view.
Bill also was the featured guest on Monday, June 5th, 2023, that was hosted by Storm Bowling’s Gary Hulsenberg and Blair Blumenscheid. They discussed Bill reaching the 100,000 pin mark at the USBC Open Championships, his bowling career, and his coaching philosophies. CLICK HERE to view.
Bill was also the featured guest on Wednesday, May 6, 2020. They discussed Bill's bowling career, Team USA coaching, and high school bowling. CLICK HERE to view.
Bowling Links
NEBA
New England Bowlers Association (NEBA) was formed in 1963 and is the longest
running USBC sanctioned monthly scratch tournament club in the world. If you live in the New England area, NEBA is a great way to test your talents and improve your skills. Their tournaments are
professionally run and they even live-stream their finals. For more information on NEBA CLICK HERE. For a schedule of their upcoming
events CLICK HERE.
PBA
PBA.com has all the information
about the Professional Bowlers Association including top player information and statistics, national and
regional tournament schedule, Xtra Frame, and the PBA Tour Store.
USBC
The official home of the United States Bowling
Congress, bowl.com has everything you need to know
about the USBC Open and Women's Championships, Masters and Queens Tournaments, sanctioning, rules,
coaching, SMART program, Team USA, Junior Gold Championships, and youth scholarship opportunities.