March 4, 2007
REG CRIBB
Sherro has had many inquiries asking what ever happened to Cribby.
Reg was a very popular personality among the bowling community and is well
known for his terrific sense of humour and love a good joke, or even a bad
one. Reg also had very gentlemanly like manner about him that endeared to him
to many people.
Well I thought we would track him down to see what he is up to these days.
For those who might be unfamiliar with Reg, he was the off sider to Mac Thompson,
the man responsible for getting the first ever Bowls show on the radio station
6NR, way,way, way back in 1986.
After a few shows by himself, Mac asked Reg
to give him a hand, at the time Reg was the Bowls writer for the now defunct
Daily News.
Reg eventually took over the running
of the 6NR program after Mac Thompson quit the show to make a start on a Rockingham
radio program.
Reg
stopped playing pennants in the very early 1990’s and his last game, was in
the position of leader for Dante Mariani playing in One Red, as it was
known then. Work commitments with the T.A.B on Saturdays and Sundays made playing
out of the question.
Although Reg had quit playing bowls in 1990, he continued to host the radio
program till March 1996. He then handed over the show to Steve Boylan. Reg
had still maintained his Bedford membership even though he didn't play
pennants.
Five
years after he quit playing, and never having had a bowl in his hand during
that period, he played in the club singles championship and won his first game
which was against Ron Rushforth, after the game Reg who was really chuffed
by his immediate success, quite proudly said to me,
“Sherro,
you know, you just never lose your brilliance mate, you just never ever lose
it !! ”
In
Reg's next game he was promptly disposed of by Jack Mills, a player who was
74 years of age, and had to change to playing left handed due to a recent stroke
he had suffered, Jack was a seventh division bowler who got a game about once
a year.
Reg making a point about his days on radio
Reg's youngest son, also named Reg is the famous Australian playwright. Young
Reg has won many Australian literary awards and is the writer of the brilliant
and widely acclaimed stage play "The
last cab to Darwin" and
also of the film recently shown in Perth called "The
last train to Freo ".
Reg is equally proud of his second son Geoff, who has been in the shipping
business since leaving school.
When employed by Austal Shipping and based in America Geoff was the main
negotiator toward Greg Norman purchasing the $65 million luxury yacht which
was named "Aussie Rules" from Austal.
Today Reg works in the Rangeview Tavern where he has been for several years,
he enjoys fishing when he can go and follows the Fremantle Dockers with a passion.
He occasionally listens in to Mike Zusman's radio program on 90.5 FM and follows
bowls thru the Sunday Times results and the odd conversation about bowls at
the famous "Lemon Tree Bar".
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This is Reg as most of you would not remember him, he
would like to thank Frank Keogh from the Safety Bay Bowling Club for his help
to find fish like this.
Here is one big big King George Whiting caught
by Reg, it is 530 mls long
I asked Reg who his favourite player was over the time he was involved in bowls,
said the game of singles always bought the "cream" to the top and in this regard
he was fortunate to come thru an era that contained ----- Bert
Sharp, Dennis Kat, Doc Oakley, Ron Taylor, Steve Srhoy and Norm Pascoe.
But
the excitement machine was Marko Krajancic, who was colourful, always attracted
a crowd and was a subject that journalists loved to switch onto.
I also asked Reg who the best bowler he personally played against, without
hesitation he promptly replied "Jack Mills"
Finally I asked him what changes he would like to see in Bowls.
The one he would like to see most is
Saturday Pennants
played as a pairs game involving 8 per side.
The participants overall are involved for the whole 15 ends, and the media
could really sink their teeth into a Katunarich- Rainoldi VERSUS Steve
Srhoy -Mike Zusman game.
Pairs would fill the unfilled greens up again.