Back in the 1960s one of Cornwall’s top five-pin bowlers, a guy with a lifetime singles average of 252 and owner of a knock ’em over 1085 triple that was pieced together with a three-string average of 362, realized that to keep the game rolling along in this city it needed to build interest among the younger generation.
The old hands in the not-too-distant future would be leaving the game and it needed a feeder system to keep the numbers from shrinking. As the new manager of Olympia Bowl, he had a front-row view of the age factor. Legault would later become a partner in the Olympia business.
It didn’t take Dick Legault long to come up with a blueprint for a foundation rebuild. It was the Youth Bowling Council (YBC), since rebranded as Youth Bowling Canada, a national program designed to get young people interested in bowling, and open the door for adult bowlers to pass along their skills. He went about laying the groundwork for a Cornwall Chapter.
The YBC provincial program was in its second year when Legault brought Olympia Bowl into the fold in 1965 with the Cornwall Chapter.
Even Legault and the dedicated volunteers he recruited from the adult bowling ranks at Olympia Bowl couldn’t have dreamed the success the program would enjoy. It soon spread from Olympia to Nativity Bowl and St. Columban’s bowling lanes. Hundreds of kids and teen-agers 5 to 19 signed up and stormed the lanes. The city bowling alleys became a beehive of activity on Saturday mornings from fall to spring. At 900 and counting, YBC became one of the most popular youth programs in the city. Olympia Bowl’s first year-end awards banquet was held at a crowded-to-capacity Nativity Hall.
And why not? It was an inexpensive minor sport in which nobody sat on the bench, and a sport that didn’t cost taxpayers a penny to operate.
It wasn’t long before YBC bowlers from Cornwall started winning provincial and national championships.
Legault knew that media coverage was important. He was a familiar early-morning visitor to the Standard-Freeholder sports department with results in hand. Then he would head over to the radio station.
In the half century Legault dedicated himself to the YBC program, he served 25 years as zone representative. His groundwork with youth bowling was recognized by the national body which named him national program director of the year.
He accepted the award with the usual Dick Legault humbleness and graciousness, pointing out that without all the committed volunteers in the city the program could not have succeeded, and he would not have his name added to the national honour role.
In 1988 he was inducted into the Cornwall Sports Hall of Fame for both his work with the YBC program in the city and for his prowess on the lanes.
After retiring from the bowling alley business in 1986 Legault remained involved with the YBC program until 2007.
Dick Legault died last week at age 87. His DNA will forever remain with the YBC program.
