BILL
MELTON
TSA HOF INDUCTEE - Honor Presented During
the 4th of JULY 1997 SOUTHWEST OPEN!!
and
"SOL LIPKIN" AWARD WINNER
NOVEMBER 1996
BILL
MELTON was inducted to the National
Shuffleboard Hall of Fame (NSHF, renamed to
TSA - Table Shuffleboard Association) during
the infamous 4th of July 1997 Southwest Open
tournament.
The
following is an excerpt reprinted from
"The Board Talk," Vol. 14, No. 8,
August 1997 for Bill Melton's Induction into
the National Hall of Fame during the 4th of
July 1997 Southwest Open shuffleboard
tournament in Del City, Oklahoma.
"Bill
Melton Inducted into Hall of Fame: Memories
are Made of This!"
If there had
been any fireworks inside the American
Legion Hall in Del City on the 4th of July,
they would have been squelched by the tears
of emotion that accompanied the induction of
Bill Melton, Davis, Oklahoma, into the
National Shuffleboard Hall of Fame. From the
opening Star-Spangled Banner led by talented
singer Kelly Bartow to the grand finale when
Bill made his way through the crowd to
accept congratulations from his peers and
admirers, it was a moving experience. It was
evident that there were few, if any, in that
large crowd, who didn't agree that he had
earned that honor that placed him along with
inductees Bob Miles, Pee Wee Ramos, Earl
Kelly, Mickey Mickens, Sol Lipkin and Glen
Davidson.
A
particularly moving moment came with the
testimony from long-time friend and partner
David Williams of Texas. Dave took first
place in the doubles at The Black Cat in
Oregon in 1979 with Bill, who took him along
"because he felt sorry for me."
Dave continued to be his doubles partner for
the next 15 years until it came time for
Bill's son, Billy, to take his place.
"I was proud to have been his
partner," Dave said.
It wasn't strictly the long list of
achievements on the boards (a list that took
one full page of the 4-page printed
induction program) that earned Bill this
honor. It was, first of all, his
unquestionable integrity. Any time Bill's
name was listed as a contact person, players
felt confident that such tournaments
deserved their participation and the game
grew. In 1996, The Shuffleboard Federation
presented him with the "SOL LIPKIN
AWARD."(to view "SOL LIPKIN
AWARD" history and information, CLICK HERE),
(its highest honor) for being "one of
our sport's greatest players and promoters
of the game." Even his non-shuffleboard
peers in the dental technician association
recognized him as a "true
champion."
Second,
he is admired for nurturing players who will
one day take his place and assure the
viability of the future. For example, in his
own family, there were three generations of
Meltons in the final 3-event tournament:
father Bill, sons Billy and Mark, and
grandson l2-year-old Tony Bennett, son of
Lisa Melton. Tony was participating in his
first tournament and Bill said: "He is
the same age as I was when Pete Polk taught
me the game, and he's a lot better than I
was."
This
humility, the modesty he displays about his
achievements, his dedication to the future
game --- that's what earned him this
well-deserved honor."
Friends and family
were all there to congratulate Bill and join
him in the celebration!
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