Don Carter - Returned To St. Louis

After Carter ended his baseball career, he returned to his home town of St. Louis. He found employment at an industrial plant and also worked as the manager of a bowling center. Bowling soon became a focus of his life. Carter bowled in six leagues and was a coach for other players.

By the early 1950s, Carter had become a successful professional bowler, one of the first to dominate the sport. One reason for his popularity was his appearance on early televised bowling shows and matches. This also made the sport more popular.

One aspect of his game that was noticed from his earliest days in the spotlight was Carter's unusual bowling style. As he made his approach, he would crouch lower and lower with each step. When he finally released the ball, it was with a bent elbow. Carter said one contributing factor to this style was that early in his career, he used a ball that was too heavy.

Other factors contributed to Carter's success. He had nerves of steel in competitions. And, as Chuck Pezzano wrote in the Record, "He was impressive physically at 6-feet, 200 pounds, and always in top shape. If he felt a certain part of his game needed fine-tuning, he thought nothing of working on it for hours."