Bowling Nederland and the city of Scheveningen rolled out the red carpet for the contestants of the 18th AMF Bowling World Cup, but even they couldn't match the charm and excitement of a young Aussie player who would change the image of women bowlers after that week.
Jeanette Baker, an Australian secretary, captured the media's fancy with her stylishly short skirts, sassy haircut and uninhibited body language during the weeklong tournament. She also captured the No. 1 position for the stepladder finals in the women's division and eventually the title, dropping Sweden's Inger Levhorn in the championship match. Levhorn, who fared much better at sea level than she did in the rarified atmosphere of Bogota four years earlier, managed to beat defending champion Pauline Smith before slumping under Baker's onslaught, 212-166. The new champion burst into tears after the contest. "It's wetter in here than a Dutch canal," she joked.