Bob Alman - 1939-2022
obit from Croquet World Online
Bob Alman, our Croquet
World Online editor-and-chief, passed away on March 17, 2022,
after a short illness. He was unmatched in bringing the sport,
culture and history of croquet to the internet through this
online magazine, illuminating croquet to the world as it never
had been before. He was very much an "original" and well known
in the croquet community all over the world. Bob reflected on
his life as it eventually fell into croquet's orbit - or visa
versa - in these pages with his "Bob
Alman Memoirs". Bob was inducted into the World
Croquet Federation Hall of Fame in 2020. He was dedicated and
passionate about expanding the sport he loved and has left us a
legacy that will continue to enrich the sport of croquet well
into the future. For us here at CWO, we have lost a dear friend
and we will miss him.
from WCF Hall of Fame
induction 2020
Bob Alman is a master promoter and
organizer of croquet in the USA. He always says “croquet is my
life”, and he has devoted himself to the game full-bore.
Association Croquet, American Rules, Golf Croquet, backyard
croquet: it doesn't matter to Alman. They all get his support.
He has also been an
accomplished American
Rules player and won a national doubles championship and
continued to compete at a high level at that form of the game
for many years.
Croquet clubs in most
croquet-playing countries are primarily located in public spaces
supported by local authorities. This is not the case in the USA.
The majority of clubs are located in private country clubs or
other venues not readily accessible to the public. When Tom
McDonnell shifted his focus to building his own club in Santa
Rosa, California, Bob devoted himself to building the San
Francisco Croquet Club into the largest public club in the
United States.
Bob Alman co-created and produced
the San Francisco Open over its multi-decade-long span. At its
height this tournament was the most competitive American rules
tournament in the United States. Working with the Sonoma-Cutrer
Croquet Club and the organizers of the famous association rules
invitational there, Alman welcomed and introduced the American
version of the game to many of the world’s best players, players
such as Bamford, Clarke, Fulford, Maugham, Prince, Stephens and
others.
Bob Alman was instrumental in
convincing reluctant local authorities to create the Oakland
Croquet Club at an under-used bowling club, expanding croquet's
footprint in the San Francisco Bay Area. Today the OCC is still
thriving.
Bob Alman was appointed the first
manager of the USA's National Croquet Center in West Palm Beach,
Florida. Alman taught and promoted croquet in south Florida, an
area with the largest population of croquet players in the
United States.
In 1996 Bob Alman created the website Croquet
World Online. CWO will be his legacy and a lasting contribution
to world croquet. He moulded the website into something nothing
seen before, a unique online news and feature croquet news
service accessible to everyone in the world. Over the years CWO
has covered world croquet in all its variety. It maintains an
archive of hundreds of croquet-related stories. At times
controversial, CWO strives to include all viewpoints. Not only
that, it is highly entertaining to read.
Bob Alman continued to edit the
website almost single-handedly until shortly before his death in
2022.