An Unusual 300

Do you still remember the Andy Griffith Show?  One episode in season 8, Howard, The Bowler, told the story of the character Howard Sprague substituting on the local bowling team.  What makes this bowling night different?

He doesn't have a lot of experience so their expectations aren't too high but at the big match against the blowhards from Mount Pilot, Howard can do no wrong. With only one frame to go, Howard is still on his way to a perfect game. Just then, the power goes out forcing the end of the game to be re-scheduled for the next night.

 During the Huntsville All Star League on October 31, 2013, Billy Sales started the third game of the set with the first three strikes.  Just then, the electrical power went out in the bowling center.  During a very windy evening with potential storms threatening the area, a truck had hit a power pole which disrupted power in a section of the city.  While awaiting restoration of power, the league decided, in darkness, to conclude week 12 of the schedule the following week.  At the completion of this game, the league would then bowl the 13th week of the schedule.  Two possibilities were discussed for the following week.  These situations were discussed in the USBC rulebook rule 116c:

116b. Scores Lost
When game(s) or frame(s) within a game are irretrievably lost in the scoring process, the following procedures shall apply:
1. Scores that can be documented or agreed upon by the opposing team captains stand and the game shall resume from the point of interruption in regular order.
2. Scores that cannot be documented or agreed upon by the opposing team captains shall be rebowled, unless the board of directors rules them null and void.

On November 7, the league concluded game 3 of week 12.  Pin Palace, the bowling center, still had the scores which included the frames bowled.  The computer the center uses did have battery backup which saved the scores.

After one week, 70 year old Billy Sales proceeded to throw nine consecutive strikes for a two-week perfect game.  The fictional Howard Sprague only had to throw one strike the next night for perfection.  Billy threw 25% of his strikes during one week and the other 75% of the strikes seven days later.

So, congratulations to Billy Sales for this highly unusual perfect game to add to his repertoire of honor scores.  Of all his honor scores, I'm sure Mr. Sales will definitely remember this one.  

There is another footnote to this story.  Billy's teammate, Ernest Reese, almost did the exact same thing!  However, Ernest left one pin standing on November 7 to throw a two week 299 game.

Two honor scores bowled on the same pair of lanes that took seven days to complete!

Sanction and Awards are not linked

As you know already, your USBC sanction fee has, again, risen.  Remember the years gone by when you paid this sanction fee as an afterthought from your wallet?  Now, you have to remember this expense as part of your first week of league as the fee is now equivalent or more than one week's league fees.  As fewer and fewer people are signing up for league bowling, it seems that this failed economic theory of increasing the tax of the remaining bowlers is applied. 

You can look at this in two very different ways.  I only bowl in one league per week.  I seem to bowl in more unsanctioned tournaments than sanctioned tournaments.  Now, the USBC is cutting the awards program even more.  What's in it for me?  How do we convince our friends and co-workers to join us for a night out each week in league bowling to grow the sport?  Does our company league really need to be sanctioned?  This seems tough to give a convincing argument.

As a community, we are supporting the sport of bowling by paying our membership dues.  The USBC provides the rules and standards for the game.  They ensure the quality of the playing field in our sport.  Can you imagine if bowling follows the eventual evolution of the boutique bowling experience?  A nicer facility will be an advantage, but it will be just a place for a nice date night.  Bowling is just an activity for a night out with friends and mixed drinks.  Bowling in tight dresses and the latest fashions will just be a setting, not a competition.  Who then would care if the lanes have arrows, pins are different weights, or oil on the lanes at all?  We are not competing, we are having fun.  It is a date, a corporate bonding event, or a long lunch.  Boutique bowling will be to the sport of bowling as miniature golf is to golf.

However, how many play golf but are not members of the USGA?  It is another competitive activity which we thrive to get better, much like bowling.  I would like to know my handicap, but I don't have to join the USGA to calculate it or endorse it.  But, my golf experience would only be equivalent to my bowling experience if I only open bowled or bowled practice games.  I would know my average, but it would not be under any sort of competitive conditions, much like my walks on the golf course, just spending 3 or 4 hours hitting the golf course.  The USGA is healthy, while the USBC is not.  We must bowl in sanctioned competitions, pay our sanction fees, recruit new bowlers just for the sport to survive.

Is it really important for the USBC to have an awards program?  They have wisely removed the 11 in a row award.  

"Given that more than 50,000 certified perfect games are rolled in a typical season, the board agrees it is unnecessary for the national governing body to provide awards for near perfection with the 11-in-a-row,"

Do you get an award for a hole-in-one?  A tournament may offer a prize for one, but there is no USGA ring for an ace.  Now, what do local bowling associations do?  They mistakenly take up the former task of the national organization.  They expand their awards to cover all the awards that the USBC has dropped.  With fewer sanctioned bowlers, they have increased their costs by offering more and more awards.  We have to remove this preconception that our sanction is only paying for awards.  Where are your patches, pins, medals, and rings?  I bet they are in a drawer somewhere.  This is getting to be the adult equivalent of the participation trophy that all kids in most sports get just for being part of the team; whether champion or last place.

I can understand why the USBC is going to a once-in-a-lifetime award for 300 games and 800 series.  It is not the unique event it was two decades ago.  Some people get into their local association hall of fame by bowling a handful of such scores.  We must raise the bar on these qualifications.  As I have mentioned before,  par is no longer 200.  Par bowling is now 230 and quickly rising more.  If you want to improve, compete, and be an elite bowler, par bowling must always be just more than what you average.  If you want another 300 ring or 800 ring for another finger, just go to eBay and get one.  The ones that will be hard to find, as I wouldn't sell mine either, are the ones awarded from the ABC/USBC national tournament, PBA tournaments, or sport shot leagues and tournaments.  Those are the awards that will last in our memories. 

Happy Birthday Wally Barthel

Past president and State HOF member H. Wally Barthel will turn 88 years old Friday, May 3, 2013. He will be at Vestavia Bowl on Friday between 6:30 p.m. -8:30 p.m.  Old friends and bowling buddies are invited to stop by and help him celebrate.

Wally was elected to the Alabama State Hall of Fame representing Anniston in 1978 just after his 53rd birthday.  He was the only member inducted that year.

Happy Birthday.

New Women's State Record

Why not the women's state record?  Angela Nance sets the new women's state record with an 857 series on April 14, 2013 during the Sanders Jewelry Mega League at Brunswick Riverview Lanes.  She had games of 300, 278, and 279 for the record breaking series.  Congratulations Angela!
Angela talks about her bowling life in this article from al.com.

Almost Perfect

Paul Ealy shattered the Alabama state record with an 896 series.  After 23 straight strikes, Paul finished with a 6-count for a 296 game in the Bud Light Classic League at Brunswick Riverview Lanes on Monday March 11, 2013. Most people would have felt the release of the pressure as the striking ended with 23 consecutive.  But Paul kept on going finishing the set with another perfect game. 896=300-296-300. Congratulations Paul for the stunning series. Birmingham News article: Hoover's Paul Ealy sets state bowling series record of 896 at Birmingham's Brunswick Riverview Lanes