Congratulations to Lynn Spellman, who rolled a perfect 300 game last week in the hot-shot Fraternal league at good old Orchard Lanes, Hood River’s ten-pin bowling fun spot up on the hill in the Heights. This was Lynn’s eighth perfecto in a long career of pin busting.
He had quite a week on the lanes. Lynn’s an avid bowler who is currently participating in three leagues at Orchard Lanes, the Monday night Industrial, the Wednesday afternoon senior Colts & Fillies and the Wednesday evening Fraternal. He started off in overdrive by shooting a robust 764 three game series in the Industrial, then a fine 699 in the Colts and, just getting warmed up, he topped them all with his 300 game and a stellar 769 in the Fraternal. Folks, those tall tallies for the week amount to a mind boggling 248 average per game! That is just plain awesome!
What makes this even more significant is the fact that Lynn used his plastic ball to roll that 699 set in the Colts. Why, you may ask, is that important. Well, let’s explain. For those of you who aren’t familiar with this great game of bowling, try to understand this. It’s a bit technical so hang in there. In the old days (pre-1970s) the majority of bowling balls used were made of hard rubber. Very few bowlers could make those rubber balls hook so big scores were hard to do then; 300 games were nearly unheard of and there were only a few 700 three game series bowled in an entire season. If you rolled a 700, you became an instant celebrity and got your picture in the paper! Even then, in the dark ages it was common knowledge that a ball that hooked produced more strikes. The ball manufacturers got creative. In the 1970s, Columbia introduced plastic bowling balls to the game, but they didn’t hook much either. The pros experimented by soaking them in MEK (methyl ethyl ketone) that softened their surface which made them hook more. Scores increased but that procedure was quickly prohibited because it was a health hazard. However, due to a manufacturing glitch, bowlers quickly discovered that the plastic Columbia yellow dot ball hooked more because it was accidentally made with a softer surface, so it became the rage — all serious bowlers had to have one. Then, in 1981 Ebonite created what is known as the urethane ball, but it cost more to make, and they were unsure if it was marketable, so they sold the manufacturing rights to AMF who produced the first urethane ball called The Angle. Urethane balls were an instant success. They hooked significantly more because their surface was dull which increased friction on the lane causing a much bigger hook. Bowling scores dramatically increased. In 1991 Nu-Line went even further, introducing what are called resin balls that hooked more because their surface was sticky. Today, the manufacturers have taken that to another level with high-tech resin bowling balls that have a heavy core inside that creates an imbalance which makes the ball hook even more. Consequently, bowling scores have skyrocketed in the past 10-20 years. Lynn used his basic plastic ball that doesn’t hook much to notch that 699 series in the Colts. In order to score that big with a mini hooking plastic ball, you’ve got to be pin-point perfect. Strike shots have to be exactly solid in the 1-3 pocket, there is no margin for error like there is with a resin ball. Lynn says he uses that plastic ball to improve his accuracy. It must work because he used his resin ball to rack up that 300 game and those big 760 sets last week. That gives you an idea of how much more strike power there is with a modern resin ball, and it shows just how good Lynn is bowling right now.
Team of the week
1. Lynn Spellman 769
2. Stan Pratnicki 726
3. Nancy Asai 714
4. Chad Mason 711
5. Mike Parke 694
3,614 total pins
We welcome a couple of different faces on the Team of the Week, Chad Mason, and Mike Parke. This may their first appearance on the Fab Five this season, but it won’t be their last. Both Chad and Mike are top-notch bowlers who have given the pins fits for years. Fire balling Mr. Mason, who got his start in juniors at Orchard Lanes and then went on to star with the award winning HRVHS bowling team, logged his dicey 711 set, not at the store, but in the scrappy Tuesday Nite Mixed league.
Lefty Mike Parke, who hails from The Dalles, has long been one of the best. He is so good, in fact, years ago we gave him the nickname “The Doomsday Striking Machine” because it seems like every time you look up to see Mike bowling, he rolls a strike. He is the epitome of smooth, he lets his ball do all the work, he always looks like he’s on automatic, like a machine, that’s why he earned his nickname. Mike is fun to watch, that is, unless you have to bowl against him.
More kudos for all-star Nancy Asai; it’s getting to be a like a broken record as this is the third week in a row that she made the Team of the Week. She did it after tossing her first 700 of the season, a nifty 714 series in the Industrial which raised her average to a lofty 212 pins per game! What do you think about that, guys!
Speed ball specialist Stan Pratnicki also joined the Big Five again as he continued his assault on those poor, hapless 3 pound, 6 ounce pins. He obliterated piles of those stationary targets in the Fraternal, where he blasted a cool 726 set that raised his average to a fantastic 219 sticks per game.
Clearly, Lynn Spellman is the bowler of the week. You cannot top a 300 game unless you bowl two or three of them in a league session. One of these days that is going to happen at Orchard Lanes. Lynn beat his average by 169 sticks with his 769 set in the Fraternal which was tops last week. There were some other notable efforts. Rich Sabo was 166 pins over his average in the Fraternal where rolled a sweet 679 set. For the third week in a row Gordon Pillon stayed in the hot zone topping his average by 153 sticks in the County league. Paul Dethman was 145 pins over his average in the Industrial as he fashioned a nice 622 series. Mike Parke found the range in the Mixed with that 694 set which was 130 pins over his average. And, Kate Cannon was 100 pins over her average in the County league. Great bowling everyone!
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