900 Series By NY Bowler
John Martorella
Sr. of Greece, N.Y., grew up around bowling and had the opportunity to
experience the sport's ultimate achievement when he rolled 36 consecutive
strikes for a 900 series in the Knox Amusement scratch league at Domm's Bowling
Center in Rochester, N.Y., recently.
The
accomplishment still is pending approval from the United States Bowling
Congress, but would make the 28-year-old right-hander the 19th bowler in history
to achieve the feat. It would be the 20th USBC-approved 900
series.
"Before I
threw the last strike, I took a deep breath and told myself if I got the last
one, I'd tie the world record, and to be able to do it is absolutely amazing,"
Martorella said. "This just feels incredible. My phone has been ringing all day
with calls from friends, the local news, people I haven't talked to in years and
even local bowling legends I grew up watching. We have such a great bowling
family here, and it's special to be able to share it with them."
Martorella's family has owned Domm's Bowling Center since 1971, and he
co-manages the 16-lane establishment with his father, Joe, a Rochester Bowling
Association Hall of Famer, and his brother, Frank.
Because of his responsibilities at the bowling center, Martorella often is
pulled in different directions, even when he's bowling league. Thursday was no
exception, as he spent part of the first game addressing a lane breakdown and
organizing brackets.
Toward
the end of the set, his 5-year-old son, John Jr., stopped him during his
pre-shot routine and asked if he could bowl, too.
"I was
able to shoot 300 the first game, and then things started to settle down, so I
was able to stay on my pair," Martorella said. "When my son came up to me during
my pre-shot swing in the ninth frame, I couldn't help but laugh. It gave me a
chance to step back and start my routine all over, and it really helped. I'm
glad that he and my father were able to be there with me. My brother bowls in
the league, too."
This
year, Martorella cut his league participation back to just one league and is
having one of his best seasons, which ended Thursday night with a 238 average.
He also rolled a pair of 300s and two 800 series earlier in the year. He now
owns 15 perfect games and five 800s to go along with his latest
achievement.
"I'm
here an awful lot, so I decided I didn't want to commit to two leagues this
year, which left my Friday nights open to go out and do some other things," said
Martorella, who spends about 50 hours each week at the bowling center. "I try to
practice every other day, and a lot of my focus is on tournaments on the
weekends."
In
three weeks, Martorella will head south to Baton Rouge, La., for the 2012 USBC
Open Championships, the world's largest participatory sporting event. He will be
making his fourth consecutive tournament appearance and looks to improve on the
career-best 2,001 all-events total he posted at the National Bowling Stadium in
Reno, Nev., last year. His father won a Regular Team title at the 1971 event in
Detroit.
"I've
been throwing the ball really well lately, and I hope some of this carries
over," said Martorella, who owns a 204.7 average at the Open Championships. "You
just try to use something like this to your advantage, and it definitely keeps
your confidence up."
The
first USBC-approved 900 occurred Feb. 2, 1997 when Jeremy Sonnenfeld rolled
three consecutive perfect games in Lincoln, Neb. There has never been a 900 on
Sport Bowling lane conditions.
The Bowling Tip
By Mike Luongo
Bowlers: This week's tip is for bowlers using performance bowling
balls.
These
balls are made of urethane, urethane with reactive additives, with or without
particles.
All
performance balls come out of the box with either some degree of matte finish, a
compounded finish or polished finish.
When a
manufacturer chooses a box finish for a bowling ball, many times it is for shelf
appeal. All companies want you to choose their products. What you need to know
as a customer is that the cover on your performance ball can be adjusted to best
fit your needs.
What
does this mean for a customer? To maximize your scoring ability on given lane
condition, the coverstock on your bowling ball should match the lane condition.
If your ball is grabbing the lane too early you will need some polish. If the
ball is already polished, use a higher degree of polish, preferable something
with a slip agent. This will help you get the ball own the lane with less
effort. The telltale sign of a ball grabbing the lane too soon is when you see
the ball start to hook and then it stops hooking.
On the
other hand, if you ball is skidding too far down the lane, you will need some
surface friction on the ball. How much friction you need will depend on our ball
speed, rev rate and the amount of oil on the lane. The degree of matte finish
could be as little as 4000 or as much as 320.
Remember, these are adjustments to fine tune your ball reaction. It is up to
your Pro Shop Professional to help you purchase the ball or balls with the
proper core and cover to match both your game and the lane surface on which you
bowl.
Depending on how serious you are about your bowling, and how many centers you
bowl in, you may need more than one ball to help you match the
conditions.
And
always remember, your equipment should be cleaned each time it is
used.
Mike Luongo is a certified IBPSIA Pro Shop Operator, Master Instructor, USBC
Silver Level Coach and an Advisor-Special Events Assistant with the Storm and
Roto Grip Bowling Ball Company. Have a question, call him at 435-720-7939 or email at milel@stormbowling.com
Condolences To
The Gleim Family
Condolences go out this week to Bill and Billy Gleim and families on the loss of
their wife and mother, Joan K. Gleim.
Joan,
78, passed away on Easter Sunday. She was married to Bill Gleim on June 8,
1957.
Bill
and Joan owned and operated the Fox Bowling Center in Hancock for many years
where Joan was the Youth Bowling League Director.
Bill
and Joan sold the center to their son, Billy, a number of years
ago.
Occasionally, tight space requirements results in items being
edited out of columns. For full coverage of this column go to http://bght.blogspot.com This column is
written by Ed Townsend, a public relations consultant to the
amateur-professional sport of bowling. League and tournament information can be
submitted by phone at 845-439-8177, via email at edwardctownsend@hotmail.com
or by fax at 845-205-4474. We are
also on Facebook.
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