Bowling Oddity

bowlingball.com, Originally Posted: 12/5/2012; Updated: 6/10/2023

It is time for a bowling oddity story. Although we, at bowlingball.com, present many articles of instructional orientation, product features, or other industry related topics, I thought it might be fun to post an article relating to an unusual occurrence involving our game of bowling.
Let me get this underway by relating a story I know of involving a Mr. Robert Tetak of Northern California. A couple of years back, Robert bowled in a competitive league with the same team he had bowled on for several years.
One night in November, Robert rolled a perfect 300 game against the top team in the league. Only a few days afterward, Robert received notification by the company he worked for that he was being sent on temporary duty to Texas to help management train employees at a new plant operation his company recently opened. Robert was told he would be away for perhaps 8 - 12 weeks on assignment.
Robert immediately notified his bowling teammate captain that he would be leaving before the next night of league and would likely not return to the team until early February the following year. The captain related to Robert that a replacement bowler from the roster would stand-in for him while Robert was away.
Upon Robert’s return in February, he contacted his team captain and said he was ready to resume bowling with the team. The captain told Robert that during his absence, the team elected to drop Robert from the roster and would no longer require his participation.
Robert was shocked by the news and hurt that he would no longer bowl with his team of many years. Robert was also told he would receive prize money based on the number of games he bowled prior to his departure.
Feeling embarrassed and disappointed after his teammate released him from the team with no apparent remorse from them, Robert contacted the league President and asked if he could join another team to finish out the season. The league President told Robert that it would be OK to do so because the provisions in the league rules did not prohibit such an action.
Robert then contacted the captain of a team he had competed against in the past and made his availability known. The captain told Robert that he could, indeed, use a bowler of Robert’s caliber to replace an ill bowler on his current roster and could begin on the next night of scheduled league play.
When Robert showed up to bowl with his new team, he quickly learned that he was to face his old team that first night back in competition. Both teams were fighting for the lead in the league and for the title.
As fate would have it, in the third game of bowling that first night back, Robert rolled another 300 game. This was his 2nd 300 of the league season AND against his former team! The “perfecto” helped his new team defeat his former team and the new team went on to win the league championship.
Robert confronted his former team captain immediately after rolling his 300 game and after being so unceremoniously dismissed by the team, looked the captain in the eye, and proudly stated “justice!!”
Robert rolled a 300 game in the same league during the same season with two different teams and got the last word in this matter, an event which certain qualifies as an oddity in bowling.

Well, folks, how about you? Do you have a bowling story you consider a bit unusual or odd you wish to share? Please feel free to make your comments. The only thing we ask is to make sure you DO NOT use profanity or off-color remarks, of course.
Try to keep your comment as brief as possible because we are restricted by our provider to how many words are allowed in the comment section below.
I look forward to reading your comments and stories. Thank you.
Rich Carrubba
bowlingball.com