Sunday, May 6, 2012

Ephemera from my grandfather's 300 game in Easton, Pa., in 1947


My grandfather, John Alexander Otto, bowled a 300 game on November 22, 1947, in Easton, Pennsylvania.1

Afterward, my "Pappy" (pictured here in 1983) received from the American Bowling Congress2 a gold ring, which was accompanied by the small certificate shown above.

The certificate indicates that Pappy bowled his perfect game at Easton Recreation on 17th and Northampton streets. The certificate goes on to state: "This Award, which you may wear with pride, is proof that your tenpin bowling accomplishment has received official recognition by the American Bowling Congress."

My dad, who sent me this old slip of paper, writes:
"American Bowling Congress certificate that accompanied Dad's '300' game ring, which I still wear today. Dad bowled the perfect game in Nov. 1947, 3 months after I was born. In later years (teens) I set pins for Dad at the same bowling alley in Wilson Borough."
Bowling a 300 game was quite a feat in the 1940s. Nowadays, perfect games are much more common. This 2007 article by Jeff Crowley in the Evansville Courier & Press discusses how modern technology has made bowling a 300 game much easier.

Footnotes
1. Famous people from Easton include former heavyweight champion Larry Holmes, talk-show host Sally Jessy Raphael, and Judge Joseph F. Crater, who should call his office if he's reading this.
2. In 2005, the American Bowling Congress, USA Bowling, the Women's International Bowling Congress and Young American Bowling Alliance merged to become the United States Bowling Congress.

4 comments:

  1. This is so great, Chris!! Thanks so much for sharing it! Way to go, "Pappy"! :D

    ReplyDelete
  2. Chris my grandfather owned the bowling
    Alleys

    ReplyDelete
  3. Prudenpat@aol.com would like to chat about perfect game. Pat

    ReplyDelete