It is always exciting to watch a perfect game in progress, whether the game is baseball or bowling Barney Koralewski thought his attempt to bowl a perfect game would never end.
On March 22, 1934, Barney was entered in the Genesee Business House League in Buffalo, New York. As his friends and a number of spectators watched, Barney ran off eight strikes in a row. All other bowling lanes were deserted as everyone clustered around Barney. The tension was terrific.
Suddenly the lights went out!
People were lighting matches as they groped through the darkness. The owner of the bowling alley learned that all the wires were down because of an electrical storm. The lights would not go on again that night. The game would have to be continued the following week.
Bowling fans talked about Barney Koralewski’s perfect game attempt all week. Would he tighten up? Would he be too nervous?
On March 29, Barney was back at the alley. Very calmly he threw four more strikes to complete his perfect game and win a gold medal from the American Bowling Congress. But it had taken him a week to bowl his perfect game.
From The Giant Book of Strange But True Sports Stories by Howard Liss. Illustrations by Joe Mathieu.
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