By BILL SNIER
CANTON — Allan McQuaid thought his days of rolling 800 series had ended.
“At my age, you just run out of gas along with the normal aches and pains that come with it,” said McQuaid, a 63-year-old Canton Township right-hander.
But recently in the Eagles All-Star Wednesday night league at Eastbury Bowling Center, McQuaid recaptured the magic.
He had games of 279, 235 and 289 for 803, his 17th career 800 to go along with 28 300 games. It also gave him 800 series in five decades to go with rolling 300 games in the same time frame.
“I really thought I threw the ball well enough last year to get one, but the carry just wasn’t there consistently,” said McQuaid, a Greater Canton Bowling Association Hall of Famer who did add to his 300 total a year ago. “But this year, I just seem to be getting more carry. Sometimes, that’s all it takes.”
Using his Roto Grip No Rules, McQuaid had a pair of 4-pins — one in the fifth frame of Game 1 and the other on the second shot in the 10th frame of Game 3 — deny him a pair of 300 games. He had four spares and just two strikes in the middle game until the seventh frame of Game 2 when he began his run of 17 straight strikes.
“I’m not even sure how old that ball is. I’ve just kind of stuck with my old stuff, and I’m doing OK with it,” said McQuaid, who is averaging 225 in the league and 218 during the Tycor Roofing league Mondays, also at Eastbury. “I’m just rolling with it. As long as it’s working, I’m staying with it.”
McQuaid, who uses Roto Grip and Storm equipment, made one move in Game 2 after struggling a bit during the first six frames.
“I bumped a little right and tried to change the angle a little bit,” McQuaid said. “That’s about all it was. I made a little adjustment and it came back.”
Despite the run in Game 3, 300 was not the top thing on his mind.
“I really wanted that 800,” said McQuaid, who calls himself “basically a down-and-in player.” “Right now, I like where my game is at. I’m not as strong as I once was, but I’m still pretty consistent. I can’t complain at this age.”
A former high school coach for both Jackson and Massillon Washington High Schools, McQuaid says he may return to coaching when he retires in about three years.
“It just takes up so much time and I really don’t have that right now,” McQuaid said. “But when I finally retired, I wouldn’t mind getting back into it. It’s something I really enjoyed.”
Earlier this season, Uniontown’s Jack Lenhart rolled 800 and now has one in six decades to tie the national mark.
Could McQuaid be next?
“The shot has changed (at Eastbury) a little, but I just adjust the surfaces of my balls so each rolls a couple of boards different than the other,” McQuaid added. “We’ll see about the future.”