By BILL SNIER
CANTON — Dan Terry has cut back on his bowling over the years due to family commitments and work situations.
“I used to bowl five nights a week,” the 50-year-old Canton right-hander said. “But I’m getting older and I have to get up early for work to be there at 5 a.m. I just couldn’t do it anymore … it just got too late.”
But he did bowl in the Liberty Vending league at Eastbury Bowling Center on Fridays this season, finishing with a 216 average overall.
So when he bowled the team event for the Stark County USBC 104th Open Championships on May 2 at Eastbury, he treated it like a normal league night.
“After a week at work, this was more or less like a normal Friday night,” said Terry, who is employed by Atlantic Foods. “I was able to stay in rhythm.”
He started with a 10-pin and a four-count early in Game 1, “but after that, things just went well,” Terry said.
That was an understatement.
Terry’s only open frame came with the four-count — “I don’t even remember what I left … I was just so mad at myself,” he added — en route to 262. He then followed with 298 and 256 for the lone 800 series of the two-week tournament — an 816.
“I think my last 800 came about five or six years ago,” said Terry, who has no idea how many he has in his career nor his number of 300 games. He did throw 300 back-to-back with teammate Gary Brobson in the Liberty Vending league a year ago.
He left a 4-7 spare on his final shot of Game 2.
“It went up high and through the nose,” said Terry, who used a Columbia 300 Orbit urethane. It was a ball given to him by Phil Weary “when he was still young.”
He then only missed twice in Game 3 to complete the 800 run.
Asked about his season in general, Terry said “it wasn’t too bad.”
“You have to bowl more often to get better,” Terry said. “Now that you’re getting older, it takes a lot longer to get back into rhythm.”
Terry will be bowling a junior-adult league during the summer with his 11-year-old son, Daniel.
“He’s a left-hander and just getting started,” Terry said.
“After the back-to-back 300s last year,” Terry said, “doing it in the city tournament just tops it off.”
HONOR SCORES
The singles and doubles of the Stark USBC Open and Women’s championships ended Friday at Eastbury, with two more 300s shot during the week by Tony Impagliozza and Ray Cook.
There were six 300 games shot during the team portion of the Open tournament by Jim Fellows, Matt Frock, Tony Godden Richard Stoffer, Frank Testa Jack Wells.
On the women’s side, Dawn Altimore shot 289 on the final night.
Unofficial results will be released in the near future.