By BILL SNIER
NORTH CANTON — Roger Webb has never bowled a regular fall-winter league at Park Centre Lanes until this season.
But the Stark County High School Bowling Conference and Stark County USBC Hall of Famer made his presence known Nov. 3 with the 24th career 800 series and 31st 300 game of his career — at the age of 60.
“I really don’t know why,” the Perry Township right-hander and former Perry High School bowling coach said about Park Centre. “I’ve bowled at Hall of Fame, College Bowl, Colonial … but only a summer league at Park Centre. I’ve had 300s there in the city tournament and during Jeff’s (Dimarzio’s College Bowl Tournament series) tournaments.
“I subbed with this team last year about six times and they told me that they had an opening. So I said heck yeah.”
Averaging 224 in the Hannon Electric league, Webb started his night with 300. He followed that with 257 and 243 to hit 800 on the nose — with a pair of open frames. He had to strike out in the 10th frame of Game 3 to reach the milestone. He has a career high series of 844.
“I shot 300 in Game 3 before to get to 800,” said Webb, who shot his 800 less than two weeks after his son, Adam, recorded his first 800 at Eastbury Bowling Center in Canton. Adam was actually subbing on Roger’s team the night of the latter’s latest milestone.
It was actually a weird start for Webb in rolling to this 800. All during practice, he used the usual ball he throws — a Track Theorem Delta. But on his final practice shot, he pulled out his Hammer Zero Mercy Tour — and left a 4-pin.
He decided to start with that ball anyway.
“I just wanted to throw the Zero Mercy that last ball to see what it looked like,” said Webb, whose team was bowling the ghost team that night and was on that pair by itself. “But I liked the reaction, even though I left the 4-pin. I decided to stay with it.”
After 12 “pretty good” strikes in Game 1, Webb started Game 2 with a 10-pin spare before running off another five strikes. Then came his first open frame — a missed 10-pin spare. He finished with the last five strikes.
He started Game 3 with the front four before another missed 10-pin spare. But he ran off three more strikes before his lone problem shot of the night — a 3-6-9-10 in the ninth frame. He was able to convert the spare.
“That was a rough one … I think I grabbed it a little bit,” Webb said of the shot. “I thought I threw it pretty well, but I must have grabbed it because it came off the spot really hard. After that I knew I had to have them all to get there.”
How were the nerves?
“Not much for the 300 and really not much for the 800,” said Webb, who added he was “indifferent” to bowling as the lone team on the pair and that “I played my usual line.
“All I know is that I wanted it bad.”
The fact that his son just had his milestone played into that a bit.
“With him subbing with us that night, it was a great feeling,” Webb said of his son, also a SCHSBC Hall of Famer. “I was really proud and nervous for his 800. I was videoing it and I wanted him to get it really badly.”
But the coach in Webb also noticed something else as he began his road to his latest 800. The “kids” took notice of what he was doing.
“I give those kids a lot of credit. Zach McCutchan (who was on the next pair) and my son noticed I threw the Delta in early practice and only threw one practice ball with the Zero Mercy,” Webb said. “It just made me think that these kids get it … they pay attention and that’s why they are so good. It’s impressive.”
Just as impressive as adding to his milestone totals at age 60.
“I really don’t think it has sunk in yet. When I shot my 800 (811) in the city tournament (2025) I thought that could be my last one,” said Webb, a retiree who works part-time at Laria Chevrolet-Buick who lost almost three years of bowling due to various injuries. “You just never know.”
But his son, who underestimated his dad’s milestone numbers, also was there to see it.
“I had to correct him,” Webb said, laughing. “But to have him there meant a lot.”