There have been many bowlers who have rolled more 300 games than Bob Dant, who has five perfect games in his career.
But how many of those bowlers can claim 300s at both the Petersen Classic and the Hoinke Classic?
Dant can. He bowled a 300 at the 1992 Petersen in Chicago, and the following year had a trey at the Hoinke.
The Peterson was started in 1921 by Louis P. Petersen, who grew the event by keeping the scores low. According to the tournament website, "Petersen did everything he could to keep the scores down." It worked during bowling's heyday, and entries for the tournament swelled to more than 30,000 from 1976 to 1992, with a high of 36,203 in 1980.
But 300 games in the event have been rare. There hasn't been one in the Petersen since Dant's, almost 26 years ago. And Dant's perfect game turned out to be more of a rewarding experience than he expected.
"I was trying to win the squad prize of $100," Dant recalled. "After I had the first seven strikes, I told Marty Calvin that if I could just spare the rest of the way, I should win the $100 squad prize.
Dant used a Red Hammer bowling ball that day, and said that all 12 balls were buried in the 1-3 pocket.
The following year, at the Hoinke Classic in Cincinnati, Dant found himself in the same situation, and bowled a 300 there. But the payout was a little different. Dant got $300 for that one.
But Dant didn't quite complete the 300 "trifecta" he was going for.
Dant, who has been bowling for about 45 years, also has rolled three perfect games in Pekin, and an 817 series.
He was drafted in the traveling Masters league five times, and his teams won three titles in that span.
But Dant said he was still surprised when he got a call from Bob Ramirez last week to inform him that he had been elected to the Greater Pekin Bowling Association's Hall of Fame, along with Curt Goeken.
Dant said he didn't know if he would ever get into the Pekin hall, and getting the news that he was in was an emotional experience for him.
Dant, 65, still bowls three leagues a week and is averaging around 206 despite suffering a setback a few months ago. He broke his right leg in an accident while riding his motorcycle last August.
Dant retired in 2015 from his job as construction inspector for the Peoria Housing Authority, which he did for 26 years.
Now he spends time doing volunteer work, taking care of his 90-year-old mother-in-law, and spending more time with Debby, his wife of 35 years.
Dant is also a Vietnam vet, having served three tours of duty there from 1971 through 1974 while in the United States Navy.
And now Dant is also a Pekin Hall of Fame bowler. After bowling the rare 300 at the Petersen, followed with the trey at the Hoinke, it was only a matter of time.
PEORIA — It was a perfect ending for Austin Markley in the weekly handicap sweeper at Landmark Lanes on Friday night.
After qualifying fourth out of 50 bowlers and earning a first-round bye for the bracket finals, Markley closed out the event with a 300-227 decision over Will Keiser in the title match.
Actually, it was a 301 final score for Markley, since he was receiving one pin of handicap per game.
It was the seventh career trey for Markley, and the second straight week he posted a 300 in the sweeper.
It was a high-scoring affair, with six bowlers finishing the four games of qualifying with more than 1,000 pins.
Collin Barnes, who was getting 20 pins a game, led qualifying with a 1,073 total. Junior bowler Kohlton Calvin averaged 221.5 scratch and got 40 pins of handicap a game for a 1,046 total for second.
Tony DeVita had the high scratch four-game block of the night at 1,010 and was third, followed by Markley (1,008), Shane Taylor (1,006) and Harley Bollinger (1,002).
Barnes had scratch qualifying scores of 247, 256, 213 and 277, opening the final game with nine straight strikes.
Travis Anderson was the final player to make the cut with 948 (247 average). Campos rolled a clutch 279 his final game of qualifying to make the cut by 11 pins. Other bowlers who had big last games to make the cut were Bollinger (268), DeVita (259), Markley (258) and Kenny Combs (252).
In the first-round matches, Taylor, getting 12 pins of handicap, beat Anderson, 223-168; Keiser eliminated Bollinger, 254-175; Johntay Jones (10 pins of handicap a game) beat Justin Estima, 229-210; and Campos (1 pin of handicap a game) topped Combs, 245-162.
In Round 2, Barnes beat Taylor, 226-197; DeVita beat Jones, 230-215; Keiser downed Calvin, 236-197; and Markley got a clutch strike in the 10th to beat Campos, 258-239.
It was the fourth straight 258 in the event for Markley, who had qualifying games of 230, 258, 258 and 258.
In the semifinals, Keiser edged DeVita, 214-213, and Markley ousted Barnes, 235-213.
1 Austin Markley, 1,008, $300; 2 Will Keiser, 953, $150; 3-4 Tony DeVita, 1,010, and Collin Barnes, 1,073, $105 each; 5-8 *Kohlton Calvin, 1,046, Shane Taylor, 1,006, Andre Campos, 959, and Johntay Jones, 958, $85 each; 9-12 Harley Bollinger, 1002, Justin Estima, 973, Kenny Combs, 968, and Travis Anderson, 948, $65 each.
* — Junior bowler. Prize money will be added to USBC SMART fund.
An organizational meeting is set for 1 p.m. on Sunday, July 9 at Landmark Lanes to set up the new, merged local association, which will include representatives from the Greater Peoria Bowling Association, Peoria Women's Bowling Association and the local youth association.
The membership will vote on approving the new by-laws for the local USBC Merged Association (which will have an official name at a later date) and to elect board members to fill positions created by the merger.
A committee that included members from all three current local boards has held meetings to discuss the merger process. The merger will start with the upcoming season, which starts on Aug. 1.
Anyone who wants to join the new board needs to complete an application either prior to or at the meeting. You must be an active USBC member to apply, and must attend the meeting.
Applications are available on-line at www.greaterpeoriausbcba.com.