900 series (bowling)

A 900 series refers to three consecutive perfect games bowled by an individual bowler. A 300 is a perfect score in one game, thus a player's maximum possible score would be 900 in a series of three consecutive games (the typical number of games in a single league session). To achieve the feat, a bowler would have to bowl 36 consecutive strikes.

Sanctioning

To date in the United States, 39 individuals have bowled a total of 40 certified (or "sanctioned") 900 series – that is, 900s that have been officially recognized by the United States Bowling Congress (USBC), the sport's national governing body in the US.

On 1 July 1982, Glenn Allison bowled the first 900 series to be recorded in sanctioned league play. He achieved this feat using a plastic bowling ball with a conventional drilled grip, on wood lanes, and an oil pattern that would be sanctioned today as sport compliant. This accomplishment was not officially certified by the then-American Bowling Congress (ABC), which cited non-compliant lane conditions.^[1] To this day, there is a cult following supporting Glenn Allison and urging the USBC to officially recognize him as the first bowler to achieve a perfect series, especially because it was accomplished before the era of reactive bowling balls, and other scores in the bowling center that night were not unusually high.^[2] However, the USBC still refuses to sanction Allison's 900 series after concluding a re-evaluation in 2014, stating among other things that it would call into question all other rejected honor score applications from that era.^[3]

In fact, the first six 900 series reported in ABC league play were all rejected for certification. The first perfect series to be officially sanctioned by the ABC/USBC was shot by collegiate bowler Jeremy Sonnenfeld in 1997 at Sun Valley Lanes bowling alley in Lincoln, Nebraska.

The first 900 in the history of the Professional Bowlers Association was bowled by Joe Scarborough on 22 April 2013 in a PBA50 Tour (formerly PBA Senior Tour) event. The PBA had seen three consecutive 300 games on one other occasion, by Norm Duke in 1996, but this was not considered to be an official 900 series because the games were not part of a contiguous set. The first two of Duke's 300 games were at the end of one round of play, and the third was at the beginning of the next round.^[4]

Robert Mushtare is the youngest bowler to have rolled a USBC-certified 900 series, doing so on 5 December 2005 at age 17 and is also currently the only bowler to have rolled a second certified 900, a feat achieved on 19 February 2006.^[5] On 11 January 2017, John Buchanan III became the oldest bowler (71) in USBC history to roll a sanctioned 900 series.^[6]

On 12 August 2023, Massachusetts-based amateur bowler Dennis Bissonnette rolled three consecutive sanctioned 300 games, not part of a contiguous set. He accomplished the feat across two separate competitions, located at separate bowling centers; one in Wilmington, Delaware, the other in the neighboring town of New Castle. The feat was not recognizable by the USBC, but serves as only the second known example of this unique occurrence.^[7]

The 900 Club

Name	Age	Hand	Location	Date
Jeremy Sonnenfeld[8]	20	(R)	Lincoln, Nebraska	2 February 1997
Tony Roventini[9]	28	(L)	Greenfield, Wisconsin	9 November 1998
Vince Wood[10]	20	(R)	Moreno Valley, California	29 September 1999
Robby Portalatin[11]	28	(L)	Jackson, Michigan	28 December 2000
James Hollywood “Bill Miller” Hylton[12]	28	(R)	Salem, Oregon	2 May 2001
Jeff Campbell II[13]	22	(R)	New Castle, Pennsylvania	12 June 2004
Darin Pomije[14]	30	(R)	New Prague, Minnesota	9 December 2004
Robert Mushtare[15]	17	(R)	Fort Drum, New York	5 December 2005
Lonnie Billiter Jr.[16]	24	(R)	Fairfield, Ohio	13 February 2006
Robert Mushtare (2)[17]	18	(R)	Fort Drum, New York	19 February 2006
Mark Wukoman[18]	50	(R)	Greenfield, Wisconsin	22 April 2006
P. J. Giesfeldt[19]	24	(R)	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	23 December 2006
Rich Jerome Jr.[20]	29	(R)	Baltimore, Maryland	22 December 2008
Chris Aker[21]	47	(L)	Winnemucca, Nevada	30 October 2009
Andrew Teall[21]	24	(R)	Medford, New Jersey	2 November 2009
Andrew Mank[22]	22	(R)	Belleville, Illinois	18 March 2010
William Howell III[23]	22	(L)	Newburgh, New York	21 October 2010
Matt Latarski[24]	23	(R)	Oakwood, Ohio	28 November 2010
Bob Kammer Jr[25]	41	(R)	Crown Point, Indiana	9 January 2012
John Martorella Sr.[26]	28	(R)	Greece, New York	12 April 2012
Jimmy Schmitzer[27]	18	(R)	Norco, California	20 April 2012
James Williams[28]	47	(R)	Wakefield, Rhode Island	16 April 2013
Joe Scarborough[29]	50	(R)	Lady Lake, Florida	21 April 2013
Todd James[30]	31	(R)	Laurel, Delaware	18 March 2014
Amos Gordon[31]	29	(R)	Fort Carson, Colorado	11 April 2014
Earon Vollmar[32]	26	(R)	Toledo, Ohio	19 January 2015
Hakim Emmanuel[33]	38	(R)	Brockton, Massachusetts	19 February 2015
David Sewesky[34]	27	(L)	Plymouth, Michigan	10 January 2016
Dale Gerhard[35]	59	(R)	Linden, Pennsylvania	12 January 2016
Sean Osbourne[36]	24	(R)	Cypress, Texas	22 November 2016
John Buchanan III[37]	71	(R)	Evansville, Indiana	11 January 2017
Sam Esposito[38]	26	(R)	Lockport, Illinois	3 February 2017
Joe Novara[39]	26	(R)	East Islip, New York	16 October 2017
Jonathan Wilbur[40]	36	(R)	North Clarendon, Vermont	14 January 2019
Jeremy Milito[41]	26	(L)	Farmingdale, New York	25 April 2019
Wesley Low Jr.[42]	23	(L)	Glendale, Arizona	19 July 2020
Cody Schmitt[43]	26	(R)	Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin	17 November 2021
Stephen Kosela[44]	42	(R)	Aliquippa, Pennsylvania	13 March 2022
Bryan Deck[45]	44	(R)	New Castle, Indiana	20 June 2022

References

1. Amdur, Neil (1 July 2007). "Why a 900 Series Just Isn't What It Used to Be". The New York Times.
2. 1982 Sports Illustrated article on Glenn Allison's 900 series
3. USBC concludes re-evaluation of Glenn Allison 900 series Bigham, Terry 22 November 2014. Retrieved 27 November 2014
4. "PBA Senior rookie Joe Scarborough rolls first 900 series in PBA history | bowlingdigital.com". www.bowlingdigital.com. 22 April 2013.
5. "2011 Masters: Mushtare stays positive amid the talk". syracuse.com. 6 February 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
6. Smith, Aaron (13 January 2017). "Indiana Bowler Becomes Oldest to Roll 900 Series". Bowl.com. USBC. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
7. "Bissonnette Goes 900 Across 2 Different Centers at Battle Bowl". bowlage.com. 12 August 2023. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
8. James Brooke (9 February 1997). "900 Reasons for Making The Bowlers' Record Book". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
9. Vincent Malozzi (27 December 1998). "1998 IN REVIEW; Champions All, and All in Anonymity". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
10. Leonard A. Ruble Jr. (5 December 1999). "900 Agai". Retrieved 12 November 2011.
11. "Bowler rolls perfect 900 series". 30 December 2000. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
12. "Oregon man bowls perfect series". USA Today. 25 July 2002. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
13. "Collegiate Bowler Makes History, Finds Controversy in the Process". October 2004. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
14. "Minnesota bowler seventh to roll sanctioned 900 series". 16 December 2004. Archived from the original on 16 December 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
15. "Youngest 900 shooter ready to tackle Junior Gold Championships". 5 July 2006. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
16. Josh Pichler (14 February 2006). "Ohio Bowler Rolls Perfect 900 Series". USA Today. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
17. "USBC approves New York youth bowler's two 900-series | bowlingdigital.com". www.bowlingdigital.com.
18. Herbert Bickel (28 April 2006). "USBC Approves Wukoman's 900". Retrieved 12 November 2011.
19. Gary D’Amato (23 December 2006). "Perfect gift: Bowler rolls 36 strikes for 900 series". Retrieved 12 November 2011.
20. Larry Harris, ed. (13 January 2009). "Front Row: Rich Jerome: Mr. Perfection on the Lanes". Retrieved 12 November 2011.
21. Herbert Bickel (18 November 2009). "Nevada, New Jersey bowlers roll 900 series three days apart". Retrieved 12 November 2011.
22. USBC Communications (26 March 2010). "Illinois Bowler Rolls 900". Retrieved 12 November 2011.
23. Matt Cannizzaro (8 November 2010). "New Yorker rolls USBC-approved 900 series". Retrieved 12 November 2011.
24. USBC News (21 November 2010). "Ohio's Matt Latarski becomes 17th bowler to roll a USBC-approved 900 series". Retrieved 12 November 2011.
25. Jason Overstreet (9 January 2012). "Indiana bowler Rolls 900 Series". Retrieved 23 April 2017.
26. Jay Notareschi (3 May 2012). "Greece resident John Martorella Sr. rolls 900 series". Retrieved 8 May 2012.
27. Bowling Digital (24 April 2012). "California teen becomes 20th bowler to roll 900 series". Retrieved 8 May 2012.
28. Bowl.com (17 April 2013). "Connecticut bowler shoots 900 series". Retrieved 28 April 2013.
29. Bowling Digital (22 April 2013). "PBA Senior rookie Joe Scarborough rolls first 900 series in PBA history". Retrieved 22 April 2013.
30. Bowl.com (19 March 2013). "900 series rolled in Delaware". Retrieved 15 April 2014.
31. Bowling Digital (15 April 2013). "Colorado bowler Amos Gordon brings the number of 900 series to 25". Retrieved 23 January 2015.
32. 11thframe.com (20 January 2015). "The 11th Frame: Earon Vollmar fires 900 series in Toledo, Ohio". Retrieved 23 January 2015.
33. "Massachusetts bowler rolls 900 series".
34. "News".
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38. "News".
39. "Joe Novara records first 900 series of the 2017-2018 season". 21 October 2017.
40. Matt Cannizzaro (16 January 2019). "Jon Wilbur Speaks with USBC Following His 900 Series". BowlersJournal.com.
41. Gregg Sarra (27 April 2019). "Perfection! LI bowler Jeremy Milito rolls a 900 series". Newsday.
42. Matt Cannizzaro (27 April 2019). "Former Team USA Member Wesley Low JR. Rolls 900 Series". bowl.com.
43. Halstrom, Brian (17 November 2021). "Breaking! Perfect 900 Series Bowled by Cody Schmitt". BowlersMart.com. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
44. Smith, Aaron (16 March 2022). "Pennsylvania Bowler Rolls 900 Series in Local Association Tournament". bowl.com. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
45. Kanak, Gene (25 June 2022). "Indiana's Bryan Deck Connects For 900 Series". bowl.com. Retrieved 26 June 2022.