A second perfect game bowled by James “Slugger” Howren at 77

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James “Slugger” Howren just bowled his second perfect 300-game, at age 77, and it all started because he wanted to “whoop” somebody.

“You do it for the fun, but you want to whup them too,” said Howren, laughing.

At age 30, on Oct. 10, 1967, Howren bowled his first perfect game, also in Rome. His brother had gotten him started bowling. As he got better and better, he was recruited by local teams and ended up on a team with a man with a really high score. That really ramped up his competitive nature.

“I practiced like crazy because I always want to do the best I can,” said Howren. “The day it happened, I’d just bowled a 299 the week before and so had he.”

The first perfect game was a nerve-wracking experience, he said.

“I was nervous during that one,” he said. “In my tenth frame, you could hear yourself breathe and then I shot again and again — and when I finished with the perfect score, I thought the roof was going to come down, there was just a roar.”

The second perfect game, which happened in January, was much calmer.

“As I got closer to the end, people would move back so they don’t bother me, but I wasn’t nearly as nervous,” he said. “It kind of slipped up on me, honestly. I remember the first time, someone told me I was white as a sheet after I finished, but this time it wasn’t so bad.”

Howren has four friends he’s bowled with for more than 30 years, he said.

“We’re like a group of brothers,” he said. “It’s a good way to stay active in the winter.”

Howren knows all about staying active. At 77, he still works at City Electric and he helps coach a baseball team in the summer.

“I’m always using my arm, keeping it strong,” he said. “If you don’t do anything to stay strong, I don’t think you could bowl well.”

Also, Howren loves to play horseshoes and used to play softball, so his enjoyment of sports goes beyond bowling.

“I guess you could say I’m a pretty good shot,” he said with a laugh. “But I’ve been really lucky with my health. At 77, knock on wood, I don’t take any medications.”

He is now preparing for a city tournament coming up in March, he said.

“I’m just thrilled to death to have bowled another perfect game and I am looking forward to bowling more,” he said.

Howren is the oldest man in Rome to shoot a 300, according to Elaine Welch, director of the Greater Rome Bowling Association. He held an average of 191 when he shot his first perfect game, Welch said, and today carries an average of 189.

Howren bowls in two Rome leagues and has been inducted into the Bowling Hall of Fame.

Source: Rome News

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