Surdich on Bowling: Allison finally gets his 900 ring

I received word from Andrea Gage-Werren, general manager of La Habra 300 Bowl, that Glenn Allison finally received his ring for rolling the first sanctioned 900 series in bowling.

Allison was bowling on lanes 13 and 14 in league play on July 1, 1982, when he made history. Controversy followed, as the then-ABC (now the USBC) deemed the lane oil gave him an unfair advantage and denied his 900.

For more than three decades, there have been thousands of signatures gathered on petitions and countless articles written on the matter.

With Andrew Cain, president of the USBC, and the board of directors denying the ring for Allison, most recently in 2014, even though evidence was in his favor, La Habra 300 Bowl contacted Keepsake Bowling, the official supplier of USBC jewelry, in Austin, Texas, to have a custom ring made for Allison. Keepsake removed the USBC logo and placed the La Habra 300 Bowl logo on the ring.

On Sept. 3, Allison finally received his well-deserved and long-overdue ring. Allison has worked the front desk at La Habra for the past 20 years.

Camellia 500 Club – A total of 188 members from Women’s 500 Clubs in Northern California rolled in the 17th annual Camellia City 500 Club tournament last weekend, including 12 members of our Merced/Atwater Women’s 500 Club. The Sacramento club hosted its annual doubles and singles events at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno.

Final results in each division and money won should be on the Camellia City 500 Club website soon. According to Linda Zierman, Camellia Club secretary, the club gave out more than $1,000 in its 50/50 raffle and had a giant raffle with some super prizes being given away.

Senior Top Dog tourney – McHenry Bowl is hosting its annual Top Dog Senior Scratch Tournament on Oct. 17. The tourney has three rounds of competition. Everyone starts with three games, then the top 20 bowl one more game. The field is cut in half for another game, and the top four will compete in stepladder finals for the Top Dog title for 2015.

Seniors must be 55 years or older. Entry fee is $40. Call Terry at 209-571-2695 for more info or to sign up.

League highlights – The following members of the Commercial Classic league on Wednesday were rolling great. For the women, it was Carol Brewer with a 201 game, Nevora Nush a 199 and Janie Schropp a 192.

The men’s high games were led by Larry Valenti Jr. with a 279, followed by Mayo Goldman with a 267, Casey McFarlin a 264, Adam Andrino a 256, Jess Ramirez a 248, Dave Porter a 247 and John Pereira Jr. a 234. Top series rolled by the guys were Kevin Heil with a 701, Goldman a 698, Tyler Davis a 697, Alex Nunes a 678 and Bill Hickman a 643.

Remember when – According to the Merced-Atwater Bowling News, in December 1977, Gwen Bailey was making a habit of first-place finishes. Her more recent victory was at Mid-State Bowl in Fresno. Gwen was in as a last-minute replacement and shot a whopping 653 scratch series for first place in singles. She also placed on the all-events prize list, and she teamed up with Mary Rogers, Avanell Nelson, Mary Vergano and Elaine Thomas to earn prize money. Gwen also won the Women’s City tournament and another recent 600 club tourney.

Black Oak Regional – Black Oak Lanes in Tuolumne is hosting its 10th annual PBA Battle at Black Oak West Open on Sept. 26-27. The top PBA pros from the West Coast will be in attendance. Local bowler Neill Barcellos said he’ll compete in the Battle.

The lanes are hosting their popular pro-am Sept. 25 at 6:30 p.m. The lanes are offering special packages on Sept. 25 with balls, a tourney T-shirt and entry. The packages run from $150 to $175. Storm Rocket and Skyrocket or Hammer Spike and Viral balls are offered in the packages. Ball weights run from 10 to 16 pounds.

Contact the lanes for information or to reserve a spot in the pro-am at 209-928-9437.

This story was originally published September 16, 2015 at 5:25 PM with the headline "Surdich on Bowling: Allison finally gets his 900 ring."