Chuck Jacobson has struck perfection yet again, bowling his third 300 game, his most recent flawless performance earlier this year in the local gay league at Waveland Bowl.
"That's amazing," said Chicagoan Frank Kisner. "Bowling a 300-game once is great; doing it three times in incredible."
Jacobson, 36, a Roscoe Village resident, works for Federal Express. He is the founder of the Chicago Gay Hockey Association (CGHA), and also has played flag football, dodgeball, volleyball and floor hockey within the Chicago Metropolitan Sports Association (CMSA) leagues.
However, bowling is his best sport, even though he had taken 13 years off from competitive bowling before joining the local league last year. He went into the 10th frame with a shot at a perfect game about five times last year.
"It was a good feeling to break through and be able to accomplish what is a very difficult task," Jacobson said. "The key, I thought, was that I cleaned my ball for the first time since getting it a year ago. A cleaner ball means more grip on the lane and harder hitting, which causes a greater impact and a higher percentage of striking."
Jacobson said he was not nervous going into the 10th frame because he's been there before. In the 11th, though, Jacobson admitted he had some mechanical problems on his lane. "Looking back, I thought this was to my advantage; it helped me loosen up and remember just to have fun."
There are 30 teams (215 bowlers) in the Tuesday night Windy City Pride league, and league president Scott W. Marz said Jacobson's 300-game was the seventh since last October. The other perfect bowlers in the Windy City Pride league this past season were Melvin McEntee, Chinh Duong (twice), Frank Gapinski, Peter Wujcik and Christopher Hansen.
"I was really happy to hear about Chuck's 300 game," Marz said. "I wish I would have known he was close, so I could have gone down and watched. I was bowling at the other end of the house.
"[Three career 300 games] is impressive. I am still looking for my first. I am really happy for him. I just got the chance to meet Chuck this year. He is a great guy, fun to be around. Chuck is competitive like myself, does not like to lose."
Jacobson's previous 300 games were in his native Fort Wayne, Ind., and they were a lot more difficult, he said.
"The equipment has changed making it easier to bowl higher scores," Jacobson said. "This recent perfect game was nice. Just the fact that it gave me more confidence reminded me that I can hang with the high rollers.
"Being able to do it in the gay-friendly league was great. This is one of the reasons I moved here 10 years agoto be able to play sports with people I can identify myself with."
Jacobson said that bowling an 800 series was nextand he recently achieved it, recording an 815 back in April. His previous high series was 776.