Who’s perfect? Kevin Lechmanski is!
“It’s a record that can’t be broken, only tied.”
That’s Kevin Lechmanski, 32, talking about bowling a perfect 300 game at the lanes at the American Legion Post during the Championship Tournament April 1.
The first reaction he got from dad Larry Lechmanski when he called was, “Is this an April Fool’s joke?”
No joke, although the young Mr. Lechmanski, who works for East End Computers, admitted he still can’t believe he did it.
His highest score, achieved last year was a 278 and that beat his father’s record of 267.
A bowler racks up a 300 game by rolling 12 strikes in a row for a single game of ten frames. It’s a benchmark accomplishment of a great bowler, like a golfer’s hole in one, a pitcher throwing a no hitter or a hitter homering four times in four at bats.
Mr. Lechmanski’s bowling perfection started as just another night of fun at the Legion’s lanes. That is until his date with destiny began taking shape.
“It was just like a normal night,” Mr. Lechmanski said about his achievement. But as the strikes started adding up, he heard someone say, “Did he really have seven in a row?”
As he approached the lane for his final ball, he tried to calm himself, but the toss wasn’t a good one, he said. The ball seemed headed for the gutter when it suddenly veered back.
“The crowd got louder and louder and I got louder and louder and it was just crazy,” he said as he watched the 10 pins topple.
Pinch me: Kevin Lechmanski says he still can’t quite believe he bowled a perfect 300 game.
Bowling a perfect game anywhere is difficult, but doing so at the Legion Hall “brings good bowlers to their knees,” Mr. Lechmanski said. It’s narrow and “very claustrophobic.”
The pin setting machines are more than 50 years old and the pins sometimes aren’t quite where they’re supposed to be, he said.
“But I love the Legion for what it is and what they do,” he added.
Despite his whole team bowling well that night, they would only achieve a second place finish overall, Mr. Lechmanski said.
He started practicing the sport in the late 1990s and began bowling with a league about 10 years ago.
Bowling isn’t his only passion. He would love to try racing, but given the expense, he’s opted for simulating the experience with a system he has developed at home. He enjoys 3D modeling and loves working on old cars and computers.
Nobody’s perfect, they say, but for one April night, Kevin Lechmanski was.
