Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, December 13, 1994 TAG: 9412130098
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
For Childress, that meant the difference between a below-average night bowling and a 300 game.
In the first game of Childress' series in the N&W league at All-Star Lanes, he rolled a 181 with his red bowling ball. Not a bad score, but Childress carries a 216 average.
``I was struggling the whole game,'' he said. ``Then, my teammate, Wayne Kinzer, he kept looking at me and said `why are you using that ball?' He said `the purple ball is the one you've been killing 'em with.` The ball change helped more than anything.''
After finishing out the first game with three strikes after making the switch to purple, Childress, 30, was perfect in the second game. It was his sixth 300 game.
The only nervous moment for Childress in his run for perfection came in the ninth frame.
``I was so nervous,'' he said. ``Normally the ninth frame is not so bad. Once I got past the ninth, everything felt so smooth, and everyone around me was so supportive.
``It's nice to [roll a 300] in a league you really enjoy bowling in. It's not like other leagues. These people really stand behind you.''
And Childress is 100 percent behind his purple ball.
``I believe purple is the color,'' said Childress, whose Roanoke Shops-Car teammates are Robert Kingery, Gardner Higgins, Jack Walters and Kinzer. ``But the red one always goes with me. I've been taking it with me since 1989.''
Childress finished with a 208 in the third set for a 689 series.
by CNB