One night after Rick Auerbach bowled a 300 game at AMF Woodlake Lanes in Woodland Hills, Troy Gibson smoked a perfect game of his own at the same site Wednesday night.
“Forget me, Troy’s the baddest a-- bowler in the league,” Auerbach said. “He’s the best there is at Woodlake. Can I get any blunter than that?”
The 42-year-old Gibson notched his seventh certified 300 in the second game of the “Wednesday Stars” league play. Each shot was solid and a no-doubt-about-it hit.
Auerbach, coincidentally, also blasted his 300 in his second game of the night.
“Rick mentioned [his 300] to me and it gave me some incentive,” said Gibson, a Calabasas resident. “I respect him a lot. He was a pro baseball player. We’re very good friends.”
The right-handed Gibson used his sweeping hook to score a sizzling 248 in the first game and rolled a split-marred 182 in his finale to finish with a blazing 730 series. He has two certified 800 series, topped by an 822. Gibson said his 800s are the biggest highlights of his career because they're more difficult to achieve than a perfect game.
Gibson has now bowled five of his seven 300s in the past two years and he admits he’s been hot.
“I am getting better,” Gibson said, “and I’m still trying to get better. It’s just a matter of being more comfortable and not getting nervous and [the ball] carrying.”
Gibson has been bowling in the highly competitive “Wednesday Stars” league for the past seven years after taking a 20-year hiatus from the sport. Gibson averages 228 and teammate Bob Englehart averages 224 to provide a dynamic 1-2 punch on their team.
And on Wednesday, the two performed brilliantly with Englehart blistering a 759 series with games of 237, 266 and 256.
The left-handed Englehart, a Los Angeles Bowling Hall of Famer who celebrated his 54th birthday the day before, created considerable suspense when he threatened to roll a 300 game of his own in his third game.
He banged out strikes in the first seven frames before recording a spare in the eighth.
Still, this was Gibson’s night to shine brightest. And it most likely won’t be his last.
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