McCabe rolls first career 300 game with "rescued" bowling ball

McCabe rolls first career 300 game
with "rescued" bowling ball

by Mark McClain

The story behind Frank McCabe's first career 300 game may very well be the strangest one that we've had to write about since The Greater Rochester Bowler commenced 16 seasons ago.

It all started at 8:00am on Thursday, February 27 when a woman from the New York State Police Department knocked at McCabe's front door.

"Do you know where your bowling balls are?," she asked, to which McCabe replied, "They are over at the lanes where I bowled yesterday."

McCabe, a past-president of the Rochester Bowling Association, was then informed by the officer that the Bay Bridge has cameras in various locations and that one detected a car stopping on the bridge at about four o'clock in the morning, at which time a person got out of the car and tossed an object over the bridge.

"For all they knew, by the size, it could have been a young child," said McCabe. "The officer told me they sent out a Hovercraft to see what the object was. As it turned out, it was my three-ball bag, which only had one ball and my shoes left in it. It was sitting on top of the ice and the bag wasn't even damaged. My other two bowling balls and some personal items were removed like an ankle brace, two knee braces and my utility cases."

The ball which the thief "spared" was McCabe's Brunswick Speed Zone, which he just used on Friday, March 4 to roll his first career 300 game. The 69-year-old had the perfecto in the Knox Amusement Seniors League at Bowl-A-Roll Lanes.

"My former high game was a 299, with an 8-pin. That day I also had my best series, a 765," McCabe said.

This day, he had games of 181, 231 and then the 300 for 712. His average is up to 206 after 18 games.

"I'm finishing out the season for someone, but in my three regular leagues my high average is 190," McCabe said.

The right-hander is enjoying a fine season which has included a win in the New York State Senior Doubles Tournament in Syracuse with his brother Thomas McCabe. He also owns a pair of RBA City Tournament titles.

McCabe says that one of his stolen balls was a Command Zone and the other was his plastic spare ball...which he didn't need for one game anyway!

If you have any information on the missing items, please leave a message for McCabe at the RBA Office, 323-1710.