April 5, 2013 at 2:34 p.m.
A perfect couple
Wife, husband roll 300s on back-to-back nights
A perfect couple
Vicki Larson shot a 300 on March 26 during Ladies Friendly League play. One night later, Rick Larson, her husband of 28 years, matched the feat during Tavern League play.
The similarities don't end there. The Larsons each rolled their 300s during the second game of their three-game series and achieved perfection on the same set of lanes - lanes 9 and 10.
The story begins during the day March 26 when Rick, who runs Rick's Pro Shop at the alley, made an adjustment to Vicki's ball. Vicki said she has a slightly crooked ring finger, which makes it difficult to find a perfect fit.
"The pitch on my ring finger wasn't quite right Monday when I was bowling," she said. "Tuesday, he took it during the day and fixed it. Tuesday night was the first night that I had bowled with the new grip on it. He fixed it and I was able to throw it better. That's why it worked."
Vicki threw a solid 245 in her first game and came out strong in game two with strikes in each of the first nine frames.
"You just kind of get in the zone, where you don't look and see what's going on around you," she said. "I had sat down to do the paperwork, because we were going into the 10th. I recognized I had the nine in a row there. I got real dry-mouthed and I couldn't swallow and I couldn't breathe."
Two more strikes in the 10th had Vicki on the verge of her first perfect game in 17 years. That's when she really started to feel the pressure.
"I told someone, 'I can't breathe,' and I heard someone say, 'take a deep breath.' I did that and then just threw it," she said.
Rick's bowling buddies were quick to give him some ribbing when he showed up the next night for Tavern League.
"They said my wife beat me up pretty good the night before and I said, 'good.' I was happy for her," he said.
Rick added that he almost sat out the night of the 27th because of an aching hip, but played anyway and flirted with 300 in his first game.
"I didn't feel like I was going to bowl good," he said. "I was even considering not bowling that night. I started bowling and said, 'OK, I'm doing all right here.' The first game I shot 279, which was one (strike) short of a 300. I left a 10-pin and said, 'Well, I darn near did what Vicki did last night.'"
Like Vicki, Rick started to realize the magnitude of what was at stake after collecting strikes in each of the first nine frames of the second game.
"(I) got to the 10th frame and I actually just said, 'It would sure be a nice story here if I could three (strikes) and get at 300, like Vicki did,'" he said. "I threw them all in the pocket and got another 300."
That led to even more ribbing from Rick's bowling partners.
"You couldn't let your wife stay ahead of you for one day, huh," they said.
That thought went through Vicki's mind too.
"I said, 'You couldn't even let me have (bragging rights) one night, could you," she quipped. "But I was happy that he did it."
The numbers show the magnitude of the Larsons accomplishments. League play for the 2012-13 season at Hodag Lanes began last September. In that time there have only been 20 perfect games rolled in the seven leagues that report scores to the River News. Vicki is the only woman to throw a 300 this season.
"You don't plan those things. You can want to throw a 300, but it's got to carry. A 10-pin stands up and you're done," Rick said.
He would know. Rick said he's thrown "around 20" 300s in his 38 years of bowling. This was the second for Vicki, who has been bowling in league for 34 years.
Because of that, Rick said he was much more excited about Vicki's 300 than his own.
"I was happier for her than me, just because I've shot a few more. It's great to do, but it's more special that she gets to throw another one," he said.
Vicki said she was just as pleased with how she bowled as she was with her 300. She had no open frames in her three-game series and the ball hit right where it should every time during her 300 - in the pocket between the 1-and-3 pins.
"They were all in the pocket. I didn't have any Brooklyns (where the ball hits the opposite side of the headpin). I was very happy about that," she said.
The Larsons said this is the first time they can recall a husband and wife rolling 300s on consecutive nights.
"I have heard of some fathers and sons bowling in leagues together have shot them," Rick said. "It's been done that way, but I think we're the first husband and wife - in Rhinelander anyway."
That makes their accomplishment even more memorable.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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