Whitefish's Howke throws first perfect game

For 56-year-old veteran bowler Mike Howke, he no longer has to worry about just being close.

He can now say he's been there, done that.

Howke rolled his first perfect game on Dec. 12 in the Friday Night Mixed League at Pin and Cue in Whitefish. After years of flirting with one of bowling's highest achievements, he finally experienced perfection.

"The thing that made this 300 special was not only was it my first, and probably my only, but what made it so special was my daughter (Michelle) was there, which meant a lot to me," Howke said.

"I turned around and my daughter was right there, giving me a big hug saying 'All right dad you did it.'"

Also bowling that night was his mentor - Lee Brockel, who was on a different team.

"Lee and I have bowling together since the early '70s," said Howke.

"I could not breathe for about 15 minutes," he said after the final pin dropped.

"It was pretty exhilarating, lets put it that way."

Howke's memorable evening began with one of his typical 200 games, four pins shy of his average in that league.

He followed that with a not-so impressive 179.

"Oops," he said of his second game.

That game, as it turned out, may have led to his 300.

"I made a ball change," he said at that point.

"Just a ball that has a different weight block in it, makes it finish a little bit different."

It turned out to be a smart move. Howke promptly opened the third game with a strike.

"OK, let's see how far we can go with this," he said of what he was thinking at that moment.

It was smooth sailing from that point on until … the 10th frame.

"The ball was a little high and the four pin was the last to go down," he said.

It was also at that point when a crowd of interested bowlers and by-standers were lurking behind Howke to see what all the excitement was about. And he did not disappointment them.

He followed with two more strikes for his first 300 game.

Howke finished with a 679 series, which is well off his personal best of 733.

"People don't realize bowling is a game of a fraction of an inch," he said.

"You are not picking up a round object and just hucking it down the lanes. It's a science."

Howke has bowled continuously since his first trip to the lanes as a teenager. He also bowls in the Tuesday Night Men's League, where he is averaging 195.

Howke teamed up with Mike Klem in 2000 to win the handicapped doubles titles. Howke and Klem almost set a scratch state record that year.

"About 11 pins shy," he said.

Last Friday night, Howke made another run at perfection, but finished with a 290. He started with a spare, then followed with 11 strikes. His other two games were 212 and 225 for a 727 series.