Up Front Walk This Way BACKING INTO THE RECORD BOOKS


////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Andrew Cowan


certainly didn’t intend to start a controversy when he had his girlfriend videotape one of his games at Don Carter Lanes in Rockford, Ill., in late March. But there he was, on video, tossing 10 strikes and finishing with a 280 game… backwards. The video


was accepted by RecordSetter.com as a new world record, and has been submitted to Guinness Book of World Records as well. And it went, as they say, viral on the Internet. Suddenly, the


EVERYTHING BOWLING, ALL THE TIME 50 SHADES


OF GRAY The field may be made up of


A unique spin on bowling: Click on the video above to view the complete 280 game tossed (backwards) by Andrew Cowan. Cowan threw 10 strikes in recording the highest-ever score bowling backwards.


32-year-old Cowan found himself the topic of conversation on bowling websites. Was he legit? Was he making fun of the game? Was he stealing the thunder of bowling’s true Backwards Bowler, Jimmy Cripps of Tennessee? Only bowling could drum up such a


controversy. “I enjoy and respect the game,” said the


6-foot-5, 280-pound Cowan, who started bowling backwards a year ago when he realized it was easier on his aching knees. “I bowl 50 to 60 games a week, and I average about 170. That particular game was exceptional.” Cripps responded on Twitter, saying, “Just


a reminder — the best Backwards Bowler in the world has a league 288 high game.”


Cripps’ 288 was not recognized as a world


record because it was bowled on two lanes. “I respect Jim Cripps,” said Cowan, who


expressed surprise that his video drew such attention. “He’s been doing it a lot longer than me, and he has a much higher average.” Can a backwards bowling throw-down be far off?


(slightly) past-their-prime bowl- ers, but in terms of marquee names and raw excitement, the PBA50 Tour is difficult to top. Take the recent PBA50 United- Healthcare Sun Bowl In The Vil- lages event at Spanish Spring Lanes at The Villag- es, Fla. The steplad- der final featured Tom Bak- er, Norm Duke, Park- er Bohn III, Walter Ray Williams Jr. and Pete Weber — PBA Hall of Famers all. The finalists represented 164 PBA Tour titles (plus 19 PBA50 titles). None of the five bowlers had fewer than 10 PBA Tour titles on his resume. Third-seeded Duke claimed the title after wins over Bohn, Weber and Baker. “I’ve bowled against these guys on Tour so many times,” said Duke. “It’s still the same — a battle for ever game, a battle for every frame.”


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