Deadeye Strike Shooters

Top singles and doubles rollers reach ‘Magnificent 7’ at City Bowling Tournament

By John Burbridge sports@charlescitypress.com

CHARLES CITY — John Henry “Doc” Holliday was a famous gunslinger.

Who knows? He might have been even more legendary if he was named “Doc” Slinger.

Believe it or not, there is a Doc Slinger in Charles City. And he’s a real doctor, and a real deadeye shooter … a strike shooter, that is.

And at Comet Bowl, he has a legacy of his own.

“That was in 2004,” local chiropractor Tony Slinger said of the photo-encased plaque commemorating his 841 series which remains the highest three-game series bowled at the 18-lane house.

“I’ve had some close calls since then,” Slinger said of subsequent flirts with possible 800s, “but I just end up with a lot of 700s.”

On Sunday during the final day doubles round of the annual City Bowling Tournament at Comet Bowl, Slinger rebounded from a sub-200 first game to end up with one of those said 700 series — a 708 to be exact.

Slinger’s doubles partner Todd Koenigsfeld was a tapped 10-pin shy of reaching 700 himself as he rolled a 696. The combined 1,407 was the highest scratch doubles score of the tournament.

Final results including handicap were still being tabulated as of Sunday night. Due to their 200-plus league averages, Slinger and Koenigsfeld were placed in the A division.

After the doubles competition, both bowlers competed in singles.

“But since we have to move over to the next pair of lanes,” Slinger said while they were transferring their equipment from lanes 3 and 4 to 5 and 6, “we have to adjust to the oil patterns the other bowlers left for us.”

“And when you bowl five, six games in a row, it becomes of war of attrition.” Koenigsfeld said.

Neither Slinger, who was the defending A division singles champ, nor Koenigsfeld were able to match the scores they bowled earlier in doubles.

But one bowler, Brody Stone, got more formidable as the day wore on.

Stone, whose 184 average placed him in the B division, had a 458 through two games. In the seventh frame of the third game, Stone pretty much locked up the B singles title when his first ball just clipped enough of the headpin while crossing over to the “Brooklyn” side to send it spinning violently off the wall and back onto the deck for a classic pin-action strike.

That kept a string of strikes going as Stone ended up with a 256 and a 714 series, the highest scratch score of all single bowlers.

“I don’t know …  I just got on a roll,” said Stone, who didn’t seem too concerned if his total was good enough to win the B singles title.

“I’m just here to have fun,” he said.

In team competition, the Farm Bureau squad of Dave Brockney, Tyler Brockney, Jesse Gifford, Brandon Rippentrop and Ron Crooks were already crowned champions after rolling a scratch score of 3,324 — 3,606 with handicap.