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[The following column was written on June 20, 2026, by longtime bowling writer Bill Herald]
What's the most-impressive and amazing on-the-lanes feat in the history of bowling? It has to be the two USBC-certified 900 series by Robert Mushtare ... right?
The bowling world was amazed when news spread about Glenn Allison rolling the first 900 series in a sanctioned American Bowling Congress league on July 1, 1982. Of course, most of us know that the score was rejected by ABC due to "non-compliant lane conditions."
But why wasn't Mushtare -- a 17-year-old junior in the Junior/Adult League at Pine Plains Bowling Center in Fort Drum, N.Y. -- widely acclaimed when he rolled an unsanctioned 900 in that league on Nov. 5, 2005?
And regardless, whether or not people acknowledged that score, why wasn't everyone -- from ABC/USBC officials down to common league participnts and fans of the sport -- displaying awesome respect for Mushtare when just three weeks later (on Dec. 3, 2005), he posted another 900 set, which would eventually gain USBC approval?
But the youngster wasn't done yet. On Feb. 19, 2006, he did it again, posting another 900 set that met all requirements of USBC sanctioning.
When Mushtare was unloading such an awesome display of strikes, bowlers in the Junior/Adult League at Pine Plains couldn't believe what they just witnessed. But in actuality, they didn't witness the history-making developments in person. All they witnessed were copies of league scoring slips showing nothing but three consecutive 300 games -- already bowled.
You see, all of the perfect games were pre-bowled prior to the scheduled league sessions, but one league member, Jamie Grimm, did witness at least one of Mushtare's 900s. In fact, he was pre-bowling with Robert, and even though carrying a 152 average, he rolled a 741 series that included a perfect game of his own.
Even to those who might have thought Mushtare could have actually achieved the impossible had to wonder about Grimm's performance, and that's one of many reasons that fueled intense skepticism throughout the worldwide bowling community. It would seem to be statistically improbable to the utmost degree.
But exactly 20 years ago -- on June 20, 2006 -- Mushtare was officially credited with two 900s, and those scores remain in the record books today.
Even though approving the two 900 series, why did USBC downplay the "feat" so dramatically in the next edition of its official publication USbowler? Mushtare's name was nowhere to be found on the magazine's cover page, and the only mention was a 7-paragraph story with a thumbnail photo of the bowler at the bottom of Page 10. Really?
Less than two weeks after the June 20 certification, Mushtare competed in the Junior Gold tournament in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., the premier national youth bowling event. So how did he do? He tied for 282nd place, averaging 185.7 over 18 games with a high single-game score of 200. And that's not a misprint -- 200, not 300!
After the USBC sanctioning, I wrote a number of columns referring to Mushtare, and one illustrated how absurd the scenario was to the sports world. It had the theme, "Could Tiger Woods have pre-golfed the U.S. Open? If so, he could have won by 22 strokes."
At the time, I also postured that approving multiple unwitnessed, pre-bowled perfect series effectively ruined an award that historically represented the absolute pinnacle of bowling perfection.
I also referred to the situation as the "biggest ever black-eye for bowling", noting that it invited widespread cynicism and left a dark shadow over the sport's scoring records.
The great Glenn Allison has often been referred to as "Mr. 900" even though his score was officially rejected, so why hasn't Mushtare been similarly referred to, with two of his three 900s officially appoved? I think most of us know.
Twenty years later, I maintain the same opinions. How about you?
What's the most-impressive and amazing on-the-lanes feat in the history of bowling? It has to be the two USBC-certified 900 series by Robert Mushtare ... right?
The bowling world was amazed when news spread about Glenn Allison rolling the first 900 series in a sanctioned American Bowling Congress league on July 1, 1982. Of course, most of us know that the score was rejected by ABC due to "non-compliant lane conditions."
But why wasn't Mushtare -- a 17-year-old junior in the Junior/Adult League at Pine Plains Bowling Center in Fort Drum, N.Y. -- widely acclaimed when he rolled an unsanctioned 900 in that league on Nov. 5, 2005?
And regardless, whether or not people acknowledged that score, why wasn't everyone -- from ABC/USBC officials down to common league participnts and fans of the sport -- displaying awesome respect for Mushtare when just three weeks later (on Dec. 3, 2005), he posted another 900 set, which would eventually gain USBC approval?
But the youngster wasn't done yet. On Feb. 19, 2006, he did it again, posting another 900 set that met all requirements of USBC sanctioning.
When Mushtare was unloading such an awesome display of strikes, bowlers in the Junior/Adult League at Pine Plains couldn't believe what they just witnessed. But in actuality, they didn't witness the history-making developments in person. All they witnessed were copies of league scoring slips showing nothing but three consecutive 300 games -- already bowled.
You see, all of the perfect games were pre-bowled prior to the scheduled league sessions, but one league member, Jamie Grimm, did witness at least one of Mushtare's 900s. In fact, he was pre-bowling with Robert, and even though carrying a 152 average, he rolled a 741 series that included a perfect game of his own.
Even to those who might have thought Mushtare could have actually achieved the impossible had to wonder about Grimm's performance, and that's one of many reasons that fueled intense skepticism throughout the worldwide bowling community. It would seem to be statistically improbable to the utmost degree.
But exactly 20 years ago -- on June 20, 2006 -- Mushtare was officially credited with two 900s, and those scores remain in the record books today.
Even though approving the two 900 series, why did USBC downplay the "feat" so dramatically in the next edition of its official publication USbowler? Mushtare's name was nowhere to be found on the magazine's cover page, and the only mention was a 7-paragraph story with a thumbnail photo of the bowler at the bottom of Page 10. Really?
Less than two weeks after the June 20 certification, Mushtare competed in the Junior Gold tournament in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., the premier national youth bowling event. So how did he do? He tied for 282nd place, averaging 185.7 over 18 games with a high single-game score of 200. And that's not a misprint -- 200, not 300!
After the USBC sanctioning, I wrote a number of columns referring to Mushtare, and one illustrated how absurd the scenario was to the sports world. It had the theme, "Could Tiger Woods have pre-golfed the U.S. Open? If so, he could have won by 22 strokes."
At the time, I also postured that approving multiple unwitnessed, pre-bowled perfect series effectively ruined an award that historically represented the absolute pinnacle of bowling perfection.
I also referred to the situation as the "biggest ever black-eye for bowling", noting that it invited widespread cynicism and left a dark shadow over the sport's scoring records.
The great Glenn Allison has often been referred to as "Mr. 900" even though his score was officially rejected, so why hasn't Mushtare been similarly referred to, with two of his three 900s officially appoved? I think most of us know.
Twenty years later, I maintain the same opinions. How about you?
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