Blind man bowls a perfect game — and it's not a fluke

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Chicago Tribune:

The league-night chorus of smashing pins diminished as other bowlers joined the crowd behind Morris resident Ron Gooch, who couldn't see the last 10 pins that separated him from the perfect game he'd spent 46 years chasing.

Legally blind since childhood, Gooch, 52, had for decades found a refuge as a competitive bowler at Echo Lanes, a busy temple to the sport in far southwest suburban Morris. He'd already had a bit of luck in picking up strikes so, on Sept. 15, he kept his mind clear, placed his feet as usual on either side of the center guide dot on lane 17 and, without looking up, rolled a 12th and final strike.

"When it left my hand, it felt pretty good," he said. "And it (expletive) creamed (the pins). I said, 'Oh my God, I did it, I did it!'"