Butler County bowling has come a long way since Charlie Michaels. rolled the county's first official 700 series May 7, 1952, while competing for the Hot Dog team in the City Tenpin League.

He rolled a 247, 223 and 245 for a 715 that night, compiling 21 strikes along the way.

That county record has been broken 16 times since then, most notably by current record holder John Bulger of Zelienople. He recorded an 870 in March 1999 at Freeway Lanes, ending the night with a string of 23 strikes.

Bulger's feat occurred in the Tuesday Night Harmony Moose Lodge men's league, the same league he bowls in today. He still bowls with the ball he used to set the record.

"That was the only league I bowled in then and it's still the only league I bowl in,"Bulger said. "My ball was 15 years old then."

That ball, a Brunswick Teal Rhino, is 23 years old now.

"Brunswick caught wind of that series and the company wanted to use it in an ad promoting the ball I used that night. But they don't even make that ball anymore," Bulger said, laughing.

Bulger's average was 173 when he rolled his historic series. The 870 was 351 pins above his average, giving him the U.S. men's bowling record for most pins above average for a three-game series.

The Bowling Hall of Fame in St. Louis has a display recognizing Bulger's achievement — a display he's never seen.

"I haven't made it out that way yet,"he said. "One of these years, I'll get out there to see it.

"The Butler County Hall of Fame wanted my ball for display, but I couldn't give it to them. I'm still using it."

Bulger rolled a 280, 290 and 300 that night. The 280 in the first game marked Bulger's career-high game at the time. His previous best was 265.

His previous high series was 714.

Now 51, Bulger is averaging 183 this season.

"I do this for fun, to hang out with my buddies,"Bulger said. "I remember years ago, we'd bet 25 cents a game. That night, I guess I was in some sort of zone. It was a one-time thing that will never happen again."

Even rolling a 700 series used to be a rare thing. When Ron Brandon bowled a 769 to break the county record in 1964-65, his mark stood for eight years.

He was also the last bowler to set the record with a rubber bowling ball.

"The scores are unbelievable now,"Brandon said. "I went to Sherwood Lanes to see some old friends who still bowl in the City League and there were eight 700s shot the previous week.

"In the early 1960s, there would be years when there weren't eight 700s in the entire (Butler County Bowling Association) for the season."

Dee Crowe shot the first 800 series in county history, rolling an 802 in 1986-87 at Sherwood Lanes. He rolled a 277, 248 and 277 in a mixed couples league.

"It was funny because not many bowlers in that league paid much attention to it,"Crowe said. "But I was bowling against Ed Kellerman, and he had it counted.

"When I got my second strike late in the last game to clinch it, he grabbed me. He was more excited than I was."

Crowe's record stood for less than a season, however. In that same Saturday Nighters League, Ron Steighner rolled an 810 later that same year.

"My 800 was a well-kept secret at the time,"Crowe said. "There was no write-up in the paper or anything. I'm proud that I had the first sanctioned 800. No one can ever take that away."

Of the 17 bowlers to hold the county record for high series since 1952, eight, Michaels, Tony Betty, Jack "Bo" Ordy, Ralph Henry, Brandon, Ray Henry, Crowe and Lance Rihn, are in the BCBAHall of Fame.

The late Ray Henry is the only man to hold the record twice, rolling a 785 in 1972-73 and an 845 in 1996-97.

"It was so much tougher to bowl in the 1960s,"Ordy said. "They didn't have the equipment or the quality of bowling ball that's available today. You used a rubber or plastic ball, and you had to track every shot.

"Lanes were all wooden and sometimes a single board would be sticking up. A 730 series back then would be like an 830 today."

Brandon agreed.

"Pins fly all over the place today," he said. "The game is more lively. Back then, breaking a record that Bo Ordy and Ralph Henry held at one point — that was a significant accomplishment to me."

Harold Covert's 788 in 1972-73 stood for nine years before Crowe rolled his 802. Bulger's record has stood for eight years and counting.

"The lanes were conditioned perfectly for my ball that night,"Bulger said. "A lot of it was luck. It was a 15 minutes of fame kind of thing."