Norm Duke defeated Chris Barnes 259-189 in the championship match of the PBA World Championships in Wichita, Kan.

The win was Duke's third major title in a row, a feat never accomplished before in PBA history. Duke defeated Sean Rash 236-215 in the first semifinal, while Barnes eliminated Steve Jaros 202-181 in the second semifinal. Duke's championship win was his 30th career title and sixth major.

Among the best

ESPN began its countdown of the 50 greatest bowlers in PBA history, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the tour. Numbers 50 to 46 were mentioned: Bob Strampe, Mika Koivuniemi, Tommy Hudson, Barry Asher and Johnny Guenther.

Trivia question

During the 1996-97 season, Bryan Alpert of North Hills, Calif., rolled a 299, a 300 and an 800 series in the same season, which isn't that unusual in the modern scoring environment. But what was unusual about Alpert's feat? Answer at the end of the column.

Kellerman shoots 300

Last Tuesday's Butler City Tempin League play didn't start out well for Ed Kellerman. It ended well, though.

After rolling a 167 opening game, Kellerman fired a 300 game on lanes 3 and 4 at Sherwood Lanes. The perfect game was the ninth of Kellerman's career. He finished the series with a 233.

Blast from the Past

Beginning with this article, each week I will feature something that happened in Butler bowling history. Thanks to Ron Brandon for providing me with some great information.

This week's spotlight is on Charlie Michaels. On May 7, 1952, Michaels became the first member of the "700 Club" by rolling a 715 in the Butler City Tenpin League.

Michaels bowled games of 247, 223, and 245 at Penn Lanes, as his Butler Hot Dog team defeated Webster Displays 3-0 to remain in first place. Michaels did not have an open frame all night.

Teammate Bill Say tossed a 584 series to help the winning effort. The Hot Dog team rolled the high team game of the night, a 987!

Other teams in the league that year were WBUT, C. Stewart Shoemaker, Kraus Bakery, Ellis Garage, Armco and Keffalas.

Tip of the Week

Are you having trouble throwing the ball straight at a spares? Try taking your middle finger out of the ball and laying it across the hole. This will reduce the amount of rotation imparted on the ball

Top scores•

Coins League: Mary Carbin 190 game; Linda Smith 496 series•

Buckhorn: Mike Hilliard 277 (663), Wayne Blank 259 game, Junior Suchonic and Ray Reges Jr. 247 game•

City League: Ron Lehman 290 (782), Mike Dunkerley 269 (748), Kevin Richardson 247 (704)•

Butler County Traveling: Sam DiMichele a 299 game and a 933 quad. Also bowling well were Bill Morgan 236 (922), Mike Rouda 256 (903), Brian Marcellus 277 (926)•

Fox's Pizza Den: Scott Walker 267 (744), Rick Vinroe 247 (672), Bob Eppinger 255 (657)•

Kelly Automotive: Ken Schontz 254 (685), Dave Miller 246 (661), Dan Manning 220 (649)•

Automotive: Mike Fair 248 (616), Pete Saul 246 (717), Shane Ozella 660 series•

Firearms: Josh Hinchberger 236 game, Nate Smith 601 series, Beth Ozella 212 (582)•

Armco C: Trent Slater 248 (730), Chuck Dight 216 (641), Chuck Lorenzini 235 (627).Trivia answerAlpert rolled a series of those big scores bowling right-handed. He also rolled each left-handed. He is the only person to accomplish this feat in the same season.Ron Willison is the bowling columnist for the Butler Eagle.