Bob Durr becomes second double leg amputee to bowl 300: ‘He’s an inspiration’
The stroke was right on. The atmosphere was off.
And Bob Durr, 58, of Ellwood City, missed out on a perfect game at Baden Bowl in early November. He left the 4-7 on his final shot.
“Everyone around me stopped bowling. They were all watching and the place got incredibly quiet. I felt like I was bowling on TV,” he said.
“As soon as the ball left my hand, I knew I missed.”
No big deal. Bowlers miss out on perfect games quite often.
Only Durr, who runs the pro shop at Butler’s Family Bowlaway and competes in a league at Sherwood Lanes, bowls on two prosthetic legs. According to United States Bowling Congress records, the only previous bowler in the United States to ever roll a 300 on two prosthetics was Ricky Rader, who did so in Hilton Head, S.C., in 2019.
Durr became the second on Nov. 21 at Baden Bowl, nearly two weeks after his close call.
Due to diabetes, he had his left leg amputated in 2013. He had his right leg amputated in 2019.
“A few people stopped and watched my last ball,” Durr said of the perfect game. “But a lot of people kept bowling. It was more of a natural atmosphere. I think that helped me.”
Durr averaged 199 at Freeway Lanes in Zelienople prior to the first amputation. He didn’t bowl for three years after that first operation.
“Definitely an adjustment period,” Durr said. “The first time I threw a ball when I came back, it was in fear. I was afraid I’d fall flat on my face.
“My wife was standing by the foul line, ready to catch me if I fell. If I did fall, I figured I’d get back up, bring the ball back to the approach and do it again.”
After his second operation, Durr needed only six months to return to the lanes.
“It was quicker because I had already gotten used to a prosthetic,” he said. “It’s easy to walk on them. The hard thing is just standing still. There’s no muscle core in the legs, and it’s easy to lose your balance. I learned I can’t step backward once I’m up there.
“How I stand there on the approach, holding a bowling ball and maintaining my balance, I have no idea. I guess it’s just a concentration thing.”
Durr rolled a perfect game once before — at age 18 at Greendale Lanes in Kittanning.
“I was bowling on half a foot back then,” Durr said, laughing. “I was missing all my toes. I was proud of that one, too.”
But it was nothing like this.
“That guy just has a passion for the sport,” longtime Butler bowler and high school coach Rich Warheit said. “Nothing was going to keep him off the lanes. He loves it too much.
“What he did, bowling a 300, is amazing. I mean, he can’t slide as he releases the ball. He has to stand there and throw.”
Durr’s average is back to 200 these days. He’s bowling as well as he was prior to the amputations.
“Like anything else, it just takes practice,” Durr said.
Jim Bowser and Mike Coyle, Butler bowlers who are former Pennsylvania State USBC presidents, marvel at Durr’s achievement, as well.
“He’s an inspiration, pure and simple,” Coyle said.
“I wish I had the strength that man has,” Bowser said. “Nothing was going to stop him from bowling. He’s overcome every bit of adversity thrown in front of him. Any bowler who complains about a sore finger or knee ... just look at that guy.”
Andy Hevesy has been manager of Family Bowlaway for 26 years. Durr has been running the Peg Leg Pro Shop there — named after him, of course — for roughly eight years. He runs the Baden Bowl pro shop, as well.
“I’ve been around this game for a long time and never heard of anything like this,” Hevesy said. “Bob is an incredible guy and that’s an incredible feat.”
A video of Durr’s final toss in his perfect game got out on social media. It’s received plenty of attention.
“There were 1.3 million hits on that video last time I checked,” Durr said. “I didn’t even know anyone took one.”
Durr is hoping his story encourages other people with prosthetics to carry forward in life.
“There’s always a way if you want something bad enough,” he said.
And now that Durr’s bowled a 300 in such a historic manner?
“I want to become the first guy to bowl two,” he said, smiling.
