There was a time when 300 games on ABC-TV's Pro Bowlers Tour were rare. The first was in 1967 followed by another in 1969 with the third being the Stefanich game of 1974. Two in the 60s, one in the 70s, that was it. Through the 80s, some scribes wondered in national publications if we would ever see another. Chris Schenkel had been observing a technician's picket line for the first at other assignments for two and wondered several times on the air if he would ever call one. Somewhere in the mid 80s, True Value Hardware signed to sponsor a TV 300 game bonus for an unheard of $100,000, never imagining to give that much money away. That would change one January afternoon 20 years ago.

     Pete McCordic started his 15th year on tour at age 33 with higher goals in mind. He had a handful of TV finals under his belt, a few seconds, but still waiting for his first title. He had worked his way up the points list to make his way to the Japan Cup at the end of '86. Working with former touring pro and fellow Houstonian Jack Biondolillo, (author of the first PBA TV 300 twenty years earlier), he kept the momentum from '86 going into '87.

     "Jack was the guy I could go to whenever I felt something was wrong with my game. His philosophy mirrored mine on the fundamentals of bowling.. I remember working with Jack prior to the '87 winter tour", according to McCordic in a recent interview. 'I still remember him telling me it was time to move up to the next level. "Heaven in '87" was the positive mental thought he wanted me to have for that Tour segment."

     The first test would come in the tour's fourth stop at Gable House Bowl in Torrance, California. He qualified 5th for the TV show and would bowl the first match against future Hall of Famer Wayne Webb. After almost 90 minutes of practice prior to air on the TV pair, the common practice of the day verses 20-30 minutes these days something was still not quite right.

     McCordic picks up the story, "I knew I had a good reaction on the right lane, but definitely had nothing on the left lane. Literally, less than 5 minutes prior to the start of the show, I raced to the locker room and got a ball that I had not used in that event. I threw it once on the left lane, struck, and once on the right lane without a good reaction. Then Harry Golden (PBA Tour Tournament Director) said to hold up on practice. With no other reasonable option, I decided to throw one ball on the left lane, and another ball on the right lane to start the match and go from there."

     With no other signs of fate to foretell the impending history, the match began. What is overlooked about this match is Webb was also striking. Through the first 6 frames, McCordic had not missed. Webb had, just twice, sparing the 2-4 in the first and a 2-pin in the 3rd, but ran off 5 straight afterward.

     McCordic continues, " With my terrible record on TV, not being really confident on the ball choices, I remember thinking, "Oh, well. Let's just see what happens." I didn't really think about a 300 game til about the 7th frame. I got the shot in a bit and it held for a pocket strike. I remember thinking "Wow, maybe I do have a shot for the 300." My opponent, Wayne Webb, was bowling a good game. In fact, I didn't have the match won until the 10th frame. So I was more concerned about winning that match than anything else. If Webb had not been pushing me, the pressure of the 300 would have started to mount sooner. I remember Larry Lichstein literally rooting me on from the 8th frame or so. "C'mon Pete. You can do it. You can do it" He must have said that 20 times. That, also, will be something I won't forget. After Webb got tapped in the 9th, the 300 game pressure was all that was left. I bowed my head, said a little prayer, and tried to get ready for the my tenth frame."

     There had been several close calls for a TV 300 in the preceding 13 years. Johnny Petraglia had a 298 in '78, Steve Cook had the first 10 in the '81 Firestone title match. Neither of those was worth what this could be, $100G.

     As Wayne Webb walked off the approach following his 249 game, he said to Pete, "C'mon." Like Lichstein, Webb wanted him to get it, too. His tenth strike was high flush, but like several others that game, it carried, too. Number eleven was dead perfect, although you would not have thought that before the shot was made. An indelible image from this telecast is McCordic visibly shaking before that one and also the final shot. "The last couple of shots, my neck felt like spaghetti and my head weighed 200 pounds, " added McCordic. After a 13 year wait, we were finally back to that magic moment: just one more strike.

     (Audio from the telecast)
Bo Burton: "Pete McCordic, bowling immortality"
Chris Schenkel: "Isn't that a sight, Bo?"
Burton: "..within his grasp, 1974, Jim Stefanich was the last time."
Schenkel: "Here it is, right lane."

     Once again, McCordic in his words, "I was always nervous bowling on TV. That was probably the reason my won/lost record on TV was so bad. However, I had decided on a new philosophy. For years, I had always tried to shake the nerves, and relax. I finally realized that I may never be able to relax on TV. Instead, I had to accept the fact I was going to be nervous and learn to perform under that premise. This is where the hundreds of hours of practice over the years would pay off. Get the pushaway step right, look at your target, and roll the ball. In a lot ways, throwing a shot while nervous is a lot like bowling when you are exhausted (after maybe 2 hours straight of practice with sweat, dripping off you). Let the basics take over."

     Gable House Bowl was a cauldron of noise the nanosecond his 12th delivery hit the lane. After the follow through, his hands went behind his head, seeing the ball a little left of target. But similiar to an earlier strike on the same lane, the ball was left of target but his hand did not turn early. The head pin spun off the kickback and then tomahawked the 7 for the final pin to fall.

     Schenkel: WE HAVE IT! We have it!

     "After the last shot, the feeling was more relief than joy. $100,000.00!!!! Wow. Plus the fact I had come through under the pressure. At that time, I had not won a Tour title, but to me, this proved I could make shots when I needed to. Well, to be honest, I do believe the prayer helped. The last shot was not that good, but I do believe God held his hand down to guide the ball to the pocket, " added McCordic.

     Unfortunately, fate was not done here this day. McCordic would lose the next match to the eventual winner , Mats Karlsson. But the impact of this game would be felt for awhile. Cable TV and home VCR's were everywhere. We could watch the game over and over at our leisure. This was the first PBT highlight to be shown on ESPN SportsCenter and also chosen as CNN Sports 'Play of the Day' as well as many local TV News sports segments that night. He made a few other shows that year on ABC and ESPN, and of course it was brought up and the last shot shown a few more times. Unlike the prior three, this was the first PBA TV 300 of the home video era.

     McCordic would get that elusive first title the following year quickly followed by a second a five weeks later. "Shooting the 300 game affirmed the confidence I had in myself that I could win. As great as the 300 game was, it did not compare to throwing the last 9 strikes to barely shut out Ray Perez for my first title in Fresno. I remember thinking "Champion!!!!" after throwing the clinching strike. Man, THAT was special. I still get emotional thinking about it," said McCordic.

     What was unexpected was the appreciation he enjoyed after that game. A group of Houston bowling proprietors hosted a luncheon in his honor. He received media interview requests at nearly every tour stop the rest of that year. The local Houston media began to cover his week by week standings on tour as well as other Texans, reigning U.S. Open champ Del Ballard, Jr. and David Ozio. Keep in mind, this was in at a time when that 90-minute block on network TV carried importance and priority in media coverage. As that last ball was replayed that night on the hundreds of local TV sportscasts, its value was absolutely priceless. That kind of coverage simply cannot be bought. Perhaps that is why you saw it more than a few times through the rest of 1987 on ABC's telecasts. It may be hard to believe if you are younger than 25, there was a time when bowling was a big deal. A really big deal.

     Recently, ESPN Classic has begun to rerun that show. Younger players on the PBA Southwest Regional tour have been shocked to see their tournament director on TV. "Some even didn't know I was a touring player, " adds McCordic.

     That's why this moment will be in the top five on my Top 25 TV Bowling Moments for a long time to come, especially after McCordic colored in more of the details not known but to a few. The top ten on this list is very tough to crack, not only to the simple drama of the moment, but also looking at the impact it makes to the outside world. Because of its drama and timeliness, I've ranked it 4th on the list, only trailing the Benoit 300, Ballard's gutter ball, and the Don Johnson 299.

     Television is capable of capturing unscripted dramatic moments in such a way that it can leave a smile on your face for years to come. On that day all those years ago, Pete McCordic faced pressure only a handful know and gave us one of those smiles.