Bowling has been a major part of Tim Taflinger’s life for 40 years.

But for the University Bowling Lanes manager, what he accomplished on Feb. 1 is still special.

Taflinger bowled his 10th career 300 game that night during the faculty and staff league at the bowling alley inside the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

While 10 perfect games is a lofty number for even the most veteran bowler, Taflinger, whose average this season has been as high as 214, said it can still be pretty nerve racking.

“I have been bowling for 40 years and have 10 300s to my credit and one 800 series,” the Bowling Hall of Famer said.

“You still have the nerves, but it is a little easier every time you get close to one.”

Taflinger, who has a degree in Bowling Lanes Management from Vincennes University in Vincennes, Ind., has been managing the University Bowling Lanes for 26 years and said a perfect game on those lanes is a rarity.

He said the alley usually has a couple of 300 games each year, and three people have come close in the past year with games of 299, 298 and 290.

Unfortunately for Taflinger, the faculty and staff league is not sanctioned by the United States Bowling Congress, so he will not receive any awards for his accomplishment.

In a USBC sanctioned league, a bowler receives a customized ring for bowing a 300.

However, Taflinger said his league honors games like that in a different way.

“The league usually gives a trophy and there were a couple of ladies in the league who brought in a cake to celebrate (the following week),” he said.

Along with being a Bowling Hall of Fame member at the National Hall of Fame in St. Louis, Taflinger has been named Bowler of the Year by the Charleston Bowling Association in the past and is a member of the Charleston Bowling Hall of Fame.

Collin Whitchurch can be reached at 581-7944 or cfwhitchurch@eiu.edu.

Tim Taflinger, manager of the Union Bowling Lanes, bowled a perfect game on Feb. 1 during faculty and staff league bowling in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union. The game was his 10th perfect game. Taflinger is a Bowling Hall of Fame member at th

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