Bowler Stout rolls city-record 880 series By Will Kowalski

Around local and regional bowling circles, John Stout goes by the nickname "Machine.''

A nickname that was and continues to be associated with the late, great Earl Anthony.

"Earl Anthony and Walter Ray Williams Jr., they're my two bowling idols,'' Stout said. "So it's kind of a great (nickname) to have.''

It's also a nickname that perfectly describes the kind of bowler Stout was on March 24 at Nottke's Bowl (Battle Creek, Mich).

Because while competing in the Friday Night All-Stars league that evening, the 28-year-old Stout was a record-setting, strike-throwing machine.

Thirty four of Stout's 36 first-ball shots that night went for strikes, enabling him to produce games of 290-300-290 for an 880 series.

And that 880 now stands as the all-time sanctioned city league series record, as Stout broke the former mark of 868 set by Joe Hill in 1995.

"For about the last seven years, I'd been wanting to set the city record. It had been a longtime dream of mine. And now, I've got it. And it's just a great, great feeling,'' said Stout, a Battle Creek resident who certainly has the credentials on his tenpin resume to have become the city's best-ever series shooter.

Consider ...

Stout started bowling at the age of 8 in Young American Bowling Alliance action at M-66 Bowl.

Then he got seriously involved in adult league play and regional competitions, winding up as the Michigan Majors rookie of the year in 2002.

In 2003, he was a member of the Miller Brothers Service team in the now-defunct Buzz Fazio/Budweiser Classic league at M-66 that notched a city-record actual game score of 1,349 (during which Chad Miller led off with a 300, Mike Miller followed with a 268, Randy Hawks shot a 255, Scott Jordan had a 226 and Stout anchored with another 300).

And this season, prior to the 880/300, Stout had already shot a city-leading 841 series as well as 800-plus sets of 835 and 822 while also connecting for three other 300s. Then came his ultra-special night at Nottke's on March 24.

A night which started out slowly for Stout but quickly gained momentum - and a night during which he said he was originally more concerned about helping his JJTBJ team succeed and earn points than he was about setting the city series mark.

"I left a solid 10-pin on my first ball in that first game and then struck out for a 290,'' said the right-handed throwing Stout, who was using his Brunswick Absolute Inferno ball. "But the thing was, we lost that game.

"Then in the second game I threw the 300 - giving me a career-best 23 string of strikes - and my adrenalin was pumping. But still, we lost that game, too.

"Then in the third game, this time I left a 7-pin on my first ball then struck out and I had another 290 ... and the city series record. It just felt fantastic. And the great thing was, too, we also won that third game as a team and wound up splitting (taking two points, including one for total series).

"What a night,'' Stout added, "it turned out to be. And I just want to thank all my friends and supporters and fellow bowlers for being behind me 100 percent that night. It meant a lot to me.''

The 880/300 that evening gave Stout 16 career 800s and 16 career perfectos overall.

Career numbers that Stout said he hopes to continue to add on to as he strives to achieve his ultimate career goal of competing on the PBA Tour.

Stout said he had hoped to realize that "lifelong dream'' again earlier this week when on Wednesday he tried to qualify for the Denny's PBA Tour Great Lakes Classic at Spectrum Lanes in Wyoming near Grand Rapids. (Click here to read the complete coverage of the Great Lakes Classic)

"Well, I only averaged 193 and didn't make the cut,'' said Stout, who this season carries a 232 average in the Nottke Mixed Company and a 226 in the Nottke Friday Night All-Stars. "But I'm just going to keep on trying.''