Marshall Holman had just won his first Firestone tournament of champions when he showed up in South Florida with his attitude and ego.He and his PBA roommate(Sal Bongiorno) came into Don Carter's looking for action that usually happened after the Classic scratch league finished.

                                  Old Man Jessie was one of bowlings great characters.His nickname was "one game" Jess because he would bowl anyone one game for a hundred dollars.One game and one game only and no crying about his illegal loaded bowling ball he would use and no second game after you lost. Jessie,at 73 won many hundred dollar games  because in them years 40's 50's and 60's a hundred dollars meant alot more than today or the day Marshall asked Jess if he wanted to bowl one game.

                                  So here was cocky ,arrogant ,21 year old Holman shoeing up to bowl old man Jess one game for a hundred dollars. Jess carrying his loaded ball to lanes 15 and 16 (middle of the house) and Holman bringing his arsenol of spanking new equiptment he used on tour and at least one hundred people ready to watch this epic match.

Hollman: I need practice to line up

Jess: No practice lets do it

Hollman: I need practice

Jess: Alright no match

Jess took his ball and his one hundred dollar bill off the table and started walking away when from the bowling circle Marshall yelled to Jessie "Bring your money back old man I can beat you without practice"

Hollman: You go first

So without throwing a shot Jess had Hollman rattled and after throwing a typical Jessie nose dive strike to open the match you could see the fire coming from Hollman's ears.He added to his fury by opening his first two frames as his proffesional bowling ball overreacted leaving him with huge unmakable splits and a score of 17 in the second frame.

    With the exception of Sal (Hollman's roomie) everyone watching was rooting hard for Jess.Jess was a local handyman well liked by everybody and the current Firestone chump was despised for his well known antics on T.V. So after Jess threw two more strikes frames 2 and 3 one being on the Brooklyn side and the other a nose job again, the crowd in the back went wild.

                                         Hollman spared his next two frames as did Jessie and when Hollman struck in the 5th everyone knew he had lined up and was hoping that a 41 pin lead in the fourth for Jess would last untill the end. Hollman struck again in his 6th for his first double and like the picture in my blog he took his anger out on the booing crowd giving both middle fingers to everyone there........class act......

Most people say that when Marshall Hollman won the Firestone Tournament of Champions two weeks earlier this was what changed him from pissy attitude immature child to adult champion I say I know better . He became a man the moment he realized right there on lanes 15 and 16 that he was bowling a old man for one hundred dollars and not a single person was behind him.

                                       Marshall threw a bunch of strikes to finnish the game leaving Jessie room to win in the tenth if he could double.With the support of the gallery Jessie nosed dived again the first strike and when for the first time in the match hit the 1 3  pocket leaving the "true tap" of bowling the 8pin to lose Jessie just turned and said lovingly to his supporters "that's what I get for hitting the pocket" walked off with his head high.

                                     Hollman put his bowling equiptment away and left with Sal with head bowed and the one hundred dollars he had won still on the scorers table.He had won a game but also learned about humility.

                     Epilog

Marshall Hollman went on to win a few more Championships and became the legend he sought to become.He learned how to harness his emotions and still to this day when I talk to Sal we end up remminising about that night .

    Jessie Guthrie died within a year of that memoral night .They say that he still hops bowling alley to bowling alley in heaven asking the angels if they want to bowl one game for a hundred