What does Lonnie Billiter Jr. have in common with Darin Pomije, Jeff Campbell II, James Hylton, Robby Portalatin, Vince Wood, Tony Reventini, and Jeremy Sonnenfeld? These bowlers have rolled an approved 900 series by the USBC and ABC.

Billiter, of Fairfield, Ohio, is the latest bowler to roll an approved 900 series on Feb. 13.

Last month, I reported that Robert Mushtare, a 17-year-old bowler from Watertown, had a 900 series rejected by USBC because both he and the league he bowled the score in were not certified with the USBC at the time. Mushtare is appealing this denial of his 900 series rolled on Nov. 5.

Now, according to a Dennis Bergendorf article in Bowlers Journal International Magazine (February), it seems Mushtare rolled another 900 series less than a month after he shot his first 900 series on Dec. 3, and this second 900 series is under investigation by the USBC. Both 900 scores were done in pre-bowl sessions.

Bergendorf quotes USBC Chief Operating Officer Jack Mordini in the article as saying that the Dec. 3 score stood a very good chance of being approved by the end of January.

“We don't look for problems,” said Mordini. “I have to assume that people are providing us accurate information.”

It's amazing a bowler can carry 36 straight shots for strikes and roll a 900 series once in a lifetime, let alone do it twice within 30 days. It is now almost four months since his first 900 and three months since his second 900, and yet Mushtare still has not been notified that he has achieved a certified 900 series from the USBC.

Imagine the pressure building up for three straight games as you continue to throw strike after strike not once but twice now in your career, without certified recognition yet of your accomplishment by USBC. It must be a mental strain beyond comprehension.

It reminds me of when ABC Hall of Famer Glenn Allison had his 900 series rejected by ABC in 1982 for non-complying lane conditions at the time. Allison used a Columbia 300 white dot bowling ball and rolled his score during a mixed league on a condition that probably would look like a “sport condition” compared to today's lanes.

The bowling ball used by Allison in his rejected 900 series is the type bowlers today use for throwing at spares because it does not hook and is nothing compared to the “exotic” balls on the market today.

I am not advocating that a bowler should receive recognition for an achievement that is or was against the rules and regulations in existence at the time, but it seems that in this age of permissiveness - everything seems to get approved due to the current lane dressing inspection rule of 30 days prior to a score or 30 days after a score is rolled - this just doesn't seem right nor fair to either Allison in 1982 or Mushtare this season.

Allsion will be bowling in the USBC tournament in Corpus Christi, Tex., on March 18, and will become the newest member of the 100,000 pin club in USBC tournament history when he takes to the lanes. What a public relations event it would be if he were finally issued recognition of his 900 series prior to breaking the milestone.

What a public relations event it would also be if Mushtare was issued recognition for both of his 900 scores for being the first bowler to roll two 900 scores in a career, let alone being a youth bowler as well. Couldn't these be big publicity boosts for our sport that we need so badly right now?