Page 56 - South Mississippi Living - March, 2018

SPORTS & OUTDOORS perfect game
story by Lynn Lofton photos by Donn Hupp
Anyone who bowls knows that strikes are highly prized. But how rare is a perfect game? That’s 12
strikes in a row! Helen Hughes of Ocean Springs has bowled six perfect games in her bowling life.
he says she didn’t bowl any
differently to achieve that perfection. “You can’t do anything different to mess up
your stroke,” she says. “When you’re in the tenth frame and everyone knows you’ve had nine strikes,
they quit playing to not break your concentration. Of course that makes me nervous; it’s bowling country pressure.”
These days, she averages four or five strikes in a game. She bowls
at Cypress Lanes in D’Iberville and Spanish Trail Lanes in Gautier, noting that the two lanes work together with the bowling leagues.
Hughes, 58, started bowling 46 years ago as a child in Bedford, Indiana, as part of a bowling family.
A left handed bowler, she was taught by an older sister who’s also left handed. “There were eight of us
— four right handed and four left handed,” Hughes said. “Bowling left handed makes a difference because there’s a natural hook. Now the way balls are made and oiled, they hook naturally, but left handed bowlers have an advantage. You also have that side of the lane to yourself.”
The owner of 16 bowling balls, Hughes has her balls specially drilled to accommodate her manicured fingernails. She usually takes four balls with her when
she goes bowling and has recently changed to 15-pound balls rather than 16 pounds. Committed to staying in shape, Hughes runs in 5K events, lifts weights and does cardio workouts.
With a height of 5 feet-11 inches, Hughes has a strong form and power behind her ball follow through. “I put more spin on the ball and that’s what you want. It’s not how fast you throw it,” she said.
Hughes and her husband, Edmond, who’s vice president of human resources at Ingalls Shipbuilding, moved to the Coast in 2006. She has found that bowling is not as big
here as in other places she’s lived. “I think it’s more prevalent where there’s a lot of manufacturing. Up north it’s much bigger and more competitive with more money involved,” she said.
The Hugheses are the parents of a 22-year-old daughter, Kelly, and a 24-year-old son, Corey. Both live in New York City and, as of now, are not bowlers.
BOWLER EXTRAORDINAIRE Helen Hughes goes for another perfect game.
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