by Matt Hicks

Have you seen perfection at Whataburger Field?

There are some who can say yes, because they were in attendance on July 28, 2005, when Frisco pitchers A.J. Murray, Steve Karsay and Scott Feldman combined to throw the only Texas League perfect game over the past 26 seasons.

If you weren’t here that day, and you’d still like to see perfection, you’re in luck. 

He’s in section 118. 

Meet Apolonio “Polo” Montalvo, usher section supervisor for section 118 at Whataburger Field.

It’s not his appearance or demeanor that ring of perfection, though there are some fans who would say Polo – one of the park’s game-day employees who has been with the Hooks from the start – comes pretty close.

No, like the Frisco boys on that hot July night in 2005, Polo’s perfection was achieved in a sporting event.

On Friday night, September 4, 2009, at Saratoga Lanes, the 30+-year league bowler threw a 300 game.  Perfection.  The first 300 in his life.  The first perfect game of the fall season at Saratoga.

He had come close once before, in 2001. He chucked a 299, which as any bowler knows is 11 strikes in a row. Needing just one more strike for a perfect game, you throw a “nine.”

After that flirtation with perfection, Polo thought his chance would never come again.  But it did.  On September 4.  His 68th birthday.

“I knew it was going to be a good day,” Polo said, “because my grandsons called from California to wish me a Happy Birthday and they sang it over the phone, but they were all out of whack!

“And then my wife bought a birthday cake and insisted we have it at the alley.  We’ve been married 43 years and I’ve never had a cake.  I told her I didn’t need anything special, but she brought it to the lanes along with a camera to take some pictures.”

Polo’s wife, Aida, doesn’t bowl on the team and isn’t usually in attendance on Friday nights.  She bowls with Polo on Tuesdays.  But she wanted to be there on this Friday evening.

And Bobbi Ortega, who subs occasionally on Polo’s Tuesday team, was there with her husband Peter at the start.  They were going to leave to join friends fishing at Bob Hall Pier, but had a feeling that something special was about to happen.  Bobbi stayed and captured the final two strikes on video using her cell phone.

As Polo stepped onto the approach for his first ball in the 10th frame, he said he felt a twitch in his right arm.  But when he saw the ball go over the second arrow, he knew the first strike was in the bag.

“I didn’t look at the crowd behind me – I looked down.  I tuned out the noise around me.  I used to play football (Lyford High School) down in the Valley and that’s where I learned to block out the noise and focus on what needed to be done.”

With two shots to go, Polo knew he had to maintain his composure.

“On the second shot I took two deep breaths and then threw it, and as soon as I threw it I knew it was there.”

Having bowled thousands of games over four decades of league bowling, Polo recognized this was a rare opportunity – one that might never come again. 

“I stepped down off the approach, and in my mind I talked to the ball.  I said to the ball ‘Get there, baby!’”

And once again, Polo knew it was good as soon as he let it go.

“I raised my hands in the air, turned and saw everyone.  I heard the noise then!”

His is an exhilarating accomplishment for any bowler of any age, but especially so for a man on his 68th birthday who three years ago emerged from successful open heart surgery.

Retired now after 32 years as an employee for H-E-B, Polo has time to enjoy summer evenings at Whataburger Field, exercise on a regular basis and travel to national bowling tournaments, like the one at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nevada.

His love of the sport began back in the ’70s at the old Buccaneer Bowl, located at the corner of Alameda and Roberts.  The house is just a memory now, replaced by, ironically, an H-E-B.

“Some friends said they needed a handicap bowler, and I didn’t know what that meant.  I started with a house ball, then eventually got a ball at K-Mart,” Polo recalled. “I threw a straight ball back then and was a pin bowler – I really didn’t know what I was doing.”

Now a 183 average kegler, Polo says he learned much of what he knows about the sport from Randy Burns, a former Corpus Christi city champion.

“He told me I should throw a semi (grip), and showed me simple things like how to pick up the ball.  He told me not to pick it up like a bucket with my right hand, but to use both hands and rest it in my left hand so my right hand would not get tired.

“And he also showed me how to use the arrows on the lanes.  Just simple things that I had never thought of.”

Polo tossed his 300 with a brand-new ball, weighing just slightly over 14 pounds.  Serious league bowlers think nothing of buying balls in the range of $150 to $200.

“I saw this ball I wanted on eBay, a Hammer Razyr, for $169, but Aida saw it on Bowling.com for $67!”

When league bowlers toss a 298, 299 or 300, the sport’s sanctioning body, the USBC, provides rings to commemorate the event.  For a price, bowlers may gussie-up the ring to give it that personal touch.  Polo wears his un-gussied 299 ring with pride, but looks forward to the day when he can slip on his customized 300.

“I said I didn’t care what it cost, I’m spending the money!  This is something that’s special, so I sent in my order and it will look very nice.”

And he deserves it.  Understand that Polo is not about the bling, but is very humbled by what he accomplished.  Talking about it recently he got choked up, thinking mostly of the card he got from Aida, telling him how much he means to her, and how much that gesture means to him.

Polo’s perfect game was more than just 12 strikes in a row.  It was a triumph of spirit that gives us all a feeling that we can achieve, whatever the endeavor may be.

That ring will take a few months to craft, so when the Hooks begin their sixth season in April of 2010, take a moment to stop by section 118.  Polo will be sporting perfection.

Matt Hicks, radio play-by-play broadcaster for the Hooks and a 165 average bowler, has never thrown a perfect game.  The closest he’s come was two years ago at Saratoga, when he watched Paul Houston, a really good bowler, throw his 11th 300.

Polo’s advice to Matt – “talk to your ball.”