Man Fills Bowling Ball With Father's Ashes Then Bowls The Perfect Game

A bowling champion has played one of his luckiest games using a ball filled with his late father's ashes:

Following the passing of John Hinkle Sr. his son, John Hinkle Jr., decided to have the thumb of his bowling ball filled with his old man's remains to bring him a blessing.

The two-time NCAA champion set out to have the perfect game as a tribute to his dad and fortunately, it happened at their hometown alley, Landmark Lanes which is situated in Peoria, Illinois.

The 39-year-old managed to score a '300' otherwise known as the 'perfect game' - it's the highest possible score which is achieved when the player bowls 12 strikes in a row.

John Jr. who plays for Western Illinois University told WMBD-TV: "I was talking to my brother and told him, 'I'm shooting a 300 with this ball'. And Joe said, 'Do it!'"

WMBD

John went on to add: "I had tears in my eyes in the 11th and 12th frames. I couldn't tell you where that last ball went, I had so many tears just throwing it."

In a Facebook post that he put out after his 12-strike streak, John wrote: "I can't express what tonight means to me. I just bowled a 300 with my ball I put my Dads ashes in. He never had a perfect game until NOW."

He then went on to thank the woman that put the ashes into the bowling ball before concluding by calling the night 'epic'.

WMBD

John said that his dad introduced him and his brother Joe to the sport and explained that his technique, of using two hands, requires him to have only two fingers in the ball.

This meant that the ashes could be inserted into the thumb hole, enabling John to believe his dad 'was there'.

His brother was equally as delighted and said: "This makes up for so many nights growing up when we slept in a bowing alley while our parents were finishing league night."

WMBD

In response to his social media post, John received many messages of congratulations. One reads: "That's awesome dude. Congratulations on ur dads first 300."

Another person said: "Just watched this and it brought a tear to my eyes!! Congrats."

A third wrote: "What a special, special accomplishment. And to have your dad with you is all the sweeter! Congratulations."

Topics: Viral, Bowling, Community

Rebecca Shepherd

I'm Becky - a journalist at LADbible. I graduated with a First Class BA in Journalism before going on to cover criminal court cases, medical tribunals and breaking news for the national media - which inevitably and eventually became as glum as it sounds. Can often be found rocking a bag for life - which I made a 'thing' way before Rihanna. You can contact me at [email protected]

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