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Bowling is one of a number of sports where the equipment you use can play a pivotal role in how you end up faring over the course of a game. Most serious players will amass a sizeable collection of the balls that can have an instrumental impact on their score, and one pro in Colorado is facing an unfortunate situation after a thief made off with more than a dozen of the ones he relies on.
The vast majority of people who make the trek to a bowling alley will rent the shoes and balls that are a prerequisite for that particular pastime. Those establishments tend to offer a wide variety of throwable orbs you can pick from, but most casual players don’t put a ton of thought into the one they end up selecting, as the particulars don’t really matter when you’re routinely sending it into the gutter.
However, it’s literally a different ball game for people who take the sport more seriously, whether we’re talking about amateurs who regularly compete in league games or pros who are talented enough to play in tournaments where serious money is on the line.
Steven Gallegos has spent decades grinding on the pro circuit while stockpiling a significant number of bowling balls that he’s used while chasing the dream, but he suffered a major setback courtesy of a thief who made off with hundreds of pounds worth of vital equipment.
A professional bowler says a thief stole 17 bowling balls from his front porch in Denver
Gallegos has competed in six PBA tournaments since clinching a spot in his first one in 2004, and while he wasn’t able to make any money in those appearances, the sport has seemingly been a reliable source of income for a man who’s been bowling for 42 years.
According to KDVR, the 50-year-old Coloradan has reinvested some of his winnings to slowly but surely stockpile a pretty impressive arsenal of bowling balls, including the 17 that were inside several bags he was planning to move into a vehicle when he left them out on his porch last week.
The Denver resident didn’t think he needed to worry about keeping them outside overnight, as anyone who was interested in making off with them would have to figure out a way to abscond with some loot that collectively tipped the scales at 255 pounds. However, he awoke to discover someone had done exactly that while making off with a haul he estimated was worth around $4,500.
Gallegos said he had a “competitive advantage” by being able to select from a wide array of balls in tournaments, but lamented he’s “back to being a normal bowler” after being left with just a few of his own; he came in ninth while using what he still had at his disposal while competing in an event on Sunday.
If there’s any bright side, it’s that you’re probably going to raise some red flags if you’re trying to flip 17 bowling balls at the center of a theft that made headlines, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see how things unfold.