How a Twin Cities Bowler Made History With Three Perfect Games
Forty-five years ago, Roger Blad made history at a Minnesota alley by bowling three perfect games in a single day. This is how he did it.
INVER GROVE HEIGHTS, Minn. — The air inside Drkula’s 32 Bowl was thick with the scent of fried food, stale beer, and lane oil. It was 1981. Roger Blad stepped up to the approach, lifted his ball, and looked down the lane. He wasn’t thinking about history. He just wanted to win.
By the time the tournament ended, Blad had done something almost unthinkable. He rolled three perfect 300 games in a single day. The feat set a world record, turned him into an overnight celebrity, and etched his name forever into sports lore.
“I was there to win,” Blad recalled during a recent conversation about his historic day. “It was my day.”
The Math of Perfection
To understand what Blad achieved, you have to look at the numbers. A perfect game of bowling requires 12 consecutive strikes. That is 12 times a player must throw a heavy ball down 60 feet of wood and hit a pocket just pocket-side of the head pin. The margin for error is razor-thin.
Now, multiply that by three. Rolling three perfect games in one day means throwing 36 strikes under intense pressure. A single bad break, a stubborn ten-pin, or a slight slip on the approach destroys the attempt. Most league bowlers spend decades trying to get just one perfect game. Many never do.
Blad did it three times in a single tournament session. Local spectators began crowding around his lane as the strikes piled up. The noise in the alley would hush every time he picked up his ball, followed by explosive cheers as the pins swept away.
A Different Era for the Sport
The feat was even more impressive given the technology of the era. In 1981, bowling was a different beast. Modern players use high-tech reactive resin balls designed to hook aggressively on synthetic lanes. They rely on computer-generated oil patterns that can be read like a map.
Blad’s era was dominated by hard rubber, polyester, or early urethane balls. The lanes at Drkula’s were made of real wood, which wore down and changed shapes throughout the day. Bowlers had to read the lanes by sight and feel, adjusting their speed and hand release to compensate for drying oil.
- Wood lanes required manual inspection and constant adjustment.
- Balls lacked the dynamic weight blocks found in today’s equipment.
- Oil was often applied by hand, creating unpredictable playing fields.
That meant Blad relied purely on muscle memory and raw talent. His physical consistency had to be flawless. Any change in his slide or follow-through would have ended the streak instantly.
Fifteen Minutes of Fame
The sports world quickly took notice of the Minnesota bowler. Newspapers across the Midwest ran headlines about the tournament. The ultimate validation came when Sports Illustrated magazine featured his achievement.
“It was a magical moment,” Blad said. “At that time I was a celebrity for a little bit, but it wore off.”
The brief taste of national fame was sweet, but Blad remained grounded. He returned to his regular life in the Twin Cities, continuing to play the game he loved without the constant glare of media attention. Yet, the memories of that afternoon never faded.
The Legacy at Drkula’s 32 Bowl
Today, Drkula’s 32 Bowl remains a hub for local bowling enthusiasts in Inver Grove Heights. It is a place where families gather on weekends and league players battle on weekday nights. If you walk inside and look closely, you can still find traces of Blad’s historic run.
The actual bowling ball Blad used to set the world record sits safely inside a glass trophy case. Nearby, his three perfect games are listed prominently on the alley’s 300 award wall of fame. It serves as a reminder to every young bowler who walks through the doors of what is possible with focus and determination.
Decades have passed since Blad found his zone on those wooden lanes. The equipment has changed, the scoring systems are digital, and the players are younger. But in the local community, people still talk about the day Roger Blad couldn’t miss.
