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Eighty-two-year-old Stroke Victim Bowls 300

Aired July 26, 2002 - 14:49   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Ask any bowler and they will tell you scoring a perfect 300 is a very, very difficult achievement. Well, for one Florida Beach man, he can boast that he has done it -- and that's only half the story.

Affiliate WPBF reporter Jim Abath tells us the rest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ABATH, WPBF REPORTER (voice-over): Ted Byram has been rolling bowls at alley pins his whole life, but two weeks ago, it went all went fuzzy.

TED BYRAM, BOWLER: I figured uh-oh, what's going on here? It didn't feel asleep; it just didn't feel at all.

ABATH: Ted suffered a partial stroke. Little feeling in his right arm, slurred speech, the works. His bowling and his life on hold.

Until four days later. All seemed well. Six days later, he was bowling. Ten days later he was playing...

BYRAM: Like I never was before.

ABATH: Ted hit strike after strike. And as tension built towards a perfect game...

BYRAM: The ball got heavier and heavier. When I got to eight, I figured you got chance, Bingo, let's go for it.

JUDY ASHTON, DAUGHTER: There was some lady standing next to me, and she was saying that oh, gosh, I've seen people get 11 strikes and then just get nine pins. And I almost wanted to say, Shut up, lady.

ABATH: Four balls later, 82-year-old Ted Byram struck with strike number 12, a perfect 300 game.

ASHTON: that's what you are aiming for, hopefully some day, and that -- he got one at 82-years-old after he had a stroke. I was like -- I think we were both in shock the rest of that day.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (on camera): Did you every think you'd bowl 300? BYRAM: I had hopes, but time was going to run out, you know. So that was -- something made me do it. I don't know, but I did it.

ABATH (voice-over): In Fort Pierce, Jim Abath, WPBF Eyewitness News 25.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: All right, Ted, we're proud of you.

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