88-year-old bowler knocks down five strikes in row

DEXTER, Mo. -- Violet Cooper of Dexter didn't know just how good a bowler she was.

When a member of the Golden Seniors Bowling league recently suffered a broken bone, the local team needed to call in a substitute. Cooper's name was on the list, and she said she was flattered by the request.

"I used to bowl some, but I've never been really good at it," she said. "It's just something I enjoyed."

The 88-year-old Cooper gladly packed up her bowling ball, donned a pair of shoes at Dexter Bowl and took to the alleys.

In her first game as a sub, Cooper hurled her ball right down the middle for a strike. All of her fellow seniors were impressed.

Next time up, she was challenged to repeat her feat. And she did, four more times.

In the end, her score was 212 -- her lifetime high game.

"I just couldn't believe it," Cooper said. "I've never done anything like that before in my life. I bowled a 200 once, but that was the best I'd ever done. Believe me, no one was more surprised than I was."

At the end of the session, the Golden Seniors came out ahead of their opponents -- an all-men team -- by three pins.

It will no doubt be a tough call deciding what to do when the broken bone of the injured team member is healed and she's ready to return to the team. No one, it seems, wants to say goodbye to their newest superstar.

And so, for the time being, all will continue to enjoy the limelight. All except for Cooper.

"All this attention is just plain embarrasing," she said with a smile.