RAVENNA, Mich. (Updated:10/31/2008) - Teammates in his bowling league think after rolling a perfect 300 game Don Doane's heart just gave out.
"You get nervous shooting a 300," says teammate Todd Place. "The pressure keeps building," says bowling alley owner Jim Nutt.
Minutes after achieving the life long goal of a perfect game the 62 year old bowler collapsed and died at Ravenna Bowl in Ravenna. "Don just collapsed," says alley owner Nutt. " At first we thought he just fainted." "Then when I rolled him over I realized it wasn't good," says teammate Place.
The teammates say he was giving a high-five minutes before. They tried to revive him but Doane never spoke another word. He died of what was apparently a massive heart attack "He looked fine, reached across the table and gave me a high-five and he fell over," says Place.
"I think he died by the time he hit the floor." Don Doane was a member of the "Nutt Farm" bowling team at Ravenna Bowl for 45 years. His teammates says its strange not to see him on league nights.
"It was like a book, a final chapter," says Place. "He threw his 300 game with all of his friends, gave each other high-fives and it's like the story ended. He died with a smile on his face."
"Don will be a legend," says Nutt. 'It's something that will never be forgotten as long as people bowl here." Ravenna Bowl is planning a memorial ceremony for Doan's' wife Linda and son Chad.
That's the way to go right there. Finally mastering something you never attained to before and then bowing out quickly without suffering for months or years with some nasty disease. I would never want to grow old in one of those piss-smelling nursing homes with demented old men and women yelling and cursing day and night. No thanks!
What would be your preferred way to go out? I would like to be playing drums in a band for a crowd of 40,000 screaming fans and then bite the bullet.
and then collapsing... as I am laying on the ground telling the other guys to play on through, I am not going anywhere...
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