MARINE CORPS AIR STATION YUMA, Ariz. -- A Yuma Marine finished first in the Marine Corps’ All-Marine bowling competition in Fort Bliss, Texas in early December.
Master Sgt. James “King Pin” Bloomer, Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 13 AIRSpeed chief, used a tremendous come-from-behind rally, down 129 pins going into the last day of the three-day competition, to place first in the Marine Corps and earn one of four spots competing on the All-Marine team in the All-Armed Forces tournament.
“Being down 129 pins on the last day would be equivalent to being down 30 points at halftime in a basketball game. It’s a pretty big deficit,” said Bloomer. “I just wasn’t feeling it the first couple days and got myself in a big hole. It all really came together that last day though.”
The 36-year-old Esperance, N.Y., native has bowled competitively for more than 15 years. He bowled on the All-Marine team twice earlier in his career. However, due to job demands, he has not been able to try out for the team in the past 10 years.
“I was just really excited to test my skills again. I haven’t stopped bowling since the last time I made the team, but I didn’t know if I could still compete at that level,” said Bloomer. “It was very gratifying to prove I still have it on that kind of stage.”
After claiming individual glory, Bloomer’s attention turned to helping the Marine Corps team improve on its poor performance in the All-Armed Forces tournament the past several years.
“They haven’t been very competitive recently, and we placed third in the team event this year. There was only a small margin between first, second and third,” said Bloomer. “I was also very proud of being a part of that.”
Bloomer shined not only in the individual Marine Corps competition but also in the All-Armed Forces tournament as his 199 average led all Marines.
“His consistency was probably his biggest asset,” said Rob Fleck, All-Marine bowling coach. “He was able to make adjustments when he really needed to in the individual competition and also was instrumental in our improvement in the overall competition.”
Bloomer does not know what the future holds for his bowling career, but he does hope to defend his title as top bowler in the Marine Corps next year.
“I’m not sure where I’ll be next year, but wherever it is I plan on defending my title,” said Bloomer.