How he rolled: Jim Shimota

The 50plus Oregon Senior Games series returns, featuring some of the 50+ phenoms who’ll be competing in the Games in Corvallis Aug 13-19.

Watch this space now through game time to meet fun, fascinating people who make the Games an experience to remember — for competitors, volunteers, and spectators alike!

This week, meet boss of the bowling lanes, Jim Shimota.

How He Rolled

By age 15, Jim Shimota had become what he termed a mediocre bowler. Then something miraculous happened: he rolled a perfect 300 game! “I have no idea how it happened, but I won’t ever forget that for as long as I live,” he says. It turned out that perfect game would be the first of many for the future computer-tech wizard. Shimota later fought—and beat—a rare type of cancer that carried a less than 5% survival rate.

You’ll usually find Jim in Corvallis each August, wowing onlookers. “The joy I get from competing at this surprisingly high level is huge,” Shimota, now a coach, admits with a grin.

• BY RANDAL C. HILL