“Vanilla Gorilla” ready to face challengers in state open bowling tournament
MADISON – The more than 1,000 bowlers from across Alabama who plan on participating in the nearly month-long Alabama State Open Tournament in Madison must be aware the “Vanilla Gorilla” literally carries a lot of weight on the lanes in the annual battles for a state title and will be a force to be reckoned with in the competition taking place at both Madison Bowl and Redstone Arsenal Lanes.
Given the catchy nickname by fellow bowlers, 38-year old Matthew Clayton will make his way to the lanes from his home in Somerville of nearby Morgan County with his goal of taking control of the competition by claiming to roll the bowling ball like very few others do.
“I call it effortless power throwing the ball at 19 miles per hour and close to 500 rpm with a 16-pound ball,” said Clayton.
Standing 6-foot-2 and tipping the scales at 370-pounds, the physically intimidating figure on the bowling lanes stands at the ready on each frame and powerfully propels the ball from his left hand, which is actually missing his little finger stemming from an incident while in Iraq serving in the U.S. Army in 2008.
While serving in the Army for four years and three years in the National Guard, Clayton was an E-4 Specialist as a recovery mechanic and, while in Iraq, his Humvee was hit with an IED, but in the same week his suffered an injury causing him to lose his left little finger.
“My finger got caught in the big window of a Humvee. Doctors tried to save the finger, but it was too badly damaged so my finger was amputated,” he added. Clayton was awarded the military Army Achievement Medal.
He spent weeks in a San Antonio hospital and upon recovery was stationed at Fort Sill in Oklahoma for over two years. It was there he rekindled his love for bowling of which he began at age six. He won his first YABA State Championship at age seven as many members of his family were excellent bowlers and he took note of what each of them did well on the lanes. Matter of fact, his father has rolled a 300 game in every decade with the first come coming in the 1970’s.
Clayton has excelled with his own bowling talents to where he has rolled a total of 38 games of a perfect score of 300. His current average is at 238 putting him among the top 20 best in Alabama. His highest series is 877, which he rolled in Hermitage, Tenn. while his wife, Tara, was in Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville for three months. “I stayed in the Ronald McDonald house while there and actually sold our house back in Somerville.” Clayton added he and Tara have five children, but one of those tragically passed away just two days after birth due to a diaphragm hernia. Tara carries a 190 average on the lanes and is the top female bowler in Hartselle. She recently underwent back surgery, but still holds her position as a Registered Nurse at Madison Hospital. Their son, Zac, 13, is also a highly rated bowler.
Clayton bowls three nights a week and moves from lanes to lanes in Decatur, Hartselle and Madison. He also rolls as a member of a four-member team. In the recent Easter Sunday brackets tournament, he earned a payday of $4,550 by rolling an 845 series with games of 289, 300 and 256. Since November, Clayton has earned $15-thousand with his effortless power from a four-finger grip on his 16-pound ball.
“When I go out of town to bowl and the folks there don’t know me, they soon here the loud strikes of my ball on the pins and it’s a good way to introduce myself to others, and, yes, I love the attention,” said Clayton, who usually wears flashy shirts along with his mullet-style haircut and full beard. “I have trained well through the years and have developed muscle memory that has helped me overcome the finger injury.”
Clayton is huge. There’s no missing his presence at the bowling alley as he wears a 50-regular coat and has a 21-inch neck. He carries a menacing appearance anytime he strolls into a bowling house and claims, “When I’m rolling well, it looks as little amount of effort is needed.”
At the upcoming State Open, Clayton will bowl individual action May 2 and 3 at both locations. He will also participate in doubles with his pal A.J. Landis who is an All-City selection and is ranked among the top five in the state. Later in May, Clayton will participate in the USBC Open Nationals scheduled for Reno, NV.
“VeryfewbowllikeIdowithallthe power my body generates as I have great wrist and forearm strength and have fairly large hands,” Clayton added. “My ball turns quickly at the end of its roll hitting the pins at just the right spot. When I’m bowling I try and make those strikes early and it seems everyone around me is watching and I feed off that.”
The native of the Bootheel section of Missouri where he was born in 1987 along the same time U2’s “Joshua Tree” album was released and movies “Stakeout” and “Fatal Attraction” were monsters at local theatres, he moved to North Alabama at age 13 as his family owns five acres of land in Somerville where he built a house. He joined the U.S. Army at age 18. During a timeframe of his bowling prowess he once rolled in Regional PBA Tournaments. Today, he’s the Youth Bowling Director at Decatur Lanes where he teaches young bowlers how to perfect their talents, but he also stresses in many cases you can be a mediocre bowler and still earn a college scholarship as in today’s world the avenues for kids is endless.
The “Vanilla Gorilla” is expected to make some noise in the Alabama State Open which will be held each weekend in the month of May. After all, that noise is what he strives to make once stepping up to the starting area on any lanes he’s fortunate enough to bowl.
“I want my next strike to be louder than the last one,” said Clayton. “When I step up to roll, I’m just chasing strikes.”
