Until he was 25 years old, Kevin Richardson bowled right-handed.

That was before the Butler resident learned that in his case, left was the right way to go.

"I'm a natural left-hander in everything I do," Richardson, now 46, said. "The people I learned how to bowl from, my father, uncle, other family members — they were all right-handed, so that's the way I did it."

Richardson's uncle, Dick Brown, was one of the top bowlers in Butler during the 1960's and 70's.

It's not that Richardson was a bad bowler right-handed. He averaged 185 bowling that way.

Once he switched over, however, he never switched back.

"Some friends watching me bowl were curious as to why bowling was the only thing I did right-handed," Richardson said. "I decided to try it left-handed and it felt more comfortable.

"Once I figured out how to cover the 7-pin — and that took a while — my average shot up 40 pins."

Richardson has not averaged below 215 in the past 20 years. He spent 20 years working in Colorado before returning to Butler two years ago.

While in Colorado, he became one of the best bowlers in the Rocky Mountain State.

Six times, he won the Colorado state championship. He began rolling perfect games — Richardson has 30 of them in all — and got his first one at a Professional Bowlers Association regional tournament.

Richardson has held his own in pro events, but never wanted to turn professional.

"By the time I was good enough, I had a house, kids and bills to pay," he said. "And there wasn't enough money in pro bowling worth going out on the tour for.

"In the 1980's, only 15 bowlers in the world made $100,000. Half of the money you make goes back to the sponsor. To me, it wasn't worth the risk.

"If it was golf and I had the same level of golf skills I have in bowling … I sometimes wonder what I would have done," Richardson added.

He has bowled 12 800-series during his career, including a career-high 856 at Sunset Lanes in Farrell, where he rolled a 300, 257 and 299. He's bowled an 844 at Sherwood Lanes.

One time, Richardson bowled two perfect games during the same night, but not in the same three-game series.

"The league I was bowling in had to make up three games before the regular league night started," he explained. "I bowled a perfect game during the make-up series, then another during the regular series."

Once he returned to Butler, Richardson never let up. He averaged 225 in 90 games in the Automotive League at Bon-Aire last year and 211 in 104 games in the Butler County Men's Traveling League.

Richardson has averaged 250 and 249 at Grove City Bowlodrome and Sherwood Lanes, respectively, over the past two summers.

This year, he's averaging 231 in the Automotive League and 225 in the Sims Memorial Classic League in Beaver Falls.

Richardson has been bowling with the same group — Don Clark, Nelson Johnson, Paris Strezeski, Bobby Eppinger and Dave Miller — the past two years.

His remaining goal in bowling isn't realistic, but it is the ultimate.

"My goal is to get a 300-game every time I put my (bowling) shoes on," he said. "Ultimately, that's what every bowler is doing this for."