The day the game changed for ever

[GeorgeF]

YouTube - 1992 AC Delco - Marc McDowell vs. Marshall Holman pt1

The date was January 7, 1992 at Gable House in Torrance, CA. Marc McDowell qualified 3rd, and met Marshall Holman, who defeated Ricky Ward in the opening match. There's been a lot of talk about the show where Marc McDowell first used a resin ball, an X-Calibur. You can vastly tell the difference between Holman's reaction, and hitting power on the pins, vs. what McDowell was getting. McDowell had a couple of shots where the pins were just destroyed.
McDowell, went on to defeat Holman, and win his other two matches shooting 685, winning the $37,000 top prize, and requalifying for the Firestone, which he won later on in the season. Hope you enjoy all the action.

First time reactive was used on TV, the 4th strike he throws sort of sums it up

 

[John_Velo]

Hi George,

Thanks for digging that up.

It really was the end for some of the classic bowlers that could not deliver the ball the way resin ball required.

I saw an interview on one of the American sites with Marshall Holman speaking around 2005 ish, he mentioned how for years he tried to resist changing his style to suit the resin ball. How he tried to continue controlling the front of the lanes and not the break point.

Out of curiosity, when was the change to lighter double chamber pins? As that five pin in about the sixth frame looked glued to the deck.

 

[jason_doust]

Saw it first time around on a grainy VHS tape George! I still have a 16lb X-Calibur on the museum rack.

Back when we were honest enough to call them Cheater Balls. In fact, Marc McDowell was one of the touring players who voted 41-1 to ban them on the PBA tour in October or November 1991. The one player who voted for them won his first title with one a few weeks after McDowell had this win.

Participation numbers in our sport have declined ever since... Many great players simply walked away. What a fabulous change for the sport, turning it back into a game.

 

[jimcross]

Many great players simply walked away. What a fabulous change for the sport, turning it back into a game.


Wish I'd said that first !!

 

[John_Velo]

Hi All,

I came across this a few months ago.

This is interesting to compare the what appears to be the same bowler, newer lanes with bowling balls from different eras. This guy has more than 60 reviews of old bowling balls.

And, yep leave the volume off and I do probably spend a little too much time on Youtube.

Manhattan Rubber
YouTube - Manhattan Rubber : Black bowling ball

AMF Pro Classic
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=bowlingzuki#p/search/1/PLiKifiMlRw

Columbia Back Yard Bully
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=bowlingzuki#p/search/4/FzZtUPyW4Uk

Hammer Vicious particle
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=bowlingzuki#p/search/0/Zd3hRDbLKZ0

Storm Core Power
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=bowlingzuki#p/search/5/2U6730WGOCU

Morich Hercules
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=bowlingzuki#p/search/7/sfMsaZCu070

Lane#1 Cherry Bomb
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=bowlingzuki#p/search/1/tj7-1flooHM


This to me is still all really facinating as I missed the evolution, just stuck in the time capsule.

Again thanks,

John Velo

 

[androooo]

Nice find John.

One thing that video showed is that if you make the lanes dry enough on the edge, even hard rubber rolls early and carries well enough.

 

[strop]

Reactives............I rest my case.......what I been saying all along.............

 

[jimcross]

Jason, talk us through those videos, please. Sure, I can see what the balls are doing - that is, the way they track down the lane - but- so what? that can't be all there is to it. Help someone who knows virtually zero about modern balls to know what ( other than angle of entry ) accounts for the differences in effectiveness. Or should I add " if any"?

 

[Troyza]

You can definitely see how reactive resin has changed our sport. But I think it can be a matter of perspective also.

Speaking purely from a tournament perspective, hasn't reactive resin allowed for much much much more challenging conditions? I doubt 30 years ago you'd see 43 foot flooded lanes.

I dunno, things are meant to evolve eventually, or they die out.

 

[androooo]

Why can't the USBC implement a rollback of technology to something as strong as say.. the Urethane Blue Hammer (beast in it's day), like the USGA has done with the grooves on golf clubs?

It doesn't have to happen overnight, except on the pro tours. The average players can use them until 2014 or something.

 

[John_Velo]

Hi Guys,

For me the difference is the reaction of the ball on back end of the lane. The shots thrown with the newer balls really accelerate the rev rate off the oil. The old rubber stuff maintains its rev rate or starts to slow. Maybe 13 revolution of the ball tops.

Then the pin reaction difference can be seen, with rubber the ball pins tend to lay flat. The resin ball fires the pins off the deck. The next obvious thing is the size of the pocket with resin. But it goes even further than that. Old rubber balls had a single pan cake weight block, there was little the ball would add to a shot after the bowler let rip.

From a lanes point of view, I can still remember a time before oil machines. To lay the oil the Mechanic would run a 43 inch wide mop up the lane from the pins. Then walk down the lane with a manual hand pump pack and spray a fine layer of oil from waist height from somewhere around 40 foot up to the foul line. And that was it ready to bowl. The difference in lanes was huge, but they tended not to break down as the ball were rubber and not sponges like today’s resin balls.

So for me the resin ball has made the target bigger, easier to hit, while at the same time breaking the lanes down so fast that the shot goes away quickly. Forcing you to change your shot as the game goes from early in the first game of league until the last shot of league.

Then looking at the pins back in the good old days were around 2lb 7oz or more and resisted falling over. Now they are double chambered and lighter more top heavy.

In the end it is all part of the evolution. The trend away from wood lanes and rubber balls has changed the sport.

I also notice that tournaments are 10 game qualifying, I can remember the seniors bowling two squads of 16 games to make the cut was the norm followed by 16 games head to head match play. It was possible to bowl 32 plus games in a day with a 16lb ball.

The next change will come and we will look back and say remember those resin balls, man they were hard to bowl with.

John Velo

 

[Macka69]

Always an optimist there John.

Great run down of the changes too. this has been a real interesting read.
Thanks for the great input.

Lyndon

 

[willey]

John, the Pins, contrary to popular belief, havn't changed in 50 years, the are subject to tests for scorability in the same way they were 50 years ago. If they score too high they do not pass, if they score too low they do not pass.

The biggest change is Angle of Entry, which the Reactives can produce.

willey

 

[Roysa]

An interesting point is that as we all know the resin balls of today change the shot alot quicker than the old rubber balls used to. In saying that the bowlers today have to move earlier (or change target) than during the rubber ball era. This in itself lends todays bowlers to not have to worry so much about hitting a target as when rubber balls were used but it does mean todays bowlers have to be smarter about which way they move or they will be lost.

In a nutshell what im trying to say is back the day the bowlers had to deal with balls that wouldnt react and give pin action but could rely on a consistent result if they hit their target. Hence why bowlers who have been around a long time are still so accurate, they had to be to get results.

Todays bowlers can bank on a backend reaction and good hook (in most places) as well as some pin action however the shot it doesnt last long. Knowing which way to move or when to change ball is key and is just as important as probably anything else one must learn.

Whilst most people say its easier today by the obvious 300's thrown on here everyday it can be said that both todays bowlers and those from the 60's 70's 80's etc both have unique challenges.

 

[Geoff300]

It is way , way too easy today to bowl big scores, Full Stop !!!!

It was a game of accuracy now it is not

Bowling Balls and lanes and conditions today dictate the Sport
and the results you get

I liked the old Sport myself

 

[GeorgeF]

If only you had a time machine Geoff, welcome to 2010!

 

[CT]

RIP the sport of bowling.

Welcome strikes in a box and strap on revs.

That show was the beginning of the end of bowling as a credible sport. With the strike-a-thons we have today, scoring records have come to mean nothing.

One day, i hope, the administrators of the game will stop the bowling ball manufacturers from running the game, and begin to limit surface friction and core dynamics. *wake up Jeff*

 

[willey]

CT, I hate to disappoint you but they have been limiting Friction and Core Dynamics. The Friction was not allowed to be more than the old Blue Hammer Urethane, which it isn't, unfortunately Reactives were able to bypass that Friction with a bigger Footprint, thus more Bite.

willey

 

[John_Velo]

Hi Guys,

I promise not to pipe up to much more as I believe that we will all disagree to a point. But we all want what we believe is best for the sport.

What I like about bowling now, is watching the older members of the league grab a resin ball and bowl at about 4 to 5 second pass with the ball skidding a long way down the lane and rolling a 180 plus. If they hit the head pin they will almost always carry 8 or more. For these guys and the likes of myself that are destined to be league bowlers and little more, then resins are the best thing to happen to bowling.

Why, because it beats bowling a 135 average all your life, you feel like you have evolved and can compete with the 200 plus average bowlers with many games under their belts, bowling multiple leagues a week and tournaments on the weekend. You have a chance of taking a few points off them each week.

For the more elite, yep, tough to take getting beaten when you bowl a 280+ and loose. Averages are higher across the board for everyone. Take away the average bowler and the sport would lose all the way around with centres closing due to a lack of numbers in leagues. Catch 22.

Turning back the clock on equipment is not really an option, but the centres can lay down tougher oil patterns though. Then it is a sport again.

Embrace the change and work with it, I understand 300’s are easier now. So the new three hundred is the 900 for three. Looking at the NSW Sports Series results for the year the scores are not that high. No different to 30 plus years ago. Maybe because the pattern is called sports?

Lets not forget that the ball robots have not bowled a 300 yet due to lane break down.

Every era is different. Imagine bringing a 100m sprinter from the 1950’s to race in 2010. Would they run sub 9.8 seconds. Probably not as the sport has become scientific in changing running styles and running surfaces. Bowling has seen those changes two, synthetic lanes, synthetic balls and synthetic scores to suit.

It's all fun.

John Velo

 

[willey]

John, you didn't mention the synthetics the 100 metre runners are USING, their is only 1 runner in the last 10-15 years who has held the World Record who hasn't been caught using performance enhansing Drugs and that is the Current Champion, maybe they won't catch him.

willey