Did everyone who owned a rubber bowling ball engrave their name in it? I was on ebay praying to find a nib or never pluged, desent shape rubber ball(no luck) and every single one i saw had a name engraved in it. I live in a large city (san antonio tx)and there is only 1 proshop in the city that even has an engraver. Was this a big fad back then or somthing?

Hey Great One,

How are you doing?  A few things to take in consideration with that time period.  One, mostly all those who bowled only had one ball, not like bowlers today who have an arsenal of 5+.  It also didn't take the same amount of time then to drill then vs now because they were no high tech layouts and so on, engraving a name was another part of the service and routine.  Probably the main but most overlooked reason that names were big then is because ALL the balls were black, you had to distinguish them somehow.

A bowling ball was and still is a very personalized possession, it is a custom fit to the individual making it fairly unique.  Most people kept these balls for a long time, I still see seniors with theirs to this day.  When I was drilling in the late 70's and early 80's, names were still a very big thing.  Only now do I see it not being such a big concern except to children to whom I always engrave names for.  You'd have to see a kid's face just light up when they see their own name on the ball...hope this helps explain some.
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Rick Leong
Ten Pins Pro Shop
Track Pro Shop Staff
Vise Grip Staff

Edited on 2/18/2004 7:55 AM

You know what Mecca,

You're dead on..and that's why it didn't carry fo me either back then...lol  Actually, the more I think about it, it really is a great spare ball, creates some friction but never takes off on the back end....good for you!  
(Still learning something everyday)

Rick

Great one,

  Times were different back when the rubber balls were dominant. You didn't go out and buy a new ball twice a year to try something different. Why would you when they were ALL the same? People bought a ball and used it for 20 yrs because they were hard and would last that long.

  Just last year an older man quit bowling due to his age and health. When he quit, for some reason he gave me one of his old ball. it was a 16lb brunswick starline he bought in 1947 and it didn't even have a track on it.

  People engraved their names on them because back then you planned on keeping them forever, there was no need for more than one ball in a lifetime!
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Just call me Stan, it's much easier to say!