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Author Topic: Old timers, which was the best era of bowling?  (Read 15393 times)

itsallaboutme

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Old timers, which was the best era of bowling?
« on: August 14, 2013, 03:38:54 PM »
OK, here's a question for Avabob (and the other old timers)  since he's been winning since a little before I was born.  Which era was the best bowling wise?  Rubber, Polyester, Urethan or Reactive?  Not your best results, because I've read your opinion on short oil, or the most participation, because that declines every year, but the just the most overall enjoyable time to bowl.

I know this will be very dependent on your life circumstances at various times, but try to think just about the bowling at the time.
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JohnP

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Re: Old timers, which was the best era of bowling?
« Reply #46 on: August 25, 2013, 02:38:00 PM »
Quote from: avabob on August 24, 2013, 10:18:52 PM
I used a 67 hardness sur d at the 1976 Oklahoma City ABC.  I believe the hardness rule for ABC didn't come in until the beginning of 77.  PBA had a higher hardness rule and I don't know when it came in.  I think they outlawed soaking in 74.

I'm sure the rule was initiated in the '72 to '74 range.  I was bowling in Beaumont Texas when it came in, and I left there in the spring of '74.  After reading your post, I think the original ball was the Sur D Pro, different spellings were used after the rule came in.  Did they check balls at the state tournament you used the ball in?  --  JohnP
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Pinbuster

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Re: Old timers, which was the best era of bowling?
« Reply #47 on: August 25, 2013, 07:24:51 PM »
I believe bob was saying he used the ball at the ABC National Tournament in Oklahoma City in 1976. So they would have weighed the balls and should have punched the balls for hardness.
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avabob

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Re: Old timers, which was the best era of bowling?
« Reply #48 on: August 26, 2013, 10:43:45 AM »
Sur D replaced the Shore D, and had a different shell formulation.  It was soft, but didn't bleed like the Shore D.  Not nearly as good a ball for most people.  I shot 693 with the Sur D in team event at Oklahoma city, but never had much luck with it anywhere else.  They put in the 72 hardness rule right after the 76 season.   
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JohnP

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Re: Old timers, which was the best era of bowling?
« Reply #49 on: August 26, 2013, 04:17:17 PM »
OK, then did they specifically outlaw the Shore D (original) in the '72 - 74 time period?  --  JohnP
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avabob

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Re: Old timers, which was the best era of bowling?
« Reply #50 on: August 27, 2013, 10:46:23 AM »
I don't think the Shore D was ever specifically outlawed.  When the 72 hardness rule came in at the end of the 76 season, most of the Shore D balls did not meet the rule.  2 of my team mates were throwing the Shore D at Oklahoma City in 76.  Both were well under the 72 hardness limit that was adopted the next year.  My Sur D was about 67.  Incidentally, I also had a 6P Yellow Dot that was about 74 hardness.  Much better ball than my Sur D.  Unfortunately I lost it at a tourney in late 76. 

I think the confusion on this stems from the outlawing of soaking balls to reduce the hardness.  The PBA ( and possibly ABC, I don't remember for sure ) outlawed soaking a couple of years before the hardness rule came out for the ABC.  Soaking was illegal even if you kept the surface hardness within the hardness limits. PBA events put a small mill hole in the balls and tested the hardness slightly below the surface where the soaking effect would not be present   
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JohnP

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Re: Old timers, which was the best era of bowling?
« Reply #51 on: August 27, 2013, 04:42:25 PM »
I sent the following message to the Specifications department at USBC.  I'll let you know if I get a reply.  --  JohnP

I have a historical question I hope you can answer for me to settle a disagreement. 

Back in the soaker ball era I had one of the original Sur D Pro balls (this was the first ball, I may have the spelling wrong).  As I remember it, sometime in the 1972 - '74 time period the ball became illegal.  I thought the implementation of the hardness spec made it illegal, but my friend swears that the hardness spec wasn't put in place until '76.
 
 My questions: 
1.  When was the hardness spec implemented?
2.  If it wasn't during the '72 - '74 time period, was the original Sur D Pro specifically made illegal during that period?
 
 Thanks in advance for the help.
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avabob

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Re: Old timers, which was the best era of bowling?
« Reply #52 on: August 27, 2013, 09:42:54 PM »
ABC implemented hardness rule at the beginning of the 1976-77 season.  Rule did not specifically address any balls, but simply stated that balls must meet the 72 hardness on a D scale.  Few Shore Ds or Sur Ds met the hardness test, thus effectively eliminating them from ABC sanctioned events.

Soaking the surface possibly became illegal even before that when the PBA outlawed soaking.  I know that even if the soaking kept the ball above 72 hardness it was not legal   
« Last Edit: August 28, 2013, 10:34:07 AM by avabob »
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JohnP

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Re: Old timers, which was the best era of bowling?
« Reply #53 on: August 28, 2013, 05:51:47 PM »
I did get a quick answer from Jason Milligan at USBC, quoted below.  Obviously I've got the beginning of Old Timer's disease - my memory is gone!!!  It was the original Sur D that I had, I could dent it with my thumbnail.  --  JohnP

Quote
Hello John,
 
Thank you for your questions.

1.  When was the hardness spec implemented? The ABC implemented the specification for hardness of a bowling ball in 1976 according to the documents we still have here at USBC.
 
2.  If it wasn't during the '72 - '74 time period, was the original Sur D Pro specifically made illegal during that period? The Sur D Pro was actually the second release, and it was a little harder (74-76 D) than the original Sur D (68-70 D). The original Sur D would actually have an indentation from the weight of the ball on the ball cup if you didn’t turn the ball every couple days.  The hardness spec did eliminate softer balls from being used during sanctioned league and tournament play, and the Sur D was one of the balls disallowed.  The Sur D Pro would have been a case by case situation because most of them were within specifications from the factory, but could be softened by soaking or temperature.
 
Please let me know if you have any questions. 

Thank you,
 
Jason Milligan
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avabob

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Re: Old timers, which was the best era of bowling?
« Reply #54 on: August 29, 2013, 10:15:25 AM »
I could use my thumbnail and almost tell the hardness of bowls under 76.  At that level I could just make a dent with my nail.  Down in the low 60's it felt like the shell was made of 10 layers of saran wrap. 
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pin-chaser

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Re: Old timers, which was the best era of bowling?
« Reply #55 on: August 30, 2013, 11:05:57 AM »
Guess you would call me an old timer - but bowling lifer is more accurate. I started bowling in the late 60's as a youth. Spent the mid 70's in germany until I was 18 in
1978. So I have seen and have been competive from rubber and shellac (germany was far behind the US) to today. And as many might remember me here, I am a staunch believer that bowling should be more about the physical skills and not any equipment (be it the lane surface, the bowling ball, the oil on the lane or the pins. But it is not and never has been. This game has changed for sure and most of the changes make scoring easier for the majority every night. There will be those that claim differently and I have 1000 of my own items to prove it. None the less, bowling is simply what it is when you bowl in any era. You have to take on the challanges that is in front of you and learn the requirements of that time. Those that do this become good and those that can continue to do this over a life time become great.

So to me the answer to your question is now, this era. I am struggling with todays techmology and my body failing me as I get older. But I have come to realize I cant fret over what I cant change but simply try to continue to learn. And to me, this is what bowling is... a never ending life long passion to excel in which I have had moments that drive me to find more moments.
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Jesse James

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Re: Old timers, which was the best era of bowling?
« Reply #56 on: August 30, 2013, 03:40:33 PM »
Quote from: pin-chaser on August 30, 2013, 11:05:57 AM
None the less, bowling is simply what it is when you bowl in any era. You have to take on the challanges that is in front of you and learn the requirements of that time. Those that do this become good and those that can continue to do this over a life time become great.

So to me the answer to your question is now, this era. I am struggling with todays techmology and my body failing me as I get older. But I have come to realize I cant fret over what I cant change but simply try to continue to learn. And to me, this is what bowling is... a never ending life long passion to excel in which I have had moments that drive me to find more moments.

WOW!! This is a classic quote in my opinion. I'd like to frame it, put it on a plaque and place it on my wall!

Good stuff!
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