Apologies for the late reply!

Particular thanks to avabob and spmcgivern, I'm 90% sure that it was a Nu-Line Xcalibur! I wasn't completely sure at first as it does look a lot more purple than red, but looking at other images with brighter lighting I can definitely see the swirly red/pink/purple mix and particular sheen that I remember clearly.

That's actually really fascinating to me, at the time I had absolutely no concept of cover stocks or ball types (and barely know now), I just liked playing the game. I had no idea that I actually had one of the original reactive balls! Maybe that explains why I remember so easily hooking my shots as a kid, but nowadays going to the local lanes with just generic house balls I can barely get them to turn?

In any case, thank you very much everyone for the help with the stroll down memory lane! I wonder if those balls can be found nowadays? Replacing the one I lost in our house fire might be a goal now, since I'd actually know what to look for.

Maybe that explains why I remember so easily hooking my shots as a kid, but nowadays going to the local lanes with just generic house balls I can barely get them to turn?

That's right.  Most (probably all) house balls that haven't been "donated" by bowlers are either plastic or urethane.  Neither hooks nearly as much as reactive resin.  --  JohnP

I think he wants one just to have it. Nothing wrong with that. You can probably find a used one on eBay or even check the racks at your local center.

Original excaliber had a high amount of resin additive compared to todays resin ball.  It tended to be sticky and reminded me of the old bleeder yellow dots of the 70's.  Indeed they did die, but no quicker than many of the hook monsters today.  I think a new excaliber, if there were such a thing, would work quite well on todays house shots.  Probably similar to my cobalt vibe.  Remember it was a pearl, and isn't going to hook in heavy oil any more than todays pearls do. 

I'll keep that all in mind, thanks everyone!

But yes, I'm certainly speaking more about finding one again just for the sentimental value in having something that I had lost long ago; I kind of expected that for the cost of a "vintage" ball like that I would be much better served just getting set up with something fresh and current.

In any case, I am so horribly out of practice and clueless on the equipment in general that for now I probably shouldn't worry about picking anything up for a while.

Original excaliber had a high amount of resin additive compared to todays resin ball.  It tended to be sticky and reminded me of the old bleeder yellow dots of the 70's.  Indeed they did die, but no quicker than many of the hook monsters today.  I think a new excaliber, if there were such a thing, would work quite well on todays house shots.  Probably similar to my cobalt vibe.  Remember it was a pearl, and isn't going to hook in heavy oil any more than todays pearls do. 

I remember having some early reactives that I thought died on me.  I wonder now if it really did or if I just did not know enough about how to restore a ball (remove oil, resurface).  As bowlers, we know a lot more about how to maintain bowling balls than we used to.

Before I retired and moved cross-country over 4 years ago, I got rid of a lot of my old reactive balls, but before I did, I decided to give several of them another try. The balls I
parted with included a Brunswick Danger Zone, Columbia Pulse (first version), Columbia Power Torq, and  a Columbia TiBoss. Most of these balls were released in the
mid 90s. In their "day", these balls were great performers for me. However, when I threw them years later, they were nothing but darts.