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In 1933 Walter Skang Mercureo averaged 238 for a league season
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If someone averaged 238 back in 1933, with a 2 finger rubber ball, on pins with no void, what do you think the lane condition was like..? They certainly weren't tough..!! Obviously the lane man knew what he was doing, oiling the lanes by hand. So, super high scoring conditions have been around for a very long time.
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 that average lasted 39 years before it was broke in 1972 by Mike Durbin.Since 1972 the 238 average has been broke 5000 times.
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The difference now is that in the old days, only a very few lanemen knew what they were doing, in order to get high scores. Today, with lane machines and better training, every center can put down a good high scoring shot.

The only thing that has changed today is that more centers know how to put out a high scoring shot than in the old days.

Now, lets talk about what makes a high scoring lane condition. We all know, and hopefully agree that a lane needs oil, to protect the wood/finnish.

In the days of lacquer, the oil was buffed evenly across the whole lane. Basically a flat pattern. It was applied to the whole 60 ft. of the lane.

Now if you think about it, the ball would not hook anywhere on the lane. That means if you stood left, and angled your body to the right, keeping your shoulders open(which is how everyone bowls today), you could YANK the ball as much as you wanted, and the ball would not hook.

So, basically there was a ton of hold, to the point where if you stood to the left, your ball would always stay on the right side of the headpin, no matter how much you YANKED IT.

But, if you did hit the pocket, you couldn't carry, because your ball was sliding, unless you hit it dead perfect.

There were no high scores until THE TRACK WORE INTO THE LANE..!! Now, you could throw the ball a little to the right, and the ball would grip and hook, giving you better carry.

So, for all you bowlers who think that high scores today come from having a puddle in the middle, THINK AGAIN..!!

There was always a puddle in the middle, but it's the dry boards to the right that gives you high scores.

So, if you want lower scores, don't take the oil off the lane, or out of the middle, take away the dry boards and put MORE OIL on the lane..!!

Even if you regulate the ball surface, which is one of the major contributors to high scoring, because of the INCREASED FRICTION, you will still need to have more oil on the lane to combat high scoring, by bowlers who don't deserve them.

Because, even if you regulated balls to be made with only a plastic surface, if the lanes are dry, the ball will still hook and carry for everyone.

So, if you really want a sport condition, oil the lanes at least 50 feet and put it down heavy..!! =:^D

Great post!
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Add some steering fluid, watch that ball turn!!!

http://www.gci-net.com/users/s/statsplus/home.htm

high scoring in bowling is nothing new----it's the WAY the high scoring is caused that's different. in the days of shellac and no oil( before the late 1940's ) the bowlers played in the groove or track area caused by the balls travel down the lane. in the lacquer era( late 1940's to the late 1960's ) ) oil was applied 60' down the lane until the automatic pinspotter was brought out by amf. too many "out of range" calls caused the oil pattern to be shortened. bowlers of this era still played in the track area of the lane. bowlers relied more on accuracy and speed control since the hard rubber balls had no track flare to speak of. pins in these eras were solid wood with flat bottoms. when plasic balls came along and the polyurethane lane surface became common in the 1970's this increased hooking power more than ever. these balls did not flare either so a player still had to be accurate. with the advent of urethane balls in the 1980's hooking power had increased again and if you had any hand you were a power player who could have a wider pocket than a player who relied solely on accuracy and speed control. when the 1990's came along reactive balls and synthetic lane surfaces increased hooking power even more. these balls also had track flare to go along with their hooking power and you had even more margin of error. i think high scores have always been there but HOW they were achieved is different.