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Author Topic: Top Five Bowling Balls of ALL-Time  (Read 46181 times)

strikecing

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Top Five Bowling Balls of ALL-Time
« on: December 26, 2008, 02:00:58 AM »
So name your top five bowling balls in order of your favorite.  Just for fun and no praticular brand. Ill start!!

1. Storm Tropical
2. Orginal Inferno
3. Fired Up
4. X-Factor Ace
5. Roto Grip Cell
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Shaggy

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Re: Top Five Bowling Balls of ALL-Time
« Reply #61 on: December 28, 2008, 05:58:14 PM »
Top five to date:

1) Lanemaster Buzz
2) Dynothane Thing Returns
3) Lanemaster AP2
4) Lanemaster Sting
5) Storm X=It
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You will not see me on the PBA Tour, but I love the game!!!
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You will not see me on the PBA Tour, but I love the game!!!

thumper

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Re: Top Five Bowling Balls of ALL-Time
« Reply #62 on: December 28, 2008, 05:59:17 PM »
1. Black Widow
2. V2
3. Throttle Up
4. Wicked (black & red)
5. Blue Hammer
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Bigmike

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Re: Top Five Bowling Balls of ALL-Time
« Reply #63 on: December 29, 2008, 10:01:36 AM »
quote:
Columbia 300 Yellow Dot Bleeder
Brunswick Danger Zone
Hammer 3D Offset High Rev
Excalibur/Turbo X
Black Angle


all 5 balls have some historical importance in bowling


I'll bite: what historical importance does the Hammer Offset have? If you are referring to the hot spot, Brunswick had the secondary pin marked about 6 years earlier in there Phantom line of balls.

Not trying to bash as each of those balls were very good and on racks everywhere for a couple of seasons, just not sure what some of the "historical" perspective is on a couple of those.

My top 5 would be

1) Columbia Caramel White Dot - The first true polyester ball (when they called bowling balls polyester and not plastic). Columbia had made a ball softer than the older hard rubber balls on the market. This led to unique gripping capabilites that no other company had. It was also a different color than solid black. Nowadays a black bowling ball does not seem to sell very well and are rarely seen period. Back then, a bowling ball with colors was for women and children and the serious bowlers threw a black rubber ball. The Caramel White Dot changed all of that.

2) AMF Angle - changed the game forever as the ball could still be hard (75 on the durometer) and grip the lane stronger than any surface on the market. The bleeder YD and Sur-D were checking in under 70 hardness with some as soft as 60 on the durometer. Those are the Sur D's that left the ring on the ball from the ball cup. The Angle was still hard enough to pass standards (and hard to work out, just ask any older pro shop guy who had to bevel the fingers/thumb on an Angle) but gripped more than the softer rubber Brunswick LT-48 which was the hookingist ball on the market at the time. Rubber is now non existant in bowling balls and plastic is called a "spare" ball and rarely thrown.

3) Faball Original Black Hammer - the first two piece urethane ball on the market. The weight block was not a pancake in this one like others before it and then folks like Wayne Webb figured out how to position the weight block to maximize or mimimize ball reactions. There is not a ball company on the market now who puts out a high end three-piece pancake style weight block and markets it for their premium price slots. Also ball layout and design is now a major factor in fine tuning ball reaction. Thank the Hammer for that.

4) NuLine Excalibur - The grandaddy of all reactive bowling balls. This ball had a two-piece weight block and a sticky, tacky, "reactive" urethane coverstock. The motion was similar to a plastic ball in that it cleared the front part of the lane rather easily and then it looked like someone kicked it left at the breakpoint. The Excalibur changed how to read ball reaction and soon every company was trying to rush one out or figure out what made the Excalibur so unique.

T5) Brunswick Jade Quantum - The first true particle ball. This ball sparked a period in the late 90's/early 2000's where every company started to produce a particle ball. Some like Brunswick and Columbia made some very hot and unique balls (Azure Pro Zone & Chaos) that were on ball returns everywhere. Also the particle ball started to tear up the front part of the lane and accelerated lane bed wear and tear to the point that many centers had to replace there lanes with synthetics faster than they initially wanted. Even those synthetic lanes were now getting a "ball track" faster because of the particle period.

T5) Brunswick Phantom series - The first ball where track flare was explored and made managable. The folks at Brunswick had really did there homework on this ball as they had a marked secondary "pin" along with the primary pin. By positioning the primary and secondary pins, a pro shop operator could truly fine tune ball reaction with some measurable and repeatable degree of accuracy. Brunswick also explored what effects weight holes have on the flare potential of a ball and what change weight hole placement had on flare. The drilling instructions were truly revolutionary and confusing for some folks. It is too bad this ball came out right when the Excalibur took off. Many people just ignored the Phantom but are still using the techniques to manage track flare to this very day.
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"Why don't you call me sometime.....when you have no class" ~~Rodney Dangerfield to his college professor in Back to School ~~1986

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Krakken

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Re: Top Five Bowling Balls of ALL-Time
« Reply #64 on: December 29, 2008, 11:41:34 AM »
quote:
There were balls made before 1995, you know






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Edited on 12/26/2008 9:54 PM


Yes there were, and anything made after them is better.  It is just the way technology works.  No one is throwing urethane now, and if you handed Dick Weber a Cell back in the day, he would probably never lose.
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cudaskater123

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Re: Top Five Bowling Balls of ALL-Time
« Reply #65 on: December 29, 2008, 11:48:48 AM »
I guess these are my top 5 favorites:

1. Columbia 300 U-Turn Particle
2. Columbia 300 Game
3. Hammer Raw Hammer Toxic
4. Storm Super Charge
5. Dyno-thane Element NE10
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leftyinsnellville

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Re: Top Five Bowling Balls of ALL-Time
« Reply #66 on: December 29, 2008, 11:49:34 AM »
Columbia 300 Reaction Arc
Lanemasters Black Pearl
Brunswick Raging Red Fuze
Hammer Black Widow
900 Global Break
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220...221...whatever it takes.
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Krumpy300

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Re: Top Five Bowling Balls of ALL-Time
« Reply #67 on: December 29, 2008, 11:59:14 AM »
Top 5 All Time

AMF 3 Dot
Columbia Yellow Dot Bleeder
Black Hammer
NUline Excaliber
Brunswick Teal Rhino Pro

My personal favorite 5

Columbia Black U-Dot
Hammer Red Pearl
Roto Grip Retro Blue
900 Global Break Solid
Lanemasters Buzz

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Repetition is everything..

Edited on 12/29/2008 8:33 PM
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MuncieBowler

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Re: Top Five Bowling Balls of ALL-Time
« Reply #68 on: December 29, 2008, 04:05:56 PM »
Mine would have to be:

1. Ebonnite Turbo X
2. Hammer Big Blue Pearl
3. Storm Meteor Flash
4. RotoGrip Horizon
5. Ebonite Total NV
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KingofKings696

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Re: Top Five Bowling Balls of ALL-Time
« Reply #69 on: December 29, 2008, 04:18:33 PM »
Actually I know of quite a few who still roll the old pills. I am 18yrs old and actually prefer the reaction of the old equipment and have shot more high scores with stuff almost as old as me as I have with the latest and greatest.
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Raven829

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Re: Top Five Bowling Balls of ALL-Time
« Reply #70 on: December 29, 2008, 04:30:57 PM »
Nitro R^2
Rapid Fire Solid
Epic
Uranium Pearl
Black Widow

Don
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bgballer42

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Re: Top Five Bowling Balls of ALL-Time
« Reply #71 on: December 29, 2008, 04:53:06 PM »
Momentum
Perfect Rival
Rival
Backyard Bully
Lane #1 Dirty Bomb
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ebo4life

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Re: Top Five Bowling Balls of ALL-Time
« Reply #72 on: December 29, 2008, 05:03:56 PM »
1.  Ebonite Big one
2. Ebonite complete nv
3. Track Triton elite
4. Ebonite turbo-x
5. Ebonite nitro/r

Honorable mention to Track Critical mass code red (both versions) and Brunswick Battle Zone Bullet,Blue Hammer, and Brunswick Sapphire Zone (My 6-10)
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Brunswick Bowler

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Re: Top Five Bowling Balls of ALL-Time
« Reply #73 on: December 29, 2008, 05:15:24 PM »
Speed Zone Blue Vapor
3D Offset Tour
Cuda/C
OutRage
Pearl XCalibur

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Andyman3333

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Re: Top Five Bowling Balls of ALL-Time
« Reply #74 on: December 29, 2008, 05:21:22 PM »
1. Storm Tour Power
2. Mo Rich Labrinth
3. Brunswick Twisted Fury
4. Ebonite Infinite One
5. Storm Virtual Gravity (This may take the cake when I get more games on it.)
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Arsenal: Twisted Fury, Complete NV, Thunderstruck Pearl, Momentum, Uprising, Swarm, NVD.
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jls

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Re: Top Five Bowling Balls of ALL-Time
« Reply #75 on: December 30, 2008, 10:30:57 AM »
Yellow Dot
Lt-48
Black U Dot
Danger Zone
Chaos

They were all Huge Sellers!!!!

Piranha..... When this ball was seen on TV, you could not keep them in stock.
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jls

Edited on 12/30/2008 11:32 AM
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