My favorite bowling ball of all time is my Columbia Yellow Dot Bleeder. When the lanes are dry enough and I can get right with it, look out! Down and in death to the pins... Also remember, the great Glen Allison shot the first 900 series with a Bleeder while drinking Crown Royal.

Alas, on modern lane conditions, the amount of oil in normal league is too much for this vintage ball. So my quest was to find some way to get the same reaction and ball motion of the Bleeder, but on modern conditions. A tall order to say the least. I have tried urethane and it does not roll like the Bleeder, too early and strong. I have tried resin and it also does not roll like the Bleeder, too late and jumpy. Remember, the Bleeder is “Soft Polyester” which produces a very unique motion on the lane. My Bleeder has the pin 2 ¼” past my pap, so it gets up the lane clean and then rolls up hard in the back going strong across the lane in a smooth continuous motion.

Enter the Fever Pitch, not really urethane, not really resin, “something else.” Also, like my Bleeder, the Fever has no core, it is just a big sphere, so like a pancake weight block ball, I could expect my Bleeder layout on the Fever to produce a similar ball motion. I have had two other Fever’s with different layouts and these balls taught me a lot about the Fever’s potential. So when the Fever was discontinued, I bought one on discount for $80 and put the same layout on it as my Bleeder. I then wet polished the Fever to 5000 grit Trizact and dry sanded “just my track” with a 5000 grit “Creating the Difference” pad. I did this because one of the properties of the Bleeder’s soft polyester is that it will dull out in the track and stay polished everywhere else. I wanted this same effect in my Fever.

The result?

The Storm Fever Pitch is the modern day Yellow Dot Bleeder! It rolls exactly like soft polyester. Same length and strong sweep across the lane. I can get it right and watch it peel back time and time again. This ball hits hard, real hard! And like my Bleeder, the Fever is also good for all spares. It’s a shame the Fever did not make a hit, but for an old school Full Roller like myself, it is like being back in the 70’s!
Also, this may be the most lovely looking ball ever made. Thank you Storm.

Here is a link to a video showing two full games with the Fever: https://youtu.be/6FFszAIvIgE