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Author Topic: Older (1990-1995) bowling ball catalogs?  (Read 12731 times)

Raccoon

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Older (1990-1995) bowling ball catalogs?
« on: August 06, 2017, 01:46:21 PM »
First post here, apologies if this is not the best spot for the question.

To keep it short and to the point, I've been trying to figure out what sort of ball I used to have as a kid, only remembering that it was "candy apple" red, a shiny dark swirled red with pink sheen. My dad had allowed me to pick it out after I bowled my first 200 game in 1994, but I couldn't even guess at a brand. Sadly it was lost in a house fire.

I'm wondering if anyone can point me toward any sort of archive of old bowling ball catalogs to browse? I've been scouring online, but I feel like none of the major manufacturers have older promotional materials available.

I've been dipping my toe back into bowling after not having been to a lane in 20 years. I absolutely lived at my local alley when I was around 10 years old, but we moved and I had nowhere to play so that was kind of the end of my interest in it. But man oh man did I love that ball.

Thanks for any suggestions!

 

Raccoon

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Re: Older (1990-1995) bowling ball catalogs?
« Reply #16 on: August 18, 2017, 02:11:10 PM »
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.

HackJandy

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Re: Older (1990-1995) bowling ball catalogs?
« Reply #17 on: August 18, 2017, 02:16:04 PM »
Sadly the X-Caliber today would probably only be a good spare ball.  Especially since from what I understand those balls hook would die very quickly with use as well even back in the day (ball death big issue for early reactives).  I can speak from experience that urethanes from that era such as the Faball Hammers (have Burgundy, Black and Red Razor) are still usable today and best of all urethane doesn't really die with age.  Unless paying hundreds for NIB early reactives if going retro I recommend sticking with urethane.
« Last Edit: August 18, 2017, 05:59:32 PM by HackJandy »
Kind of noob when made this account so take advice with grain of salt.

JohnP

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Re: Older (1990-1995) bowling ball catalogs?
« Reply #18 on: August 18, 2017, 04:17:09 PM »
Quote
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

HackJandy

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Re: Older (1990-1995) bowling ball catalogs?
« Reply #19 on: August 18, 2017, 05:39:41 PM »
One other to keep in mind is the lane conditioners have become much slicker than 20 years ago and modern lanes tend to be much harder than the wood lanes that were the norm back then.  Often even 10 year old reactives meant for heavy oil can barely handle house shots (medium oil generally) today.  All that said don't stress too much about equipment.  Best bet is to find a good bowling pro shop near you and talk with him or her about your what would be best for you.  I would probably steer clear of ebay until after talking to a pro shop operator.
« Last Edit: August 18, 2017, 05:58:33 PM by HackJandy »
Kind of noob when made this account so take advice with grain of salt.

Impending Doom

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Re: Older (1990-1995) bowling ball catalogs?
« Reply #20 on: August 18, 2017, 05:59:23 PM »
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.

HackJandy

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Re: Older (1990-1995) bowling ball catalogs?
« Reply #21 on: August 18, 2017, 06:01:03 PM »
Oh ok.  In which case he is in luck. 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nu-Line-Xcalibur-Used-16-Pound-Bowling-Ball-/132295803015?hash=item1ecd71c087:g:RKwAAOSwQwBZklB7

Not hard to get me to look at ebay gems these days.
« Last Edit: August 18, 2017, 06:03:06 PM by HackJandy »
Kind of noob when made this account so take advice with grain of salt.

avabob

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Re: Older (1990-1995) bowling ball catalogs?
« Reply #22 on: August 18, 2017, 06:05:10 PM »
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. 

HackJandy

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Re: Older (1990-1995) bowling ball catalogs?
« Reply #23 on: August 18, 2017, 06:09:32 PM »
Ok.  Makes sense.  Being such a Faball lover not one to assume only the latest greatest will work.  Nice to hear even some of the reactives from that era are viable.  Just didn't want to steer someone to a spare ball when they are expecting more.
« Last Edit: August 18, 2017, 06:12:07 PM by HackJandy »
Kind of noob when made this account so take advice with grain of salt.

Raccoon

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Re: Older (1990-1995) bowling ball catalogs?
« Reply #24 on: August 18, 2017, 06:52:28 PM »
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.

MI 2 AZ

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Re: Older (1990-1995) bowling ball catalogs?
« Reply #25 on: August 18, 2017, 07:08:42 PM »
One other to keep in mind is the lane conditioners have become much slicker than 20 years ago and modern lanes tend to be much harder than the wood lanes that were the norm back then.  Often even 10 year old reactives meant for heavy oil can barely handle house shots (medium oil generally) today.  All that said don't stress too much about equipment.  Best bet is to find a good bowling pro shop near you and talk with him or her about your what would be best for you.  I would probably steer clear of ebay until after talking to a pro shop operator.

I just dug out my Blue Warlock (1997) and it still hooks plenty on THS.  In fact, I think I should have gone to a weaker ball that day but I wanted to put some games on it since I was testing if I could throw 15 and it was the only 15 I had brought.
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MI 2 AZ

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Re: Older (1990-1995) bowling ball catalogs?
« Reply #26 on: August 18, 2017, 07:11:25 PM »
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.
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HackJandy

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Re: Older (1990-1995) bowling ball catalogs?
« Reply #27 on: August 18, 2017, 07:33:20 PM »
Yeah didn't get my first reactive I think until the late 90s and they're all long gone for reasons other than ball death.  Oldest reactive I have currently is a BVP Rampage and yeah its still a beast on the right conditions.  Not a reactive but I threw my new old Faball black hammer today and was surprised how strong it was on THS as well.   Might have to do with I got very lucky and ball had 2nd hand fingertip grip drilled I don't usually use that fit.  Definitely hits a ton still.
« Last Edit: August 18, 2017, 07:48:44 PM by HackJandy »
Kind of noob when made this account so take advice with grain of salt.

bergman

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Re: Older (1990-1995) bowling ball catalogs?
« Reply #28 on: August 18, 2017, 08:40:33 PM »
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.