wow the fight is still going on..... this floods my facebook....

Pretty much agree with ICDeadmoney although I am not sure LaHabra 300 Bowl
altered the lanes in non-conformance  with the ABC rules that were in place at that time.

For me, the bigger dilemma with trying to overturn the ABC's decision is if they
did agree to sanction Glenn's 900 series (after 33 years), then anybody else that had
an honor score or series denied at that time could potentially demand that their scores /series be recognized as well. There could be a exception. That exception being that if
there was credible evidence that showed that the ABC, in denying his 900, did it in complete disregard of its own physical standards , and in addition, rendered its denial
for arbitrary and capricious reasons. All of these questions, one would assume, were already asked and answered when Glenn filed his appeal 33+ years ago in accordance
with the ABC's appeals process.

Glenn Allison is undoubtedly one of the very best to ever play the game. His record
stands on its own. However, there comes a time when issues need to be finally put to rest. One of them is the dispute over his 900 series and whether it needs to be
sanctioned. For all of the reasons I mentioned above, I say no. 

All water under the bridge now, unfortunately, but I disagree strongly with a couple of points made by icFirst, the measurement criteria in place at the time were so subjective as to be almost unenforceable.  In addition the really amazing thing about 900 at that time was the ability to carry 36 shots in a row with a yellow dot. 

I personally threw see several 300s during that era and observed dozens more that were passed on lane conditions that were not compliant with rules inder amendment 4, in effect at the time
  I eas personally familiar with 2 scores that were thrown out and can attest that the decision one way or the other was arbitrary and capricious to the point that it should have been unenforceable.
Bottom line, it is sad that Allisons 900 was  the most challenging and difficult ever given the equipment and environment of the era and yet was not sanctioned

Not probably... DEFINITELY the most legitimate... 36 on wood with a yellow dot... Wow.

Quote from: ICDeadMoney on November 30, 2016, 12:28:27 PM

Glenn Allison was robbed!! (maybe)

Not by ABC, but by La Habra 300.

I say maybe, because may have thrown 36 shots that would strike without the help of easy lanes, or maybe a few of the shots wouldn't have struck, we'll never know.

Hard to say whether he was necessarily jobbed...as I recalled the story, this was a second-shift league.  As such, you are already on sloppy seconds from whoever was on the lanes previous (and back then, MANY houses filled both an early AND a late shift). 

There is no question that proprietors put shots out in that era that were barely legal before the first ball was thrown, but by the end of the shift, you could probably find MANY a lane that was unintentionally out of compliance. 

I remember being told that a true inspection following a 300 game would likely result in next to no honor scores being approved.  If not the lane condition, as shown in the tapes that had to be pulled, then in the sideboards or pins being off-spot. 

If he had shot 900 on the fresh shot, then it would be easier to accept that the house screwed the pooch.  Instead, he simply came out, shot lights out on a night where most in the league struggled and is a footnote in history as a result of his efforts.  Ironically, he is perhaps the ONLY person many can name for those who have shot 900 despite being one who does have official recognition OF that event...

Back in those days the ball didn't do as much "damage" to the oil pattern as a resin ball does.

I bowled in many second shift leagues and it didn't have a negative effect on average.

You could come in the next afternoon practice, after the women or senior league and still have a playable condition.

I shot my 1st 300 on the 24' limited distance rules, and they sent someone out that night to inspect.  It passed.   That was in a house that had the PBA come in during the summer schedule, so the house was probably better maintained than most.

As far as knowing knowing someone who shot 900....

Back in 95 I was visiting a friend who was bowling and as they were finishing league, the 16 yr old kid working at the front desk was going to practice.

My friend said to stick around and watch the kid.  After a couple shots it was clear the kid had a clue.  He started deep inside, but never got the ball outside of 15.

A few years later he (Vince Wood) shot the 4th certified 900, and averaged as high as 250 in league.

Our area had another 900 in 2012 or so, by Jimmy Schmitzer.  I'm not sure, but the little I saw of him, he might qualify as a special needs child.

In the 70s it was actually easier on second shifts.  People played the same areas of the lane and the balls tended to track the pattern not bkow it up.  Things started to change with the introduction of urethane balls and limited distance dressing.  Allison shot his 900 before the limited distance rule.  The rule still in effect then was that oil had to be applied evenly gutter to gutter.  If there was a perceptible build up toward the center it could be called illegal.  Comparing it to modern rules, some sport patterns wouldnt ve in compliance

I guess we have a different memory of the times.

In the early 70's were with rubber and plastic balls.

The lanes had lacquer finish, which was a soft material, and oil would settle into "dimples" in the finish.  Due to the softness the ball track would create a depression in the area most used, which was a fairly straight line towards the pocket.

The depression would effectively help guide the ball towards the pocket if you got the ball into the groove.  If you played the wrong angle, you would pass across the groove with no help from it.  You could hook the ball, but again no help from the groove.

To be competitive with the best at that time, you had to use the groove, which meant "straighter is greater"

Also at that time, left handers didn't "dominate" because they didn't build a groove on their side.

Then along came water based urethane lane finishes.

It's a harder material, without the "dimples".

The common complaint was that the oil moved around on the surface too much.

The real issue was the ball didn't create the depression towards the pocket, so "straighter was just straighter" and people who chose to hook the ball could become competitive. 

Left handers became more competitive because of the help taken away from the straight  right handers.

Bowling ball companies decided to "help" the straighties with urethane which accepted sanding more effectively than plastic.  Urethane allowed the "dead handers" to get the ball to find a little friction and generate a bit of entry angle.

At the same time, the "live handers" benefited from the additional friction as well.

To put it on a scale, the coefficient of friction of a plastic ball to dry lane was something like 0.12, and urethane was something like 0.14, while resin is something like 0.26.

When Allison shot 900, it's true, it was before limited distance dressing, but limited distance was ABC's response to proprietors and the walled up lane conditions so prevalent during the days that Allison shot 900.

Somewhere in the 90's ABC/USBC gave up on oil pattern rules which opened the flood gates on honor scores.

With the current set of rules on oil patterns, and resin balls, it appears bowling is back to playing the groove (created by oil, and dry boards) and still get entry angle due to the resin balls.

The bottom line is Glenn Allison threw 36 consecutive strikes with a plastic ball on a the second shift. No bowler today could come close to accomplishing that. And, no 900 series shot since was bowled on a tough or challenging shot!