In regards to the past (pre-1977), the ABC was quite strict about lane conditioning.
In those days stacking oil in the middle of the lane (blocking/crowning) was illegal.
In fact, many of you who were around prior to 1977 can surely remember how many times the ABC had rejected "honor" scores, because of lane blocking.
Granted, the ABC
didn't have the technology that the USBC has today in measuring the lateral distribution of oil on the lane. Instead, they mostly relied on the old "finger test" .
It really wasn't until the ABC dramatically eased the rules that lane blocking/crowning
became the "norm", at least as far as what we refer to as the typical house shot today. The primary reason for the change was due to the fact that bowling proprietors were the ones getting the flak from their league bowlers when their honor scores were being rejected. The other reason being that back then, if a league bowler shot say, a 300, the lanes had to be shut down and the bowler's equipment was "confiscated" until an ABC inspector came to the site to verify if in fact, the score was bowled under the rules. This became somewhat of a logistical
problem for both, the ABC and the proprietor.
So with all due respect to those who believe that lane blocking/crowning was always
part of the game, I know from experience that it was not. Prior to 1977, it was much, much harder to get the ball to the pocket under the ABC's lane conditioning rules in effect at that time. The proof can also be found in the comparison of data as it relates to the number of honor scores bowled before and after 1977. Since then, there has been a dramatic increase. Some of it due to today's balls but a lot of it is also due to
the relaxation of the lane conditioning rules.
The "THS" was a whole different animal in those days. It was a lot tougher one.
