Pro Bowlers Tour - 1979 King Louie Open - final match

[RollingFX77]

I don't say this about alot of guys - But, Nelson B., Jr. is a handsome looking guy. I'm a guy and I am not gay. :D

[kremplewski]

I enjoyed watching Eddie growling up I knew he died at a young age...

WHAT HAPPENED? I never heard

[ballsofun]

I bowled with Ed in Allentown, PA and graduated with his sister Shelly from Allen High. We kicked each others azz but was always fun. RIP Ed my buddy!!!

[Polishjazzman]

Roth was my favorite bowler when I was a kid. I remember him kicking the return well. Thanks for the memories!

[sawblade5]

What is so sad is AMF is closing down the King Louie West Lanes here in a matter of a few days of this post. They already closed ice rink a few years ago and that is what probably killed the alley.

[nomadcowatbk]

that ice rink closed recently

[themrfreeze07]

I love the sound of a ball rolling down a wood lane. Synthetics just sound so fake.

[CharlieBrownBowler]

I agree! The sound is big part of my enjoyment of the experience of bowling, and today's synthetic lanes just don't sound "right" to me.

[ilovesteelydan]

Brilliant!  Thanks for posting :D

[bowlingfan33]

Did he always kick the ball return? Roth I mean, he did that in the 1984 King Louie Open as well.

[kevindh71]

Roth would always kick the return at King Louie. With the extension of his right foot at the follow-through, the line he would play (middle of the approach, 2nd-3rd arrow), and the style of the ball returns (which was unique to King Louie on the PBA Tour telecasts at the time, I believe), it was awfully hard not to.

Of course, King Louie redid their center around 1985-86... by the time Mark Baker pulled his upset win over WRW in '86, the ball returns became more traditional.

[BowlingOldies]

"Traditional?" What could be more traditional than above-ground ball returns? King Louie West Lanes was one of the last to switch. The ball returns seen here were made to retrofit above ground return systems to covered returns. But like the original above ground ball returns, they extended all the way to the foul line.

[kevindh71]

My fault - I misused the term "traditional". I had meant the ball returns became more like we're used to seeing now. I was actually using the term in a negative light, meaning that when King Louie switched over, the center lost some of its character. Believe me, in the 80's, I would reason "King Louie - Ka-BLAM!" Everything looks so homogenized these days.

BTW, there's one center near me (Fort Park) that still has uncovered above-ground ball returns (by Brunswick). A delight to see.

[parkit56]

Do you remember the Brunswick ball return that was an underlane, but the ball came to the back of the approach came out and then rolled down a straight ball rack that almost went to the fouline. I forgot how good Ressler threw the ball. What ever happened to him? Major props for the videos. Thanks!!