The PBA Blindly Approved the Ball That Broke the Sport
In 1991 the American Bowling Congress approved a coverstock chemistry it didn't understand. Within fifteen months the inventor admitted it killed bowling.
The Nu-Line Xcalibur was the first reactive resin bowling ball. PBA Tour pro Marc McDowell threw a Purple Xcalibur at the 1992 PBA AC-Delco Classic on January 7th and rewrote the floor for what was possible. Three months later he won the Firestone Tournament of Champions on a coverstock no regulator had stress-tested on an oiled lane.
McDowell wasn't just a bowler. In 1991 and 1992 he was the sitting president of the PBA AND a serving ambassador for the ABC. The first man to throw a reactive resin ball on television was inside both the players' organization and the regulator at the moment he threw it.
ABC perfect-game tallies rose 18.6% in twelve months. PBA scoring records that had stood for decades fell within months.
Full breakdown: youtu.be/0bT1uYzYgoI
