AMF Bowling Stars - Welu vs King 1957 - "Whispering Joe Wilson"

Here is another great early bowling TV show.

[@nwtraveler5266]

The scorer draws perfect numbers. I remember this when I was young. Fun to see again. I get tired of the two-handed bowlers.

[@smilanesi98]

I miss Joe Wilson. He loved sports. He did hockey as well. And broadcast Game 6 of the 1961 Stanley Cup final that brought the trophy to the Blackhawks. He must have had fun back then.

[@Clothahump1]

Billy Welu was my first bowling coach. He died way too young.

[@smilanesi98]

WAY too young. Always loved his body language when he knew a strike was coming.

[@TheBatugan77]

Billy's knowledge, and his clear folksy way of imparting that knowledge, was terrific. I enjoyed him on ABC in the 1970s.

[@jayraft3013]

Whispering Joe Wilson is the best announcer ever. He creates so much tension and excitement.

[@Missouramule]

LOVE this! I remember Billy Welu, though not when he was this young. IMO, this is SO much better than today's broadcasts. And the scorekeeping? That's how I learned simple math in the old days - by keeping score.

[@treebuck]

Forget the bowling, the guy writing the scores always fascinated me as a kid. I wanted that job SO bad.

[@bobstewart8032]

These are fun to watch! Depending when this was in 1957...my parents were getting ready to graduate high school or just graduated. They wouldn't meet until the fall of 1960.

[@gotacallfromvishal]

these cameras angles are the best i have ever seen for bowling. just one shot for every shot from behind is actually really nice

[@LaptopLarry330]

This show was kinescoped one year before the founding of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) in 1958. All televised bowling prior to 1958, was under the sanctioning of the American Bowling Congress (ABC), a sanctioning body that still operates today.

[@bigsky4956]

bowlers use to have to rely on their skills. The game has changed so much. Heck I still have a Manhattan Rubber and a AMF three dot bowling balls. Back in 1973-1976 I was able to work at the University of Montana's bowling center in the University center, sadly that's gone today

[@JBSCAR]

This is so awesome! Its great how these guys have only 1 ball each, with no inserts, or fancy wrist bands. Now adays, everyone whines and cries about the lanes and needs 15 balls. 8 strike balls and 7 spare balls LOL....

[@paxhumana2015]

Is not bowling simply having fun on the lanes?

[@therainmakerinsider]

Ok Boomer.

[@SlimJimJoey]

It goes hand in hand with the “participation trophy” crowd, league bowlers want their high scores without the skill to do it.

[@charlesharred9643]

@@therainmakerinsider what's wrong he strike a nerve.

[@charlesharred9643]

@@SlimJimJoey Because most of of the skill set comes right out of the box.

[@riversarcadereview385]

LOVE the 10 in the pit and NO messengers

[@tirmyta]

I love how "Whispering Joe" would gasp in horror when a bowler made a bad shot.

[@charleslaughton8092]

LOL... a good example at 16:29-16:31

[@paxhumana2015]

I heard moments like that when I watched bowling on ABC (the American one, not the Australian one) on Saturday afternoons back in the 1980s and 1990s.

[@_1ben]

amazing accuracy , out of balance, bad form , low revs, most body english i've seen ,outstanding. thank you for sharing ! love the crowd

[@108CAM]

This may be one of the oldest surviving videos showing the AMF 82-30 Pinspotter

[@kraigkosier9026]

Dancing Big Billy and Leg Shaking Johnny put on a great show!

[@tenfourproductionsllc]

Bowling was good for television at the time, cheap to produce without the need for high def cameras. And for those bowlers, those lights were really bright on them because it had to be for television.

[@NipkowDisk]

Back when Billy Welu used what we now call the 'figure-eight' backswing... classic.

[@DREADN0UGHTT]

Welu's release is so interesting. I like it.

[@no1froggy]

Awesome stuff, scoring like that with nothing more than a lump of rubber, They also had the added handicap of having trousers that probably chafed them under the armpits!.

[@riverdealer]

this is REAL bowling when there was no such thing as consistency on the lanes...even if you used one of today's lane machines right after resurfacing the lanes they still wouldn't be identical because wood has slight variances

[@paxhumana2015]

Who are you to declare what is "real bowling" and what is "not real bowling"? Is not real bowling simply having fun on the lanes?

[@riverdealer]

@@paxhumana2015 - a mechanic, laneman, and purist who has seen way to many changes for the worse

[@LowEnd31st]

Those pins sound HEAVY

[@aaronroberts7720]

Great match

[@rl373]

Welu is 26 years of age here and looks 50.

[@floxy20]

Almost any old photo of people seems to age them. I don't have a clue why.

[@lukeheaton5336]

I’m thinking that any photo or film taken in black and white tends to age the subject.

[@smilanesi98]

Billy Welu tended to hit the bottle too much.

[@TheNoncritical1]

@@smilanesi98 Look up the sin of detraction.

[@SuperBorg1]

taking advantage of the track in the lanes

[@riverdealer]

no "2 handed" bowling her...this is REAL bowling

[@christopherdunne7848]

....or constant chanting from the audience...

[@drummachine434]

Exactly, 2 handed bowlers are garbage

[@tomy5868]

plastic and rubber on wood lanes. get it done fellas.

[@tomy5868]

not with a Brunswick Black Beauty on wood lanes.

[@tomy5868]

most of them could not throw the plastic or rubber...depend on revs and mixing everything up. those old wood lanes burn up quick and bending the ball wont work. throwing straight on a first ball is NOT a forte anymore. those lanes with that equipment...those old guys would crush.

[@garla5851]

1957 Didn’t know they had such modern lanes, and underground ball returns?? I remember even bowing at a place in the 60’s with my dad, and a guy was manually setting pins!!🙄

[@paxhumana2015]

@Gar La, your particular bowling alley was a bit behind the times.

[@smmac7737]

@@paxhumana2015 Some bowling alleys couldn't install automatics because they lacked space behind the lanes.

[@smmac7737]

The Brunswick A2 became available in the early 60's.

[@garla5851]

Pax Humana That particular establishment had 2 floors, my Dad and I were there for Open Bowling, the first floor with automatic Pinsetters was full, they put us on the second floor, we were the only ones up there, and the pins were manually set, it was very quiet and we could hear the pin setter constantly talking and mumbling to himself !! 😁

[@johncook209]

Both of those guys didnt stay behind their shot at release. Looked like they both threw what was called a full roller back then. Almost like the thumb and fingers at same time. Thumb at 9 o clock. Balls were hard as a rock

[@mr.c1563]

The guy in darker clothes looks like he's wearing a mechanics jumpsuit!

[@christopherdunne7848]

Why was it so important back then to show the “mark advantage”-and when was that jettisoned? I was born in 1959 and I suppose my first recollection of TV bowling was around 1963; and I never saw that mark thing watching TV as a child.

[@kgoundan]

No graphics. Back then they had to show the hand-written scoreboard.

[@diane9247]

Just think, these people are a lot younger than they look. 😎

[@wf94555]

Old timers know the ball will be there off the hand. The new bowlers "run it out" after they see the ball going into the pocket.

[@paxhumana2015]

What is wrong with using either approach in bowling?

[@keithchrysler3732]

A really short approach compared to today's alleys. Those AMF machines must be pre 82 30s which I believe were first approved by the ABC in '63. (Correct me if I'm wrong).

[@user-ch2px8sb9g]

AMF 82-30 started 1955

[@keithchrysler3732]

@@user-ch2px8sb9g I'm just going by the KZbin video showing 63 as being the first year approved by the ABC.

[@tomy5868]

little hop, skip and jump at the end of every shot is freakin awesome.

[@paxhumana2015]

@C-Bomb , I found the elitist edge lord!

[@tomy5868]

@C-Bomb classic 50s bowling. Classic is above your head.

[@paxhumana2015]

You know, I wish that more bowling lanes not only would have the lit pins over the lane, albeit in an LCD screen in the modern time, but that also had it on the scoreboards as well and that there would also be indicators for strikes, spares, gutter balls, and turkeys over both the lanes and the scoreboards. I would also like for AMF to work out a deal to revive this program in the modern era with either ESPN or FOX Sports. I think that if modern bowling had a similar set up, as well as some golf commentators covering the program, then it would be a good idea, and ditto for the prize bounties. I regret not being old enough to have seen this event on a television, let alone in person, but I at least grew up watching it in the 1980s and I still watch it in the modern era, though getting it on over the air stations is less and less common.

[@bobstewart8032]

Was did a nationally televised show?

[@LaptopLarry330]

No, it was a syndicated program.

[@LaptopLarry330]

ABC/ Dumont aired bowling in 1949/50. “Jackpot Bowling” aired on NBC from 1959 to 1961. “Championship Bowling” aired on ABC from 1961 to 1964.

[@stilltlrforlife]

Why can't people have this much class now? We lost something special along the way. The body language is hilarious, however as an avid bowler myself, I know darn well I do the same things except the jumping up and down when rolling a good shot..lol. Even after my first 300 game I didn't do that

[@christopherdunne7848]

I was born in 1959. I watched bowling on TV growing up, but they did away with that "mark difference" on the scoreboard. Apparently it didn't tell us anything, as far as what was needed by each bowler to pull ahead or break even. I wonder when they did away with it. Is this pre-PBA founding, and PBA did away with it?

[@LaptopLarry330]

This is pre-PBA bowling. the American Bowling Congress sanctioned bowling for pros in those days.

[@LaptopLarry330]

The networks and syndicators wouldn’t give needed airtime for bowlers, until ABC gave them their own program in 1965.

[@mrb43605]

These are excellent video....when bowling took talent! Too bad technology took over the game! Talent is almost useless now!

[@pablolacruz2652]

That pretty much goes for everything these days. Now the only talent worth having is the talent to make money.

[@2badger2]

Welu has a lot of body language ...

[@DoRayMeFa]

Hmmm $1080 in 1957 inflates to $9,803 in April 2018. Just sayin'.

[@SlimJimJoey]

DoRayMeFa Bowling doesn’t get its due diligence when it comes to the professional level compared to other sports. Top prize for a major title is only $100,000.

[@watson956]

Interesting use of the word "rail" instead of what we have call a "split" in all the (many!) decades I've been bowling.

[@Mikey300]

watson956 Long ago, I read that “railroad” was an alternate term for “split”; probably because a straight-across split looks somewhat like a pair of railroad tracks.

[@bobg4657]

Johnny King had a horrible back swing - wrapped around his back.

[@roberta-ls9lr]

Hey Bob G, Johnny King used to bowl with a cigar in his mouth. It didn't do too much for the image of bowling back then. But we as kids thought this was different.

[@rileybrown2271]

Wtf are these mannerisms

[@LaptopLarry330]

This was 1957 in the Midwest. It was a different world back then.

[@TheBatugan77]

Wtf are you?