USA was so good to the PBA with their quality on the telecasts, interviews, etc. Love watching the shows they did. Durbin was definitely one of the best Pro's to have done the commentating. Very informative, and his coaching was spot on.
As soon as I realized in the semifinal match that the two people in Wayne Webb's way were Gil Sliker and a guy I'd never heard of, I knew what the outcome would be. Always enjoy watching PBA telecasts I've never seen before just the same.
That guy you never heard of, Mike Lettick, was one of my very close friends in CT and I even worked for him in his pro shops. The first two times I saw him bowl before I knew him, he shot 200 in a NEBA tournament then a scratch league at the old Bloomfield Bowling Center. He was also a nationally certified instructor and had actually worked for Hall of Famer Don Johnson at some of his bowling camps. I learned a lot from Mike over the years. I was fortunate enough to win a NEBA (New England Bowlers Association) championship in 1989 when I was working for Mike. We had bowled our qualifying round andd when we got to the match play section I beat Mike in the first round in a 2 game match. Mike needed a double on the first shot of the 10th to beat me but he left a stone 9 pin on his first shot in the 10th. He was one of the best clutch bowlers in our area for a long time. He spent 2 years on the tour, but unfortunately was a left hander out there trying to compete when the PBA was still shutting out most left handers. If you don't believe that, please research it, Mike. It started back in the 70's because the lefties made up 30 percent of the tour and were winning over 50 percent of the money. Lane conditions were much different back then on the old wood surfaces. It mostly wore down the shot on the right side due to most people being right handed and messing up the shot, and wearing out the wood on the lanes. That's why they had to be resurfaced every 2 years. Okay, enough history lesson for today....haha....John Jenkins
Just thought I should add an additional note about that time period. The dominance of Earl Anthony, to me, proves why he was the G.O.A.T. because he consistently beat the left handed shot out there. Even on weeks no other lefty would make the cut, he would make the show and even win. No question Walter Ray Williams is great, but Earl is still the man. One other interesting note, when Mike Durbin won his 3rd Firestone T of C, the other 4 guys on the show were left handed. At the end of the first match which Durbin won, I said he would win it. It was so obvious the lefties had no shot on the pair. Durbin basically breezed through 4 matches to win it.
Oh yeah, one last item.....haha. When Lettick appeared on this show, the lefties were still being shut out for the most part. He had come back to bowl the winter tour at Bradley Bowl and after he bowled in the rabbit squad we went out for dinner. He told me how frustrated he was because of the shots the PBA were putting out. He said he would bowl great in the rabbits, then come qualifying rounds in the tournament and they would wipe out the shot. Another friend of Mike and I, Tim Cornelio, is also left handed and bowled out there for 2 years in the late 70's and ran into similar problems. Ah, life on the tour.
@@JohnJenkins-rv8fe It’s hearing these things, especially about players I hadn’t previously known existed! 😁 Thanks for telling us. I grew up in western MA 40 miles north of Bradley Bowl - and the one time I’ve ever been there, I tossed a couple of games on what had been the TV pair for one of the U.S. Opens that were held there. Good times!
Mike Lettick use to be the manager of the bowling center in Wallingford, Connecticut (Colony Lanes) until Bowlmor bought it and let everyone go and hired a bunch of kids !!! He was a awesome manager !!
Ah, back in the day when you actually had to have TALENT to bowl. The equipment today makes it so easy. I was 14, in 1990 when I bowled my 1st 300 game (and the equipment was getting better then) but I used a urethane bowling ball, (Columbia U2). Between 1990 and 1999, I bowled a total of 4 perfect games no 800 series. From 2000-2007 (when I stopped bowling) I bowled 14 perfect games, and 4 800 series. Equipment is probably much better than it was in 2007 too. Makes it so easy.
I will say equipment is not "better". It's more fragile and more balls are needed it seems to be thrown. But the balls of pre 2000 were made to last much longer than what's out now. Everything cracks so easy, just stilling on the shelf on a pro shop undrilled. Also, I think a lot of it is propaganda by the ball makers. But as longs as bowling survives....that's what matters.
I grew up bowling in the 70's and I can vouch for how much more powerful balls are now. They may not last as long, but that's not the discussion. It's about what the ball does when it hits the pins. i believe it was the fall of 1982. I was practicing for a classic league one night and the pro shop operator who subbed on our team and was a PBA member, Mike Triggs, walked up to me and said, "You need to get some urethane equipment. You're at a disadvantage without it." He drilled out a misdrilled AMF Angle for me and I took it to throw a few shots before the league. The first time I threw it, I watched it arc back to the pocket thoroughly flush and when it hit the pins seemed to disintegrate. I was shocked. It seemed like dynamite had blown the pins up. There was absolutely no comparison between rubber, plastic and the equipment of the future. And remember, urethane equipment was originally designed because rubber & plastic(polyester) balls just couldn't get a consistent bite on the new urethane lane finishes. They didn't realized that to go along with the a ball that could grip the new surfaces, they had also developed a hand held bomb that destroyed pins.
Here's an interesting take on Earl's retirement by Earl himself. I read an interview with him shortly after retiring and he was asked why he made that decision. His response was, that the day he woke up in a hotel room and had no idea what city he was in, he knew that it was time to get off the tour.
mike lettick was my roommate before he went on tour. very good bowler. better person.
I'm most impressed by Larry Laub's shirt.
I do have a few more shows from USA that i will upload
USA was so good to the PBA with their quality on the telecasts, interviews, etc. Love watching the shows they did. Durbin was definitely one of the best Pro's to have done the commentating. Very informative, and his coaching was spot on.
As soon as I realized in the semifinal match that the two people in Wayne Webb's way were Gil Sliker and a guy I'd never heard of, I knew what the outcome would be. Always enjoy watching PBA telecasts I've never seen before just the same.
That guy you never heard of, Mike Lettick, was one of my very close friends in CT and I even worked for him in his pro shops. The first two times I saw him bowl before I knew him, he shot 200 in a NEBA tournament then a scratch league at the old Bloomfield Bowling Center. He was also a nationally certified instructor and had actually worked for Hall of Famer Don Johnson at some of his bowling camps. I learned a lot from Mike over the years. I was fortunate enough to win a NEBA (New England Bowlers Association) championship in 1989 when I was working for Mike. We had bowled our qualifying round andd when we got to the match play section I beat Mike in the first round in a 2 game match. Mike needed a double on the first shot of the 10th to beat me but he left a stone 9 pin on his first shot in the 10th. He was one of the best clutch bowlers in our area for a long time. He spent 2 years on the tour, but unfortunately was a left hander out there trying to compete when the PBA was still shutting out most left handers. If you don't believe that, please research it, Mike. It started back in the 70's because the lefties made up 30 percent of the tour and were winning over 50 percent of the money. Lane conditions were much different back then on the old wood surfaces. It mostly wore down the shot on the right side due to most people being right handed and messing up the shot, and wearing out the wood on the lanes. That's why they had to be resurfaced every 2 years. Okay, enough history lesson for today....haha....John Jenkins
Just thought I should add an additional note about that time period. The dominance of Earl Anthony, to me, proves why he was the G.O.A.T. because he consistently beat the left handed shot out there. Even on weeks no other lefty would make the cut, he would make the show and even win. No question Walter Ray Williams is great, but Earl is still the man.
One other interesting note, when Mike Durbin won his 3rd Firestone T of C, the other 4 guys on the show were left handed. At the end of the first match which Durbin won, I said he would win it. It was so obvious the lefties had no shot on the pair. Durbin basically breezed through 4 matches to win it.
Oh yeah, one last item.....haha. When Lettick appeared on this show, the lefties were still being shut out for the most part. He had come back to bowl the winter tour at Bradley Bowl and after he bowled in the rabbit squad we went out for dinner. He told me how frustrated he was because of the shots the PBA were putting out. He said he would bowl great in the rabbits, then come qualifying rounds in the tournament and they would wipe out the shot. Another friend of Mike and I, Tim Cornelio, is also left handed and bowled out there for 2 years in the late 70's and ran into similar problems. Ah, life on the tour.
@@JohnJenkins-rv8fe It’s hearing these things, especially about players I hadn’t previously known existed! 😁 Thanks for telling us.
I grew up in western MA 40 miles north of Bradley Bowl - and the one time I’ve ever been there, I tossed a couple of games on what had been the TV pair for one of the U.S. Opens that were held there. Good times!
Becky Webb lol. Man, I LOVE that 80's hair on women. Women should do their hair like that today. Nothing sexier than 80's fashion, on women.
The Gold Angle!
COMMENTATORS:
PETE LIEBENGOOD
EARL ANTHONY
TV NETWORK:
USA NETWORK
DATE:
16 JUNE 1984
Mike Lettick use to be the manager of the bowling center in Wallingford, Connecticut (Colony Lanes) until Bowlmor bought it and let everyone go and hired a bunch of kids !!! He was a awesome manager !!
28:24 - "things I never thought I'd see" redux. :)
Cool upload man. You wouldn't happento have anything else from The USA Network, from the 1980's would you?
Ah, back in the day when you actually had to have TALENT to bowl. The equipment today makes it so easy. I was 14, in 1990 when I bowled my 1st 300 game (and the equipment was getting better then) but I used a urethane bowling ball, (Columbia U2). Between 1990 and 1999, I bowled a total of 4 perfect games no 800 series. From 2000-2007 (when I stopped bowling) I bowled 14 perfect games, and 4 800 series.
Equipment is probably much better than it was in 2007 too. Makes it so easy.
GialloHorror Yea, & then you woke up!! 😂😂😂😂😂
I will say equipment is not "better". It's more fragile and more balls are needed it seems to be thrown. But the balls of pre 2000 were made to last much longer than what's out now. Everything cracks so easy, just stilling on the shelf on a pro shop undrilled. Also, I think a lot of it is propaganda by the ball makers. But as longs as bowling survives....that's what matters.
I couldn't agree more. The game has been compromised in my opinion.
I grew up bowling in the 70's and I can vouch for how much more powerful balls are now. They may not last as long, but that's not the discussion. It's about what the ball does when it hits the pins. i believe it was the fall of 1982. I was practicing for a classic league one night and the pro shop operator who subbed on our team and was a PBA member, Mike Triggs, walked up to me and said, "You need to get some urethane equipment. You're at a disadvantage without it." He drilled out a misdrilled AMF Angle for me and I took it to throw a few shots before the league. The first time I threw it, I watched it arc back to the pocket thoroughly flush and when it hit the pins seemed to disintegrate. I was shocked. It seemed like dynamite had blown the pins up. There was absolutely no comparison between rubber, plastic and the equipment of the future. And remember, urethane equipment was originally designed because rubber & plastic(polyester) balls just couldn't get a consistent bite on the new urethane lane finishes. They didn't realized that to go along with the a ball that could grip the new surfaces, they had also developed a hand held bomb that destroyed pins.
I would love to see the 1983 ABC Masters if you have it. Or the 1982 Showboat Invitational. (both with Pete Weber in the title match)
The Cheap Booze Open
Earl must have been burned out from the Tour. He almost seems like you couldnt drag him bacl from retirement.
He was....turned him alcoholic, which cost him his life because of falling while being severely hungover one morning.
Here's an interesting take on Earl's retirement by Earl himself. I read an interview with him shortly after retiring and he was asked why he made that decision. His response was, that the day he woke up in a hotel room and had no idea what city he was in, he knew that it was time to get off the tour.
1:39:27... "Underdog" cartoon narrator voice?
WHAT'S THAT MUSIC PLAYING SO FUNKY IN THE BACKGROUND?
Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood by Santa Esmeralda
@irish i think thats Butterscotch....lol
Larry Laub had no luck at all.