Lefty, on the first video he looked like a power stroker like Tommy Jones and Patrick Allen. The second video, the ball stalls and floats a bit at the top of that high backswing and he appears to cup his wrist more during that stall.

To me a cranker has a Mark Roth cupped wrist to semi-simulate a thumbless shot but with more control.

These guys with a straight wrist or nominal cup but get big revs with a rotate and lift from the ball turned way to the inside are not crankers but power strokers. Tommy Jones I believe sometimes breaks his wrist the opposite of the traditional cupped wrist cranker. No?

You saw a lot more crankers in the 80's, before there was resin. Pete Weber and Amaletto used to be crankers, but they've both simplified their games and are much more smooth (not hitting up on the ball, etc) because the equipment does the work for them.

From time to time I'll watch bowling on ESPN classic and it's funny to see these guys hitting up on the ball and lofting it so much. It's just so different than what the guys out there today do.

Rudy looks like he's trying to take advantage of gravity instead of muscling the ball now. I hope it works out for him and he can make some changes to be cometitive out there.

rolling Pin,

You must be a cranker, right?

I don't mind being the lone defender of the cranker shot, because it gives me something to argue about. But I'm open minded and now I'm going to suggest something that may please you strokers.

I have changed my timing recently, and I will never go back to what I was doing before, and I'll explain why. All this season I had late timing. My quick steps would take me to the line where I would plant my foot, and then my arm would muscle the ball forward, as I tore into the shot. Although fairly accurate at times, I've now come to realize I was not all that accurate, and part of my so-called over-hooking problem was due to pulling the ball slightly or largely inside target several times a game. Result: 188 average on lanes that didn't have a ton of oil in the middle.

Now, I have changed my timing completely. I've slowed my feet down and my arm arrives much more in sync with my steps, powered mostly by gravity (though I may still muscle it at times). This has resulted in dramatically improved accuracy, increased ball speed, and my "over-hooking" problem has been greatly reduced. Since I still hook the ball with a lot of revs most of the time, I would still assume I am a cranker (though I dislike being labeled).

If the clear definition of a cranker is someone who plants their foot and muscles the ball, then I am happy to have abandoned that style and I look for improved scores this summer. But what is the OFFICAL definition of a cranker? If there is one. That's what I want to know.

Why is it called cranker? Simply because the bowler "cranks" the bowling ball. Dont worry. You are not the lone defender. I am with you all the way. I crank it 80% of the time. I change when i have to though. I am sure you do too. A cranker is no worse than a stroker or tweener. I dont care what anyone says.

Thanks, entourage. It's good to know I've got someone on my side. But there must be some very specific way a cranker is defined, and until someone proves me wrong by showing me some type of very respectable definition (such as something offical or widely embraced by, say, coaches), I can never agree that Tommy Jones is not a cranker and that because I no longer plant my foot and muscle the ball then somehow I have become a stroker. I define a cranker by side rotation and hitting power (hence the cranking part). Tommy Jones is a big time cranker. Plain and simple. And even though I adjust my shot based on lane conditions, I still would say I'm mainly a heavy cranker that likes to rev the ball high and play deep.

By the way, I don't have a problem with any crankers who do muscle the ball. I've chosen not to anymore because it wasn't working well for me, for whatever reason. But I honestly feel I'm still cranking the stuffing out of it, just more relaxed and with earlier timing now.

Tommy Jones not a cranker? No way.

If you're not a cranker or a stroker then you're a "tweener". In other words you fall in somewhere between cranking and stroking.

Okay, this is just in the spirit of fun debate. Not dead horse beating.

The classic cranker shot still exists at league level all over the place. This is the Mark Roth (the original dominant cranker in the PBA) cupped wrist, hit up on the release, lofted ball.

This shot is virtually extinct in the PBA. While Tommy Jones and Patrick Allan get big revs and side roll their release is distinctly different than the classic crankers. (I think Dave Traver lost his card at the end of the year, his shot is pretty classic cranker if I recall.)

We could do away with the old classic "cranker" name and give it to Tommy Jones and his ilk but the old style still very much exists on the amateur level. You see it a lot when bowlers who start as thumbless bowlers start using their thumb. It is much easier to learn to put revs on the ball by cupping your wrist, planting your foot then twist/yank and loft, then it is to Master the modern power-rev release (I know 'cause I can crank but my mastery of the modern pro hi-rev release is pathetic in comparison.)

To me cranking is the application of muscular force in the release whereas power stroking is the whip effect from centrifugal force. Not to say a power stroker can't accelerate the whip but they are still applying the principles of centrifugal force as opposed to muscled torque.

Since I started this by accident, I will give my definition of a cranker. Well actually this is John Jowdy's definition. Let's start from the beginning.

Stroker: A stroker plays the lanes straight. By straight I mean no further left than the second arrow ( 10 board ). A stroker has a backswing that goes no higher than their shoulder. A stroker plays with their body squared to the lanes. A stroker plays with their shoulders closed to their target. A stroker doesn't muscle the ball and is very accurate. A stroker stays behind the ball for the most part. A stroker doesn't put many revs on the ball. The stroker timing has the foot and ball reaching the line at the same time. Examples of classic strokers:
Brian Voss
Norm Duke ( when he plays straight )
Mike Machuga ( when he plays straight )
Doug Kent
Parker Bohn III
Danny Wiseman ( though he does open his shoulders there is no high backswing )
Mike Scroggins
Walter Ray Williams ( though he does muscle the ball to get extra speed at the bottom of his swing )


Tweener or Power Stroker: A power stroker has the advantage of being able to hook the ball as much as a cranker or play the lanes straighter like a stroker. A power stroker opens his/her shoulders up to the lanes on the approach. By this I mean that their body is facing the opposing lane for a moment. A power stroker has a high backswing. A power stroker may use muscle to get the ball into the high backswing. This generates the power to get the ball to the breakpoint. At this point a power stroker disengages all muscles and lets the ball fall by its own power into a gracefully smooth release. The timing is slightly late. The shoulders realign before the release point.
Examples of power strokers:
Pete Weber ( I love his whole approach and release )
Norm Duke ( when he hooks the ball )
Mike Machuga ( when he's hooking the ball )
Mika Koivunemi
Patrick Allen
Tommy Delutz
Chris Barnes ( he's hard to put into a catagory, because he can rev it ).
Dave DeEntremont

Cranker: a cranker is a bowler who has very late timing. A cranker is a bowler who opens threir shoulders to the lane. Their body is facing the other lane in order to get their armswings to reach maximum height. They plant their slide foot to get maximum revs and leverage. They muscle the ball throughout the backswing to get maximum height on the backswing. They muscle the ball throughout their downswing to get maximum power in their shot. They usually put an obscene amount of revolutions on the ball. They can cover the whole lane and play left of the center arrow. They use power over accuracy to overcome the lane conditions. Some, not all, cup their wrist to generate hook.
examples of Crankers:
Tommy Jones
Michael Fagan ( though he is the smoothest cranker you'll ever see )
Rudy Revs
Mike Devaney
Jason Couch
Chris Johnson
And of course, the king of all crankers
Robert Smith ( though he and Fagan have been working hard on their straight game, because they both have learned that to win on tour, you need to know how to play it straight. And by straight I mean outside of 10. )

John Jowdy's definition.

I have also heard it simplified like this:
stroker-under 250 rpm ( under 14 revolutions )
Tweener- 275-400 rpm ( 15-18 revolutions )
Cranker- 400 rpm and above ( 20 and above revolutions )

or something like that.