Being a young bowler(44 years old) I consider the glory days to be the 60's and 70's, before all of this new equipment. The ABC telecasts were immensly popular, owing to the lack of live sports telecasts on TV and the number of people who bowled in leagues. I used to love listening to Billy Welu and Chris Schenkel every Saturday for those months between January and April. The PBA didn't dilute itself till much later by adding the extra telecasts. It was fun watching Dick Weber, Johnny Petraglia, and all of the older bowlers who really invented the PBA tour. I wish I could have been around earlier than that to see the heyday of five-man teams and the big tournament that was held in Chicago each year. Those tournaments had more prestige than the current tournaments do, with perhaps an exception being the ABC Masters. Even that tournament cheapened itself by going to a PBA finals format instead of staying with the my series can beat your series matchplay. Oh well, TV corrupts some and assists some events in getting better. I'm sure others have opinions as to the Glory Days. I'll check back to see how much I didn't mention.

Great Post!

I agree that the 70s were bowling's glory days (at least for me). The houses were full, sometimes we had to wait up to an hour for lanes (even in the summer). It's a shame what has happened. Many of the houses I have bowled at in the past are now a long distant memory Even a few more recent houses (for me) also have fallen to the wayside.

The glory days of bowling? When every house was double shifted every night. When the ladies leagues were all full. When the junior league filled Saturday mornings and in some houses Saturday afternoons. When there were bowling instruction classes with 100 or more participants. With Steve Nagy or Buddy Bomar or Helen Duval or Janet Harmon or Marion Ladewig or Frank Clause or Dick Weber or Bill Bunetta (or any other pro) packing them in. When high average in town was 205. When you earned an invitation to join a scratch league because you paid your dues through diligent practice.
When the scratch leagues drew lots of spectators. When the game had some respect with the media. Those are the glory days.