''Bowling on NBC'' is a presentation of professional

ten-pin bowling Ten-pin bowling is a type of bowling in which a bowler rolls a bowling ball down a wood or synthetic lane toward ten pins positioned evenly in four rows in an equilateral triangle. The objective is to knock down all ten pins on the first roll ...

matches from the

PBA Tour The PBA Tour is the major professional tour for ten-pin bowling, operated by the Professional Bowlers Association. Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, over 3,000 members worldwide make up the PBA. While most of the PBA members are Regional profess ...

formerly produced by

NBC Sports NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its d ...

, the sports division of the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

television network in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Historical overview

''Championship Bowling''

Prior to the

Professional Bowlers Association The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) is the major sanctioning body for the sport of professional ten-pin bowling in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, the PBA membership consists of over 3,000 members worldwide. Member ...

(PBA)'s inception, bowling was broadcast on television sporadically beginning in the early 1950s.

began with an early 1950s special telecast entitled ''Championship Bowling''.

''Jackpot Bowling''

Jackpot Bowling ''Jackpot Bowling'' (also known as ''Phillies Jackpot Bowling'' and ''Jackpot Bowling Starring Milton Berle'') was a professional bowling show on NBC from January 9, 1959, to March 13, 1961. Broadcast history Short-form version ''Jackpot Bowling'' ...

'' (also known as ''Phillies Jackpot Bowling'' and ''Jackpot Bowling Starring Milton Berle'') was a professional bowling program that ran on NBC for two seasons from January 9, 1959, to March 13, 1961. It was the first bowling show on national television since ''

Bowling Headliners ''Bowling Headliners'' was television's first nationally broadcast bowling show. It aired on ABC from December 26, 1948, to October 30, 1949, and on DuMont from November 13, 1949, to April 9, 1950. The series aired from Rego Park Lanes in Queens, ...

''. The program aired on Fridays at 10:30 p.m.

Eastern Time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small port ...

, following the ''

Cavalcade of Sports The ''Gillette Cavalcade of Sports'' is an American radio-turned-television program by the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) that ran from 1942 to 1960. The program included broadcasts of a variety of sports, although it is primarily remembered ...

Friday Night Fight''. First hosted by

Leo Durocher Leo Ernest Durocher (French spelling Léo Ernest Durocher) (; July 27, 1905 – October 7, 1991), nicknamed "Leo the Lip" and "Lippy", was an American professional baseball player, manager (baseball), manager and coach (baseball), coach. He playe ...

, who left after only two episodes, the program was subsequently hosted by

Mel Allen Mel Allen (born Melvin Allen Israel; February 14, 1913 – June 16, 1996) was an American sportscaster, best known for his long tenure as the primary play-by-play announcer for the New York Yankees. During the peak of his career in the 1940s, ...

. However, Allen was not popular with viewers as he showed a lack of bowling knowledge. He was replaced by

Bud Palmer John Shove "Bud" Palmer (born John Palmer Flynn; September 14, 1921 – March 19, 2013) was an American professional basketball player. He was a member of the New York Knicks during the team's first three seasons in the Basketball Association of A ...

on April 10, 1959, before Allen returned in October 1959, remaining with the show until April 1960; Palmer subsequently returned to the program as host, staying through June. ''Jackpot Bowling'' was put on a brief hiatus by NBC after the June 24 episode. When it returned on September 19, 1960, the program was retooled; the series not only moved to Monday nights at 10:30, but Bayuk Cigars replaced

Phillies Cigars Phillies is an American brand of cigars. They were originally made in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from which the brand takes its name. Phillies cigars, originally produced by Bayuk Cigars, Inc., are presently manufactured by ITG Brands, the Americ ...

as sponsor, the Hollywood Legion Lanes replaced the T-Bowl in

Wayne, New Jersey Wayne is a Township (New Jersey), township in Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. Home to William Paterson University and located less than from Midtown Manhattan, the township is a bedroom suburb of New York ...

, as the program's venue, and

Milton Berle Milton Berle (born Mendel Berlinger; ; July 12, 1908 – March 27, 2002) was an American actor and comedian. His career as an entertainer spanned over 80 years, first in silent films and on stage as a child actor, then in radio, movies and tel ...

took over as host.

''Sportsworld''

The NBC sports anthology series ''

Sportsworld ''Sportsworld'' (also known as ''NBC SportsWorld'') is an American sports anthology television program which aired on NBC on Saturday afternoons from 1978 to 1994. Format The program presented a wide variety of lower-profile and offbeat sporting ...

'' covered several professional bowling events throughout its run that were not broadcast as part of the ''

Pro Bowlers Tour The Professional Bowlers Tour, also known as Pro Bowlers Tour, is a broadcast of the Professional Bowlers Association that aired on ABC from 1962 to 1997. In the telecasts, sportscaster Chris Schenkel and the graphics displayed during the show w ...

'' on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

. In 1980, NBC aired the "Legends of Bowling" mini-series on three consecutive Saturdays. The game consisted of 7 frames, with a combination of strikes and spare shots, with point values assigned to each frame. The winning team got a chance to make the "big money split" at the end. The play-by-play announcer was

Sam Nover Sam Nover (March 5, 1941 – December 4, 2018) was an American sportscaster. His run of 30 years of sportscasting at the same station is one of the longest in Pittsburgh broadcasting history. Broadcasting career From 1964-1968 Nover worked at ...

while the color analyst was Steve Neff. The off-stage announcer was the legendary NBC voice,

Don Pardo Dominick George "Don" Pardo (February 22, 1918 – August 18, 2014) was an American radio and television announcer whose career spanned more than seven decades. A member of the Television Hall of Fame, Pardo was noted for his 70-year tenure with ...

. From 1984 to 1991, it had its own series called "The PBA Fall Tour".

Jay Randolph A jay is a member of a number of species of medium-sized, usually colorful and noisy, passerine birds in the Crow family, Corvidae. The evolutionary relationships between the jays and the magpies are rather complex. For example, the Eurasian m ...

and

Earl Anthony Earl Roderick Anthony (April 27, 1938 – August 14, 2001) was an American professional bowler who amassed records of 43 titles and six Player of the Year awards on the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. For over two decades, his care ...

served as commentators. Unlike ABC's coverage, NBC was the first to introduce uninterrupted coverage of the championship match. From 1988 to 1990, bowling had its own version of the

Skins Game A skins game is a type of scoring for various sports. It has its origins in golf but has been adapted for disc golf, curling and bowling. Golf In golf, a skins event has players compete for prize money on each individual hole. Skins Game, PGA T ...

called The Bowling Shootout. Four bowlers (three pros and one amateur in the 1989 and 1990) competed. Each frame had a designated value and to win, the bowler on the floor must be the only one to strike, spare or have most pin count to claim the prize. A two-player tie meant all tied, but all players bowled regardless (where there was a game within a game). If it was still tied after the 10th frame, the players would go on to a one ball roll-off. The bowler with the highest monetary prize won the Shootout. In addition, the bowler who threw the most strikes (the game within a game) won a boat.

Marshall Holman Marshall Holman (born September 29, 1954) is an American sports broadcaster and retired professional ten-pin bowler. He was known for his flamboyant, fiery demeanor and his success on the PBA Tour from the mid-1970s to the end of the 1980s. He i ...

(who moved on to the roll-off in three consecutive tournaments: with

Mark Roth Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Finn ...

in the 1988

Muskegon, Michigan Muskegon ( ') is a city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Muskegon County. Muskegon is known for fishing, sailing regattas, pleasure boating, and as a commercial and cruise ship port. It is a popular vacation destination because of the expa ...

, and the 1989

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

, Shootout, and the 1990 tournament in

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

) won all three boats.

Brian Voss Brian Voss (born August 4, 1958) of Cornelius, North Carolina, is a professional ten-pin bowler and member of the Professional Bowlers Association since 1982. The right-hander owns 25 PBA Tour titles (11th all-time), including one major champion ...

(who moved on to the roll-off in the 1990 tournament, alongside Holman) was the only bowler to win a frame with a spare.

Bowlero Elite Series

March 2019, NBC announced that it would air three installments of the Bowlero Elite Series. This these are three single-elimination tournaments sponsored by

Bowlero Corporation Bowlero Corporation (formerly known as Bowlmor AMF) is an American bowling center operator. It is the largest ten-pin bowling center operator in the world with around 300 centers, almost all of which are located in the United States. The centers ...

that feature the top professional and amateur bowlers competing for a total prize pool in excess of $1 million. The first two events, emanating from

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, Illinois, and

North Brunswick, New Jersey North Brunswick is a township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. It is centrally located in the Raritan Valley region within the New York Metropolitan area. At the 2020 United States census, the population was 43,905, reflecting ...

, were scheduled to air on

NBCSN NBCSN was an American sports television television channel, channel owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It originally launched on July 1, 1995, as the Outdoor Life Network (OLN), which was dedicated t ...

on April 9 and September 11, 2019, respectively. The final installment, emanating from

Jupiter, Florida Jupiter is the northernmost town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. According to the 2020 Census, the town had a population of 61,047 as of April 1, 2020. It is 84 miles north of Miami, and the northernmost community in the Miami met ...

, would air on December 28 on NBC. NBC's commentators include Leila Rahimi (host and reporter),

Jerome Bettis Jerome Abram Bettis Sr. (born February 16, 1972) is a former American football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Nicknamed "the Bus" for his large size and runn ...

(guest analyst),

Todd Harris Todd Harris (born June 4, 1970) is an American sports announcer and reporter for NBC Sports and NBCSN, with current duties focused in Olympic and extreme sports. A graduate of Brigham Young University with a bachelor's degree in communications ...

(play-by-play), and Chris Barnes (analyst).

References

{{Bowling on television NBC Sports NBC original programming NBCSN shows