Bowling for Dollars

Bowling for Dollars
Genre	Game show
Created by	Bert Claster
Presented by	Various (see below)
Narrated by	Various (see below)
Country of origin	United States
Production
Location(s)	Various locations throughout the United States and Canada
Running time	22–24 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	Various local stations
Original run	1960s – February 2008

Bowling for Dollars is a television game show on which people could play the sport of bowling to win cash and sometimes prizes based on how well they bowled.^{[citation needed]}

Unlike most TV game shows of the time, which were taped in New York or Hollywood and broadcast nationally, Bowling for Dollars was produced by local TV stations and only had contestants from the immediate area. The show was actually a franchise, created by Bert Claster of Claster Television, also the creator of Romper Room. Episodes of Bowling for Dollars were taped either in a local bowling alley, or on a pair of bowling lanes constructed right inside the TV studio.

The show reached its heyday in the 1970s. The most recent station to air the format was Buffalo, New York's WGRZ-TV, in an abbreviated format from January to February 2008.^[1]

The show

The show's main set consisted of a sliding door from which the host emerged, as did the contestants, one-by-one. There was also a Jackpot light with a numeric display of its value, and a Pin Pal hopper (see below). There were also stands set up for an audience.

Local editions may have varied, but there were two musical themes used. One was a custom theme for the show's opening and close (with a short phrase to introduce each contestant). The other was played when a contestant hit the jackpot, also used for commercial bumper music in some editions. The latter was an instrumental version of "Keep the Ball Rollin'" by Al Hirt, a song originally done by Jay & the Techniques.

Gameplay

As each contestant appeared, the host would interview him or her for a couple of minutes. Then the audience camera would cue as the contestant pointed out who he brought along ("There's my wife Paula, there's my son Nick..."). The contestant was then instructed to pick a Pin Pal out of a hopper filled with postcards sent in by home viewers, then went off to the lanes where they would bowl at least two balls.

A half-hour show had seven contestants.

Prizes

Basically, each contestant received one dollar for each pin felled (e.g., a contestant who knocked down a total of eight pins won $8, though some versions may have had a $5 minimum for less than five pins). A Strike or Spare awarded $20. The real allure of the show was the Jackpot, which was awarded to any bowler who got two consecutive Strikes. The jackpot started at $200, $300, or $500 (depending on the version) and was increased by $20 each time it was not hit.

Some versions of Bowling for Dollars awarded prizes in addition to the money. In the Detroit edition of the show, a contestant who got a spare won a dinner for two at a local restaurant. If that spare was a split, they would also get two large pies from Buddy's Pizza. If the contestant got only one strike, they got to pick a pin from a "pin board" for a prize from a local jeweler; one such prize was a genuine diamond ring. Finally, if a contestant did break the jackpot, he or she got to bowl one more time, and if that was a strike (a "turkey") they would receive yet another prize, such as a recliner chair or bicycle.

Pin Pals

Each contestant, just before approaching the bowling lane, was instructed to randomly pick a postcard out of a large, horizontally-mounted hopper. The name on the card was then read aloud by the host. These were Pin Pal cards, allowing a viewer at home to participate in the game on TV. Whatever the contestant won the Pin Pal won also, although the jackpot may actually have been split between the two of them. Many people wrote clever messages on their Pin Pal cards, like "Strike it rich!" A Pin Pal was only eligible once per show, in case folks tried to send an overwhelming amount of postcards.

Local editions

Bowling for Dollars was broadcast from TV stations serving medium to large communities all across the United States, Canada, and England.

Baltimore

There were two separate runs. Both aired on WBAL-TV Channel 11

• Duckpins and Dollars
  • Bailey Goss, then Chuck Thompson

(both gone sadly, but both former Baltimore Colts broadcasters who broadcast the 1958 NFL "Greatest Game ever Played" between the Giants & Colts.)

This show only required contestants to make one strike for the jackpot — a significantly harder task in duckpin bowling than in standard tenpins.

• Bowling for Dollars
  • Tom Cole, then Ron Riley, then Royal Parker

At one point the show alternated between duckpin and tenpin bowlers.

There are only 2-3 cities that still have Duckpin bowling. Baltimore is one of the last.

Boston

This edition was titled Candlepins for Cash and had two separate runs

• 1st run (1973–80)
  • Station: WNAC-TV Channel 7
  • Host: Bob Gamere
  • Site: Lanes in the basement of the studio
• 2nd run (1980–82)
  • Station: WXNE-TV Channel 25
  • Host: Rico Petrocelli & Bob Gamere^[2]
  • Site: Wal-lex lanes in Waltham, MA (closed)
  • (The show moved to channel 25 in 1980

Both editions only required contestants to make one strike for the jackpot — a significantly harder task in candlepin bowling than in standard tenpins. In the last two seasons of the show, the player would get $30 for a spare plus one bonus ball, worth $2 more per pin knocked down. When a person threw a 10-box (all pins knocked down on the third ball) they got $20 plus one bonus ball.

• The 2006 show Candlepins For Dollars that aired on WLVI Channel 56 was not related to this format.

Buffalo

• Station: WGR-TV/WGRZ-TV Channel 2
• Host: Ed Kilgore
• Sites:
  • Original—In studio. (It's believed that the set shared the same studio with the news set.)
  • Revival-- Dave & Buster's at the Eastern Hills Mall in Clarence, New York.

A revival of Bowling for Dollars aired between January and February 2008 on WGRZ, also hosted by Kilgore. This version, airing weekdays at 11:45 AM, was much shorter, with only one frame. It uses a rotation of numerous theme songs, mostly from game shows from the 1970s. It has suspended production; the show during which it aired was cancelled at that time. Its future is unknown.

A similar competing show, called "Beat the Champ," aired on WBEN-TV, hosted by Van Miller.

Cincinnati

• Station: WKRC-TV Channel 12
• Host: Glenn Ryle; fill-ins included weatherman Mike Fenwick, sportscaster Dale Conquest, and WKRC radio host, Jerry Thomas.
• Site: In studio lanes. The set for Nick Clooney's daytime talk show sat atop the lanes. There was also a daytime version that featured only lady bowlers called "Strikes And Spares" hosted by now-retired WKRC radio personality Jerry Thomas.
• The show first premiered on WKRC as a 13-week trial run in the fall of 1971. It became a regular series on September 3, 1972, airing live at 7:00 p.m. weeknights, later moving to 6:30 p.m.
• Gus Bailey, then-station PD, cancelled the show in the fall of 1975; its last weeknight program was Thanksgiving night.
• WKRC began a pre-recorded Saturday afternoon filler show in 1976, hosted by Dick Schorr, who also hosted the weeknight edition on then-sister station WTVN-TV in Columbus.

Cleveland

Had two separate runs of Bowling for Dollars. Both used in-studio lanes.

• 1st run
  • Station: WEWS Channel 5
  • Host: Don Webster
• 2nd run (1977–79) Weeknights at 7:00 from August 1977 to September 1978; 5:30pm Sept 1978-January 1979
  • Station: WJW (then WJKW) Channel 8
  • Host: Dick Goddard
  • Substitute Host: Bob "Hoolihan" Wells
  • Announcers: Joe Grant, Andy Hale, John FitzGerald

Columbus, OH

• Station: WTVN Channel 6 (Now WSYX)
• Host: Dick Schorr, Gene Fullen with Sally Flowers
• Site: Two in-studio lanes
• Aired weeknights at 7:00PM.

Dallas/Fort Worth

• Aired on: WFAA Channel 8 ABC, (6:30 PM Monday through Friday).
• Host: Verne Lundquist for most of the series
• Site: Forum Lanes in Grand Prairie, Texas (which at that time was the host site for a PBA tournament held in the spring)

Dayton, OH

• Station: WLWD (now WDTN)
• Host: David G. McFarland
• Site: the WLWD studios (aired live)

The show aired Mon-Fri at 7:00 p.m.

Detroit

• Station: WDIV Channel 4
• Host: Bob Allison
• Site: Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park, MI

This was originally at Highland Lanes in Toledo, OH, on WDHO Channel 24 (now WNWO-TV). It moved to Detroit in about 1974.

Flint, MI

• Station: WJRT Channel 12
• Host: Ed Phelps
• Site: Southland Lanes (now Grand Blanc Lanes), Grand Blanc Township
• Original Host: Fred Trost 1979-1980

Honolulu, Hawaii

• Station: KWHE Channel 14
• Site: Aiea Bowling Center, Barber's Point Bowling Center, Hickam Bowling Center, K-bay Bowling Center, Leeward Bowling Center, Pali Bowling Center, Schofield Bowling Center, and Subase Bowling Center ^[3]
• Time: 4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. every Saturday ^[4]

Kansas City

• Station: KMBC Channel 9
• Host: Fred Broski
• Site: Originally at King Louie West Lanes in Overland Park,^[5] 2 years NKC Pro bowl, then in studio

Kitchener, ON

• Station: CKCO Channel 13 Channel 2/11 and Channel 42
• Host:Jim Craig (1972/73), then Bill Inkol(74-?), later Jeff Hutcheson, Tom Knowlton
• Site: Victoria Bowlerama/Twin Cities Bowl

Los Angeles

• Station: KTLA Channel 5 (July 4, 1972-March 4, 1977); KHJ-TV (now KCAL-TV) Channel 9 (February 27-September 15, 1978)
• Host: Chick Hearn

London

Titled Strike it Rich, a contestant played two frames of bowling. You get £20 for every pin on the first ball and £10 on the second with a £50 bonus for knocking them all down. Out of the two players whoever won the most money wins a bonus prize and gets to play the bonus round. £25 for every pin knocked down and another frame for a strike, a spare means you play one final frame with no prize pin and £15 for each pin knocked down. When you're out of frames you play another game. There are also prizes given out for picking up a split, a prize for every strike made in the game, a prize for winning the game, a prize for playing five or more frames and a prize for knocking a randomly picked pin down. Also you win a jackpot starting at £1,000 plus £50 for every game played and £250 for every champion that loses if you win three consecutive games.

Milwaukee

1st station

• WVTV Channel 18(1972–1975)
  • Site: Red Carpet Lanes North(Now closed)
  • Co-Hosts: Lee Rothman & Tom Kohl
  • After 1975, WVTV and station owner Gaylord Broadcasting created a different bowling show called The Bowling Game, which would air until January 4, 1987 on WVTV.^[6] It then moved to WDJT-TV where it aired until at least 1993.^[7]

2nd station

• WISN-TV Channel 12(1975–1978)
  • Site: In studio

Minneapolis/St. Paul

• Station: KSTP-TV
• Host: Tom Ryther, Johnny Canton
• Site: Village North Bowl (closed), Jim Maddens Diamond Lake South Lanes (Closed)

New York

• Station: WOR Channel 9 (now WWOR-TV)
• Host: Bob Murphy, then Larry Kenney
• Site: Madison Square Garden Bowling Center (closed)& in a Studio in Brooklyn, Bowling for Dollars set was across from Romper Room set

An infamous moment when bowler Mary Schmidt failed to bowl a single strike in a game has been cited by several as the moment Bowling for Dollars jumped the shark.^{[8][dead link]}

Philadelphia

• Stations: WTAF-TV (now WTXF-TV); WPHL-TV
• Host: Dick Schorr (WTAF), Bob Gale (WTAF), and the late Tom Dooley (WPHL).
• Site: The WTAF version was taped at Willow Grove Park Lanes in 1969 (closed), moved to Andorra Key Lanes in 1972 (closed), then in the basement of their Center City studios, which also served as the studio for weekly bowling matches, while the WPHL version was taped at Boulevard Lanes in Philadelphia.

Pittsburgh

• Station: WTAE Channel 4
• Host: Nick Perry
• Lanes: In Studio Lanes. These same lanes were also used for Channel 4's Greater Pittsburgh Championship Bowling, a fixture on Saturday afternoons throughout the 70s and 80s

Rochester

• Station: WOKR-TV Channel 13 (Now WHAM-TV)
• Host: Ron DiFrance
• Site: In studio. (Studio's lanes also host to Sunday's "Junior Bowling" and "Brighton-Panorama TV Roll-offs" hosted by sportscaster DiFrance, then Tony Distino.)

St. Louis

• Station: KTVI Channel 2
• Host: Morgan Hatch
• Site: Arena Bowl (no longer in existence)

Syracuse

• Station: WSTM-TV Channel 3 (Then WSYR-TV)
• Hosts: Bud Hedinger

The WSTM version was taped in the basement of the studios on James Street. The studios were also used for the taping of Challenge Bowling, a regional junior bowling show co-hosted by Marty Piraino.

Tampa/St. Petersburg

• Station: WTSP Channel 10 (then WLCY-TV); 1975–76
• Host: Jim Bradley
• Site: Sunshine Bowl in Pinellas Park (closed, following hurricane damage in 2004 and, during rebuilding, a fire in 2005; since demolished and replaced by a WalMart Neighborhood Grocery)

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

• This was a five-pin edition of the show, which ran from 1979 to the mid 1980s.
• The jackpot started at $200 and increased by $15 per contestant until it was won.
• Strike or spares earned $20 for the bowler and pin pal. An open frame was scored as per five pin rules and $1 per pin was awarded.
• If a spare was made then a third ball would be allowed - if this ball was a strike, the prize was $40.
• In the initial running of the show, if the first strike was achieved and the second strike missed, the turn was over and the prize was $20. Later on, if the first strike was achieved and the second strike missed, the bowler could attempt a spare. If the spare was made, the prize was $40.
• The bowler must throw three consecutive strikes to win the jackpot.
• If a the third strike attempt was missed, the prize was $40.
• Station: CKND-TV
• Site: Academy Uptown Lanes. The bowling center remains as an active and popular facility in the Winnipeg bowling community. It has undergone multiple renovations since then.

References

1. ^ Bowling For Dollars on WGRZ.com
2. ^ [1]
3. ^ Hawaii TV Bowling Online - Hawaii TV Bowling's Official Website
4. ^ Hawaii Tv Bowling
5. ^ http://www.kccommunitynews.com/news/26549941/detail.html
6. ^ Golembiewski, Dick (2008). Milwaukee Television History: The Analog Years. Marquette University Press. pp. 458. ISBN 0-87462-055-4. 
7. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0D5tBjpwSc
8. ^ http://www.jumptheshark.com/topic/Bowling-Dollars/Bowling-Dollars-General-Comments/267