When did the fingertip grip become widespread?

[goldenwave77]

Is the fingertip grip something that came in with modern balls?! (reactive resin). Or was it around in the older days. (I bowled for three months back in 1971 when I was 12 yrs. old...house balls...no instruction other than 4 step or 5-step---take your choice. Can't even remember if they showed us anything about a release.)

[bowl1820]

Is the fingertip grip something that came in with modern balls?! (reactive resin).

No, the fingertip grip was around long before resin and urethane balls.


here's from Don Carters book (10 secrets of bowling) back in 1963:
http://s5.postimg.org/ct5hi5eh3/grip_secrets_of_bowling_Don.gif
As you can see he's doing fingertip and also he's doing the pinky tuck!

Back in the day a lot were doing semi-fingertip also.

Here's a patent application from 1949 showing a fingertip grip also:

http://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pages/US2616695-0.png

[NewToBowling]

Another question is when did the inserts become widely used?

[fordman1]

I have no idea. I remember my first ball with a finger tip. It took a while to keep from dropping it on my foot. That was in the late 60's.

[djp1080]

Another question is when did the inserts become widely used?

My first fingertip ball didn't have inserts, but now that I think about it I wish it had. I believe I went to fingertip in the late 60's. I know that I threw a full-roller and had a bad tendency for blood blisters on both of my finger tips.

I recall purchasing a Brunswick LT-48 ball around 1979 or 80 and that's when I was introduced to finger inserts. Wow! Fantastic results. No more blood blisters!

[ChuckR]

In 1970 I bought a 16lb Brunswick at Paramus, NJ and carried by plane to Rochester, Minn. No Inserts but a MAJOR problem learning to let the thumb go without messing up the fingers.