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The sweet clang of scattering pins echoed through Western Bowl, a cavernous 68-lane bowling alley on the edge of Cincinnati. It was day one of the 1993 Super Hoinke, a Thanksgiving weekend tournament that drew hundreds of the nationâs top amateursâteachers, accountants, and truck drivers who excelled at the art of scoring strikes. They came to the Super Hoinke (âHOING-keyâ) to vie for a $100,000 grand prize and bowling-world fame.
Between games, many bowlers drifted to the alleyâs pro shop to soak in the wisdom of Maurice âMoâ Pinel, a star ball designer for the sporting-goods giant AMF. Pinel had come to Cincinnati to promote his latest creation, the Sumo. The bowling ball had launched the year before, backed by a TV commercial featuring a ginormous Japanese wrestler bellyflopping down a lane, with the tagline âFlat out, more power than youâve ever seen in a bowling cen
One Man’s Amazing Journey to the Bowling Ball Center
Sposato patented a diamond-shaped core, which he believes creates 20% more inertia than any competitor, and put it in balls manufactured under the name Lane # 1. But while he believes his core is the most advanced in the market, Sposato has always lagged behind Pinel in terms of sales and recognition. This dynamic caused years of conflict between the two men. After a discussion on the online forum’s Bowling Ball Exchange, Pinel was banned for making caustic responses to Sposato’s criticism.
“See, Mo, he talks about everyone, he talks to people,” Sposato says. “People can’t understand what he’s talking about physically, all those big words, stuff like that.” So they just look at it and they agree with him. But I see it through that. I can throw it away. ”(In addition to designing Lane # 1 balls, Sposato also owns a nightclub in Syracuse; he made headlines last year because he clearly threw the state lockout b