In 1991 the American Bowling Congress approved a coverstock chemistry it didn't understand. Within fifteen months the inventor admitted it killed bowling.
The Nu-Line Xcalibur was the first reactive resin bowling ball. PBA Tour pro Marc McDowell threw a Purple Xcalibur at the 1992 PBA AC-Delco Classic in Torrance, California on January 7th and rewrote the floor for what was possible. Three months later he won the PBA Firestone Tournament of Champions on a coverstock no regulator had stress-tested on an oiled lane.
McDowell wasn't just a bowler. In 1991 and 1992 he was the sitting president of the Professional Bowlers Association AND a serving ambassador for the American Bowling Congress. The first man to throw a reactive resin ball on television was inside both the players' organization and the regulator at the moment he threw it.
This is the story of Steve Cooper, the inventor who said it on the record nineteen years later in a 2011 California Bowling News interview the bowling press never republished. ABC perfect-game tallies rose 18.6 percent in twelve months. PBA scoring records that had stood for decades fell within months. Earl Anthony's career averages don't translate forward. Walter Ray Williams Jr.'s record book counts both eras as the same statistic.
Cooper sold the Xcalibur rights to Columbia 300 in 1997. Columbia 300 was acquired by Ebonite International in 2007. Ebonite was acquired by Brunswick Bowling Products in November 2019. In March 2026, Brunswick retired the Columbia 300 brand. The chemistry survived. The brand that bought it didn't.
Two of the original Purple Xcaliburs — the actual balls McDowell threw on January 7, 1992 — sit in two pro shops in Wisconsin. They are the only physical evidence the inventor was right.
Chapters
- 0:00 — The PBA Approved a Ball It Didn't Understand
- 0:33 — McDowell vs Holman at Gable House
- 1:34 — The Bowler Who Was Inside Both Organizations
- 2:43 — An 18.6 Percent Increase in Twelve Months
- 3:50 — Before 1991: The Three-Era Coverstock Hierarchy
- 5:09 — Steve Cooper, Nu-Line, and the Whittier Warehouse
- 6:01 — ABC Certification and the 1992 Detonation
- 7:18 — The Markowitz Interview the Press Buried
- 9:11 — Reactive Resin Replaces Urethane in 24 Months
- 11:28 — The Urethane Comeback: 2009 to 2026
- 12:55 — Two Pro Shops in Wisconsin
Sources
- Steve Cooper interview, California Bowling News (Dec 8, 2011)
- 1992 PBA Tour season recap — Wikipedia
- USBC Equipment Specifications archive
- Marc McDowell career record — Wikipedia