I remember the latter two editions shown here; they had aired on WPCQ-TV 36 in Charlotte, NC, and WPMT-TV 43 in York, PA (respectively). As for the WPMT version, they had one unusual advantage when recording the show: the bowling alley happened to be located right next door to the TV station! It's a pity that their edition ran for only 20 weeks (in late 1984). Such great memories; thank you for posting this.
All of my 50+ years I thought “bowling for dollars “ was a made up generic name for something really stupid and pointless. I only just realised it is a real thing.
I used to watch this all the time as an 10 year old. Used to be on Saturday nights I think. They started doing 10 pin and then dropped it down to 5 pin before the show went off the air in 1987.
Bert Claster who also produced Romper Room came up with this concept. Started in Baltimore as Duckpins and Dollars which was a regional variation of bowling. When it started in other cities they used tenpins as Bowling for Dollars. Each city had its own version and host.
This is what the show would've looked like if say WOR-TV had kept it. It ended I think in 1979-1980 after being hosted by the late Mets broadcater Bob Murphy and DJ and voice of Lion-O on Thundercats Larry Kenney.