One of the great lines of bowling balls from the 1980s, the AMF Angle revolutionized bowling. Here I discuss briefly the history of the Angle line, then take the first 5 original Angles out to show how they compare against each other.
2:55 That's my ball in that photo! It was a brand new in box AMF Angle Plus I got on ebay for $80 delivered. What you see in the photo is the balance hole that was in the ball back in 2014 when I had it drilled up. Sadly that hole is illegal today but really made that ball flare a ton like it had a .060 diff or something! You said it was very soft for oily lanes, but honestly this ball is very, very hard. It measure 89 on my durometer. It comes out of the box with deep sanding lines from the machine sander used on it at the factory. It probably was like 320 or 400 grit out of box. I have thrown hundreds of games with it and it has never lane shined and the grit lines are still there as deep as ever. Wonderful ball.
Great Video! Grew up in Sweden and played in leagues during the 80's. Remember buying my first Angle (black) - cost me an arm and a leg back then - but soooo worth it - I loved that ball. Moved to the US in 1985 and took my Angle with me - played from time to time, but not much. Now in my 50's - joined a league a few years back and tried using a newer style reactive ball with new shoes - can't do it. I am an old school slider. However, was able to find an old new stock black angle online - had it drilled exactly like my old ball and using my old shoes from the 80's. Been playing with it ever since - carrying a 196 average.
Just started league play tonight and I’m playing a gray Angle. Had no idea it was older than me. Or the history behind it! Also thought it was called the Langle
Wow, a blast from my past. I loved the Angle line. As far as the gold angle, I never bought one. They were the best looking in the line, until you put one on the lanes and it became dirty and gross looking after 5 frames. Thanks so much for this video! Great memories.
I just "rescued" a Blue Angle in great condition! The placement and sizes of all the holes actually match me perfectly so I don't even really need to redrill it.
I loved the blue and the gold angles. Had two golds. Different drillings. The blue I had drilled quarter and quarter. Regretted trading it for an Ebonite Firebolt.
I liked the grey angle. I bowl on old wood lanes that are burned up from the league before and some weeks are so bad my Geico plastic ball hooks more then it should but not good enough carry so I was thinking of getting a used grey angle and have at box finish or have polished or even very very dull like 180 grit dull .
what color is the pin on your purple angle? i have a bonanza 300 that looks a lot like the purple angle, and i’ve been trying to figure out what ball it is. the pin on it is like a sparkly translucent color and i’d like to see if yours is the same
The pin is the same color as the ball...very hard to see. If I remember correctly Bonanza 300 balls were actually factory second Columbia 300 Dot balls, and Columbia poured the Angles for AMF, so it's entirely possible that your Bonanza was some sort of factory second Angle
The Gold Angle was my all time favorite ball. I went from being a bowler in the mid 180’s to 210 with this ball. Nobody could believe a guy like me could get that good overnight. I was very accurate, but threw it too hard. Until the Gold Angle came around and made my speed an asset with my accuracy. Those guys hated me. Back in those days, 210 was a huge average.
I still use my black Angle every week in my league....never played with another ball. I love the fact that everyone else uses balls with fancy paint schemes and logos, and I just have this plain black ball. Love how you cannot see the spin, and then it just starts to turn......get a lot of comments on that..."I can't see the spin"...lol
I remember when Joe Berardi jr was sponsored by AMF and I noticed in his pro shop in Pearl River, NY had some unlabeled grey bowling balls that he was trying out (not for sale). This was around 1982. So I suppose Joe was beta testing the Grey Angle before its official release. Do any of you recall how the first issue of the Black Angle had a problem where the core would separate from the shell? You'd get this hollow knocking sound when it struck the pins. It also smelled like chemicals when you drilled it. It was REALLY difficult to bevel, and you couldn't resurface a Black Angle very well to restore its original performance. Whereas, you could get original performance from resurfacing a Yellow Dot or LT-48 pretty well. The first Black Angle I ever had was when I drilled one up in 1983 and set the pitch angle wrong for the thumb. I had to plug it and redrill it all over again before even throwing it once!
@@jsesqa874 I am not. The Ultra Angle came out way later and was the first asymmetrical core, and no one knew how to drill it. The Grey Angle was the second product after the Black Angle.
I recall the Ultra Angle had to be drilled 90 degrees rotational offset from the label for lefties or else it would roll over the thumbhole. Nobody knew how to drill those balls back in the day. I hope I got that offset correct.
@@chrisfreemesser5707 urethane is my main type of cover I throw. Start with a overseas super obsession and when I see it jump I throw my overseas version of the black hammer that was over here in2015 to 2017 that is the magenta urethane hammer and I can creat more shape with that for smooth and if I want a urethane to shape and drive like a faball I throw my black hammer urethane from 2015 to 2017 season with same layout and both at 500 trucut from creating the difference. The Tru cut pads cut at the grit they say. 500 stays at 500 and the ball keeps the 500 grit teeth for 6 plus games.
I don't remember exact prices as I was a teen back then but from what I remember Hammers were priced at the top end with Angles being a mid-range urethane option. Ebonite urethane was priced below the Angles, and for good reason 😉
@@edwine.y9920 That's a matter of opinion. In theory the core should give the Ultra better hitting power like the Faball Hammers had but I have no idea if that actually was the case
Black Angle was the GOAT of the 80s. First and best. I had many dozens of bowling balls, and none of them were as consistently effective as the Black Angles I threw.
