For those who grew up in the 1970s and liked bowling, you probably remember the TV show called ‘Bowling for Dollars.’ The show was produced locally in Detroit.
You can’t get much more Michigan than bowling. At one time, almost every city or town in the state had a bowling alley for families and league bowling. The popularity of the sport has tapered off over time but for many years bowling was one of the most popular indoor sports in which almost anyone could participate.
Rolling Back Time with TV’s Bowling for Dollars
Bowling for Dollars was a popular game show that was produced and aired by local television networks in Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Unlike most game shows, Bowling for Dollars was produced locally in each state at either local bowling alleys or an alley constructed at the television station.
Contestants would mail in an entry to the local TV station that produced Bowling for Dollars for a chance to appear on the show. Bowlers had to be at least 18 years old to appear on the show. I love how the entry form asked for your bowling average.
Contestants would come out and thank a list of friends to start the show. Then the host would ask them to pick a ‘Pin Pal.’ If the bowler won the jackpot they would split the winning with the Pin Pal. The nice thing about being the Pin Pal was it was open to all ages so a kid could win half the money.
However many pins fell down is how much you would win and half would go to your Pin Pal. If a bowler didn’t get a strike the pot would move up $20. The goal was to bowl two strikes in a row to get the jackpot to be split with the Pin Pal.
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This was a charming time in television and the show was a piece of history for many Michiganders. Below is a full episode from Rochester, New York which was the same way the show ran in Michigan but with a different host.
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