Hammer Bowling
Hammer Bowling is a division of Ebonite International that specializes in the creation of mid to high performance bowling balls and quality accessories. Its products are manufactured in Ebonite's Hopkinsville, Kentucky plant. Hammer sponsors several PBA Tour bowlers including: Patrick Allen, Doug Kent, Bill O'Neill, and Billy "Billy-O" Oatman.
In 1996, Faball Enterprises licensed the Hammer product name to Faball USA. This company maintained the brand name since that time until its acquisition by Ebonite International on February 8, 2002. Faball Enterprises was formed in 1978 by Johnny Wonders and Earl Widman. In 1981, they created the second urethane ball in the market and Hammer was born. Hammer was the first to put a logo on the side of the ball. After a PBA player was featured in a tournament telecast using the ball with its visible hammer logo, sales exploded. The hammer bowling ball was also the first to produce a urethane two-piece ball. [1]
After the sale of its Hammer line to Ebonite, the Faball team went on to create a new line of equipment under the name of Visionary Bowling Products. They currently produce several lines of equipment including the popular Ogre series, the New Breed series and Gladiator series. Visionary Bowling Products are manufactured in St. Louis, MO.
Some of the more famous Faball era Hammer products are the Blue Hammer, Red Hammer, Burgundy Hammer, Black Hammer, The Nail and the Reaper series. Some of the more famous post-Faball era Hammer lines include the Blade series, Vicious series, Diesel series, Hawg series, No Mercy Series, Vibe series, Black Widow Series, Jigsaw series, the Raw Hammer, Hammer Hardcore and Taboo series.