First experience bowling was there, as a freshman being dragged along with my dorm-mates. This was in the late 70s when drinking at dorm events was encouraged, not discouraged. I bowled a 9.

Cal8285;842656951 said:

---

I definitely got better scores at ASUC than Albany Bowl, but Albany Bowl had the advantage of being away from campus where people would feel more free to talk about top secret information regarding Cal athletics. :p

---

I really thought this thread was going to be about Albany Bowl.

http://bearinsider.com/forums/showthread.php?75378-The-Surreal-Life-at-Albany-Bowl&highlight=albany+bowl

sycasey;842657727 said:

---

I really thought this thread was going to be about Albany Bowl.

http://bearinsider.com/forums/showthread.php?75378-The-Surreal-Life-at-Albany-Bowl&highlight=albany+bowl

---

If only there were a local bowling alley with a Boston Market inside of it.

JSC 76;842656456 said:

---

In another CFB forum I mentioned that I took bowling at Cal, at the on-campus bowling alley. A (much younger) Old Blue responded with amazement.

Anybody else here remember the bowling alley under the student union? Now a bookstore, I believe....anybody recall what year the transition took place?

I have many fond memories of hours wasted, playing pinball down there. (Between the bowling alley and the Evans Hall computer lab, it seems I spent most of my college years underground.)

---

Yes. We bowled there several times late 60's early 70's

JSC 76;842656456 said:

---

I have many fond memories of hours wasted, playing pinball down there. (Between the bowling alley and the Evans Hall computer lab, it seems I spent most of my college years underground.)

---

One of my house mates (coops) had access to Etcheverry's basement computer lab in the 80s and it was open pretty much all night. Any way, someone loaded an NFL simulator on the PCs so we'd go over after midnight and play a few hours. Pretty damn cool for the time: free, color monitors, software on the machines. Major time kill.

I think the shutdown had more to do with economics than the robbery. Met a gal who was working there at the time, iirc they were tied up. pretty scary.

In the late 90s it was still "The Underground". The 90s saw a transition away from arcades and by the 2000s a lot of arcades had shut down, arcade games weren't competing well with consoles and the rise of the playstation and xbox. Existing machines were aging and expensive to replace, and new games were $1 or more to play, cost a ton to purchase, and drew a smaller fanbase.

In 1994 when chancellor Tien had his freshman/chancellor's gala - you could play all night for free.

The lanes were there, and I think they got refinished in the late 90s also, but I never rolled there.

ninetyfourbear;842656532 said:

---

I worked in the Underground during the early nineties. At that time, one half of the bowling lanes had been removed and replaced with pool tables as you recall. I believe that happened late eighties. I'm not exactly sure when they removed the rest of the lanes but I believe it was mid- to late-nineties when they moved some of the arcade machines upstairs and put the bookstore downstairs.

Working there, I did get to try and fix issues with the lanes (usually stuck pins or bowling balls) and those machines were ancient. Also, every Sunday, the lanes were waxed with this machine that we had to pull halfway down and then it would drive itself to the front. I usually brought a change of shoes and socks because the wax (or oil?) would seep into my shoes.

There were some incidents that occurred during the time that I worked there that lead to the Underground being closed to the public which put a serious dent into the money that was being made. Friday and Saturday nights became like a dead zone.

A little while after I graduated, I heard about an armed robbery that occurred after hours. I wouldn't be surprised if that was the final nail in the coffin for the Underground being open late.

---

was on bowling league for a couple of years late 60's . had the two pillars there. was alot of fun. i don't think many students realized there was a bowling alley below the student union. i bowled alot back then in high school and CAL, but tennis was my best sport, just not quite good enough to be on CAL's teams.

I took bowling the last quarter of my senior year in '68. Because of the switch over from the semester system, I needed something like 3/5 of a unit more to graduate and bowling was right in my wheelhouse, although I was a crappy bowler. I liked the fact that I could take a PE class in my street clothes.