The Factor X Story

It was the fall of 1986, and Tom Clukay was putting together a team to compete in the ABC National Tournament in Niagara Falls, NY the following spring.  The name Tom decided upon for the team was "The X Factor," and just like that, the Factor X era had begun!

For the first couple of years "The X Factor" was a team name reserved exclusively for ABC National tournament competition.  The team competed in Jacksonville, FL in 1988, and in Wichita, KS in 1989.  And it was after the 1989 competition in Wichita that the team underwent its first name change.

One of the members of the 1989 team fresh out of junior league was a young man by the name of Rich Hayes.  And while Rich could rev a bowling ball with the best of them (actually, better than most), he had not yet learned the fine art of ball control.  Now this was through no fault of his own, mind you; house conditions were getting pretty easy, so shooting your best at home required power first, accuracy second.  And if you had enough power, you could pretty much forego accuracy altogether.

But then came the Nationals, which places a premium on accuracy.  As a general rule, revving the ball up to the max and bouncing it off the three-board doesn't work very well.  And needless to say, it didn't work very well that year in Wichita.  The team through quite a few gutter balls that year, and Rich had the dubious honor of tossing a zero frame.

Now back in 1989, the computerized scoring system used by the American Bowling Congress at their National tournament registered a "G" whenever a gutter ball was thrown on the first ball.  Normally, these "G's" would only appear on the board for an instant; they would be replaced by actual pinfall as soon as the bowler threw his second ball.  Well, much to Rich's horror, upon throwing a double-gutter, he discovered that the "G" remains emblazoned on the overhead scoresheet indefinitely, for everybody to see.  And for Rich's unrelenting teammates, this was a ceremonial event.  "The X Factor" chapter came to a close, and "The G Factor" was born.

"The G Factor" continued to compete for several more years in the ABC tournament, and also began competing in local tournaments in the New England area, including the Gold Crown Open in Saint Johnsbury, VT, and the Northeast Tournament in Keene, NH.  In 1994, Tom decided to change the name team name back to its original name of "The X Factor," citing the fact that throwing strikes is more positive and optimistic than advertising gutter balls.

The team's final name change came in 1996.  "The X Factor," which had been based in Keene, NH since its inception moved to its new home in Winchendon, MA. And just as Red Sox slugger Carlton Fisk changed his jersey number from "27" to "72" when leaving Boston for the Chicago White Sox, so too Clukay changed his team's name ...

... and "Factor X" was born!