Bowling ball

Claim 1

A bowling ball comprising an external veneer and internal core; said veneer being composed of an elastomeric material said core consisting essentially of a vulcanized elastomer matrix, wherein said matrix is selected from the group consisting of emulsion-polymerized polymers of at least one conjugated diene having from four to 12 carbon atoms and copolymers of such dienes and one or more copolymerizable monovinylidene monomers or solution-polymerized elastomers obtained by the polymerization, in the presence of a solvent for the elastomer product and an alkali metal-based polymerization initiator selected from the group consisting of (1) an Alfin catalyst, (2) an organolithium compound or (3) an alkali metal, of at least one conjugated diene having four to 12 carbon atoms or copolymers of such dienes and at least one copolymerizable monovinylidene mOnomer, containing dispersed therein a multiplicity of macroscopic chips of at least one microcellular sponge rubber, said sponge rubber having a density in the range of 0.33 to 0.49 and a Shore A hardness in the range of 40 to 55 after initial vulcanization, wherein said sponge rubber is selected from the group consisting of solutionpolymerized elastomers obtained by the polymerization, in the presence of a solvent for the elastomeric product and an alkali metal-based polymerization initiator selected from the group consisting of (1) an Alfin catalyst, (2) an organolithium compound, or (3) an alkali metal, of at least one conjugated diene containing from four to 12 carbon atoms or copolymers of such dienes and one or more copolymerizable monovinylidene monomers, and wherein the amount of said matrix is in the range of 20 to 80 weight percent, based on the weight of the core, and the amount of said sponge rubber is in the range of 80 to 20 weight percent, based on the weight of the core.