1996 

Bruce Sarafian becomes the first person to flash 12 balls... Albert Lucas juggles 10 rings and flashes 12 rings for the IJA audience at the festival in Rapid City, S.D.. Bob Bramson gives the final performance of his 53 year career... Greg Kennedy wins the IJA Championships with a routine consisting of rolling balls in an acrylic bowl and The Dew Drop Jugglers win the teams competitions. 

They appeared to be unlikely leaders of a movement when they first appeared in California parks and on street corners 20 years ago. Young men and women lugged bags of props and unicycles to public places staked a claim on the passing public's attention with loud voices and fire, and started the modern tradition of juggling in America. Twenty years ago they were keeping an eye peeled for policemen who may not appreciate the show as much as the crowd. Now they're keeping an eye on the clock to make sure they don't miss a plane to take them to their next engagement at a regional theatre, comedy club, television show or college campus. What began in California as a renegade interpretation of a particular circus skill has become a corporate way of life for many jugglers today. 

But those 1970s California street jugglers not only found mainstream success, they also reinspired a whole recreational juggling movement that will be found in full flower on the campus of UCLA. It will be the 43rd annual festival and championships  of the a International Jugglers Association, an organization that was near extinction in 1968 until the fresh breeze of California street juggling revived it." "California" (Juggler's World, Summer 1990) 

It hasn't taken long for silicone balls to become the rage among jugglers. With their high-bounce resiliency, available rainbow colors and resistance to dirt, they are a prized and carefully guarded prop... Most jugglers assume that silicone balls were invented by one of the two manufacturers who produce them in greatest volume - Todd Smith or Brian Dube. . But the person to thank for delivering into them the person to thank for delivering into the juggling community this new status symbol of the trade is actually not a juggler at all. 

Frank Radtke of Toledo, Ohio, invented the silicone ball in about 1970 in pursuit of a better prop for magicians like himself. "Follow the Bouncing Silicone Ball... Back.To Where It All Began" (Juggler's World, Spring 1991) 

The Raspyni Brothers (l-r Barry Friedman and Dan Holzman) may be the most frequently televised juggling troupe of the century.

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