It is with great sadness that I announce that Earl Ma has died after a long battle with cancer. In addition to being a lovely guy with vast stores of energy and passion, Earl was instrumental in the campaign to save his beloved 76 Balls.

It began with his interviewing Nathan Marsak and myself for a feature in Check the Oil! magazine, but he soon became the go-to guy whenever another journalist covering the campaign needed to put Union 76 into its proper historical context. Earl knew everything about the brand, and was always generous responding to anyone's questions. And in his spare time, he made an effort to videotape every 76 Ball, ideally spinning, that he could find and shared those tapes on Youtube so future generations could see lost balls in situ.

I only met Earl once, for a breakfast and Philippe's in downtown LA with fellow 76 Ball geeks J. Eric Freedner and Nathan, but recognized him immediately in his Union 76 regalia. We all had a great visit, with no idea it would be our last.

I greatly appreciated Earl's intelligence, kindness and reliability. He was a true gentleman, and it's some small consolation to know that he left this plane knowing that the 76 Ball lives on in large part thanks to his efforts.

Godspeed, Earl, and thanks for all your good work and friendship.

A tip o' the pin to Bill Griffith, who has for the second time honored the endangered 76 Balls with a visit from their pal Zippy. This strip also references our own Earl Ma, whose photo and video documentation of the 76 Balls of Honolulu and Los Angeles offers bittersweet cause for reflection in anyone who loves classic design.

We dig this rallying cry: NO NIX 76! 

Here are the last of the 76 Ball short films shot by Earl Ma in Hawaii. He notes these are the first Hawaiian balls that he's seen with the spinning motors turned off, which has become sadly standard in Southern California.

If you care about the 76 Balls, please call Sylvia Hansen in External Communications at ConocoPhillips, (281) 293-1000. Request that she call Nathan Marsak back and open a dialogue about how to work together to turn this bad publicity around and save some balls.

Sand Island Union 76 station, 165 Sand Island Access Road, Honolulu, HI, April 2006

Miyazaki Airport Union 76 service station, Honolulu International Airport, 351 Rodgers Boulevard, Honolulu, HI, April 2006

Hi-Way Union 76 service station, Pearl City Shopping Center, 850 Kamehameha Highway, Pearl City, HI, April 2006

Bobby's Union 76 station, 99-236 Moanalua Road, Aiea, HI, April 2006

Here are five more 76 Ball short films from the camera of Earl Ma, these from his recent trip to Southern California. Compared to the Oahu spheres posted earlier, you'll note that the SoCal stations aren't using the rotating motors, thus weakening the power of this extraordinary sign. Is this a cost-saving move, or just another symbol of corporate neglect?

Studio City Union 76 service station, 12863 Ventura Boulevard, Studio City, CA, April 2006

Gregory Union 76 service station, 5436 W. 6th Street, Los Angeles, CA, April 2006

Tommy's Union 76 service station, 5890 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA, April 2006

Jack Colkers Union 76 station, 427 N. Crescent Drive, Beverly Hills, CA, April 2006

Norm's Union 76 service station, 7979 W. Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA, April 2006