T E N P I N B O W L I N G C E N T R E

Bowling can be traced back at least 7,000 years to Egypt, where

archeologists unearthed stone balls and nine pins from a child's

gravesite. Bowling's history for the next 5,000 years is largely unknown.

In third-century Germany, bowling was a religious rite. At that time,

Germans carried clubs called kegals for protection. At one end of the

church cloister they would stand up a kegel to symbolize a heathen and

roll a ball at it from the other end. If a bowler (kegler) knocked over the

kegel, he was said to have killed the heathen and was honoured at a

post-session banquet. Any bowler failing to knock over the kegel was

encouraged to seek spiritual fortification in church.

For the next thousand years, Germans bowled at clusters of 3 to 17 pins,

9 emerged as the most popular number. Play was commonly conducted

on such diverse surfaces as clay, slate and cinders, with the wooden

surface first appearing in Holland and Switzerland. The bowling

playing surface of this time was approximately 1 foot wide.

Ninepin bowling was simultaneously spreading to France, England and

Spain, but with varied pin arrangements and widely diverse pin

dimensions. The French had quilles and the English had skittles and

long bowling, the forerunner of modern bowling.

Henry VIII Striking out?

In England bowling assumed the character of a commoners sport with

the first establishment opening in London in the fifteenth century. The

word alley became associated with pin bowling establishments and

bowling became more closely identified with tavern life. It was with this

image that bowling went to America with the Dutch colonists.

The evolution can be divided into four general time periods based upon

the organization of participation, the establishment of standards for

play and on the localization of control into various guiding bodies.

The development period (1837-1875) featured bowling's growth as a

regular outdoor family activity for German immigrant social groups.

Eventually participation moved indoors to ethnic cultural centres in

which persons of similar background could enjoy food, drink and

recreational activities together. In 1840 Americas' first commercial

indoor establishment, The Knickerbocker Alleys opened in Manhattan,

featuring ninepin bowling. This venture enjoyed continued success

primarily because it served the desires of New York's large German

population. Soon the outward enthusiasm of these people for bowling

attracted other Americans to the sport.

Bowling continued to draw gamblers and hustlers and genuine bowling

enthusiasts waged continuous battles against local authorities who tried

to ban bowling activity as a way to eliminate gambling, the idle use of

time and drinking. It is believed that the addition of a tenth pin to the

pin arrangement was a tactic to get round an 1837 ban of public ninepin

bowling by the government of Connecticut.

As public bans on leisure activities became more frequent, bowling

groups answered the challenge by forming clubs. Such clubs were

legally protected as long as they were appropriately licensed and

originated for the common good of the members. During the club era

(1875-1895) the exclusive but permissive club environment provided a

way for serious enthusiasts to shape the development of bowling in

America. Bowlings existence was assured within the confines of the

club, but the chaotic state of playing rules and standards left the future

of large-scale competitive bowling uncertain. Bowling took many forms

bowlers in the east used different rules to bowlers in the west, some had

nine pins while others had ten.

During these years a maximum score was usually 200, with three balls

per frame (each attempt to knock down a full setup of pins) and ten

frames making up one game. In some areas bowlers started with 200

points and points were deducted with each roll of the ball, the object

being to reach zero first. The weight and size of pins and balls varied

greatly and there were no standard lane specifications. It needed a

governing body to bring all this into line. The first such group appeared

in 1875 and was called the National Bowling Association (NBA) the

NBA formulated rules with respect to the ball size, playing procedures

and lane specifications. In 1890 a successor came along called the

American Bowling League (ABL) standardizing the pin size and

eliminating the third ball while still leaving the maximum score at 200.

Pinboys resetting the pins

The competitive era (1895-1961) featured a growth in competitive

bowling. It began with the forming in 1895 of the American Bowling

Congress (ABC). It was this body that agreed upon the present method

of scoring with 300 as the maximum score, pin placement of 12 inches

centre to centre was agreed and a programme of lane inspection to

ensure consistency of lane specifications was adhered to. They also

started yearly tournaments to promote the sport and allow bowlers

from all parts of the nation to compete under standardized conditions.

During the 50's and 60's because of television coverage bowling

experienced a rise in popularity with people of all ages

The commercial era (1961- present) bowling although still a very

competitive sport, is now becoming a family pursuit and centres

becoming more recreationally orientated, catering for people who come

for entertainment not for competition. The bowling industry however

are always developing new balls and accessories targeted at the serious

bowler.