The History of Ten Pin Bowling

Throwing a ball down a lane in an attempt to knock down pins is a pastime many people enjoy. Ten-pin bowling has long been one of the most popular recreational sports in America. The sport has a colorful history, ranging back through Europe all the way to the ancient Egyptians.

  1. Egyptian Influence

    • Bowling is one of the oldest sports on record. Italian archeologists unearthed evidence in 2007 that suggests a version of the modern game may have been popular in ancient Egypt. The game, which made use of stone balls along an indoor lane, was a mix of modern-day bowling, billiards and lawn bowls. It was played in a special room that was discovered by the archeologists, which contained a lane and two stone balls. The room dates from the Roman period, sometime between the 2nd and 3rd century A.D.

    German Kegals

    • “Kegals” was a game first played by 3rd or 4th century German monks. It consisted of rolling a wooden ball along an indoor lane to knock down nine “kegals,” which were clubs, at the end of the lane. The monks who created the game viewed the kegals as representing sin or temptation, which needed to be knocked over. The German term for today’s version of bowling is “Kegelen.”

    English Skittles

    • “Skittles,” or “Nine Pins,” has been played in inns in England for centuries. The game has had many forms over the years, including “Dutch Pins,” “Four Corners” and “Rolly Polly,” but all of the forms have involved rolling a ball from a distance to knock over pins.

    Bowling Banned in 1841

    • Ninepins bowling made its way into the New World via early European settlers, and quickly became a popular sport among gamblers. This provoked the government of the state of Connecticut to pass a law in 1841 prohibiting anyone from owning or operating a ninepin bowling alley. To get around the new law, the targeted population of gamblers changed the rules of the game, adding a tenth pin, therefore creating a loophole. An unexpected benefit of this change is that tenpin bowling proved to be more fun to play than ninepin had been.

    Modern Day Bowling Balls

    • The first rubber bowling ball was produced in 1905, and was an immediate success. Before this development, balls had been made of Lignum vitae, a hard wood. Nine years later, in 1914, Brunswick Corporation’s rubber mineralite bowling ball was introduced. The 1970s brought polyester bowling balls, and in the 1980s, urethane balls made an appearance. Today’s bowling balls have a coverstock (the ball’s outer layer) made of resin. During the first season balls with resin coverstock were introduced, the number of perfect games increased by 20 percent, according to the American Bowling Congress.