When Was the First Bowling Shoe Made?

There is no specific date as to when the first bowling shoe was made, but many cultures throughout the world have practiced the sport of bowling. Its influence has reached 95 million participants worldwide making the production of bowling shoes important to the sport.

  1. Former Footwear

    • There is no direct source explaining the very first shoe made and when it was used in bowling, but footwear may have been optional throughout different cultures. British lawn bowling was a type of bowling practiced outdoors, so it can be assumed footwear was used. This sport was well established by 1299 A.D. and influenced bowling when brought to America by English immigrants.

    Ancient History of Bowling

    • Bowling can be traced back to 3200 B.C. in Egypt. Sir Flinders Petrie, an anthropologist during the 1930s, discovered objects in a child's grave believed to have been used for bowling. Medieval Europe is perhaps most responsible for how the sport is recognized today. They threw or rolled rocks at objects other than pins.

    Introduction to Bowling

    • The Dutch, English, and German settlers all contributed their own version of the sport. Its first introduction into American literature was by Washington Irving in which he mentioned the sport using the character Rip Van Winkle waking up to the sound of "crashing ninepins." Ninepin bowling was an outlet for gambling in America, so a Connecticut law in 1841 made it illegal to have ninepin lanes. Eventually, tenpin bowling stemmed from the outlaw of ninepin bowling.

    Mr. A. Lindsay

    • Just after the New Year in 1888, an advertisement for A. Lindsay's store introduced the Dermative shoe to the American market. This imported novelty was designed to resist water and resist more wear than leather. The material was versatile for sports such as tennis, bowling, cricketing, and yachting. The stitching was improved so there would be a better grip over wet surfaces. This material helped in bowling because of the lane oil. Occasionally, some lane oil can be in the standing area of the bowling alley where a bowler prepares to throw the ball, so these new shoes helped with traction.

    Current Trends

    • Even though there isn't a direct answer to "when was the first bowling shoe made," we can understand events occurring throughout the sports history and understanding how somebody at some point decided wear shoes for this sport. However, without the European influence on bowling in America and without America's growing industrial practices, the sport wouldn't have reached the point it's at today. No matter what the bowling shoe's initial purpose was, it is now a necessity to enjoy the sport of bowling.