Tenpin Bowling History

Tenpin bowling is popular for many reasons. It is a sport that can be enjoyed with family or friends or pursued competitively on the amateur or professional levels. It also an activity that can be enjoyed by people of any size or weight, including those with disabilities.

  1. History

    • Different forms of bowling can be traced as far back as ancient Egypt. Bowling has been a game of the wealthy, used as a test of religious faith, and as gambling pastime. From the pharaohs of Egypt to Roman legionnaires, early European royalty, and people all over the world today, bowling has evolved into the popular game of ten pin bowling as we know it today. Kegelspiel, a nine-pin German game, was brought to the New World by the Dutch. In the early 1800s, nine-pin bowling was outlawed in Connecticut due to the gambling and drinking that was associated with it. To get around this, patrons of the game began bowling with ten pins. In 1895, the American Bowling Congress (ABC) was formed, which was the first successful organization to enforce uniform rules and regulations. The first national tournament was held in 1901.

    Significance

    • Professional bowling teams were very popular, including the Budweiser team in the 1950s. All five bowlers on this team would go on to be inducted in the Hall of Fame, including Don Carter. When the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) was formed in 1958, team bowling became less popular than individual stars. Don Carter was the very first athlete to sign a million dollar endorsement deal. In 1961, he loaned his name to a bowling equipment manufacturer for $100,000 per year for ten years. Successful professional bowlers made more than other sports' athletes until the late 1970s, when free agency was born. More recently, Earl Anthony and Walter Ray Williams have dominated the sport earning more than 40 titles each.

    Function

    • Since the ABC was formed in 1895, other organizations have formed as well. These include the WIBC in 1916, which showcased women bowlers, and the YABA for youth. In the spring of 2004, all of these organizations came together to be sanctioned as one in the United States Bowling Congress (USBC). This group speaks for all U.S. bowlers with a single, unified voice from youth to adults of both sexes.

    The Pins

    • Ten pin bowling standards are shared worldwide making international bowling less complicated. The pins are 15inches tall, weighing three pounds, six ounces to three pounds, ten ounces. They are 4.75 inches in diameter at the widest point and 1.5 inches at the neck, or narrowest point. The base is 2.5 inches wide. They are 12 inches apart, from the center of each pin to any surrounding pin. Pins are set up in the form of an equilateral triangle, measuring 3 feet on each side.

    The Lane

    • Lanes are made of wood, or very hard synthetic material, laid out as a flat surface. Each lane measures 41 to 42 inches wide and 60 feet long from the foul line to the center of the front pin, also called the "head" pin. The approach, or the area where the bowler approaches the lane, is 16 to 17 feet from the start to the foul line. The dreaded gutters are 10 inches wide on each side of the lane and 3.5 inches deep.

    Equipment

    • There are very specific guidelines to the ball, including the balance of it once the finger holes have been drilled. Balls of solid, nonmetallic material, measure 27 inches in circumference and weigh up to 16 pounds. Special shoes are required as well. Amateurs can rent shoes from most bowling alleys; however, these will not be well made and won't lead to a bowler learning to control their game to the fullest. A good pair of shoes will have different soles on each. The "sliding" shoe will have a smooth leather sole while the other will have a nonmarking, rubberized sole for traction. Rental shoes will have sliding material on both as they serve right and left handed bowlers.

    Potential

    • In a game of ten-pin bowling, each player gets ten turns, or frames, in which they try to knock down all of the pins in a single roll of the ball. Upon success, it is called a strike, points are awarded and that turn is over. If there are any pins standing, he may try again. If all ten pins are successfully knocked down with the second throw, it is called a spare and a lesser number of points are awarded. During the tenth frame, there is an extra turn if a strike or spare is made and up to three balls may be thrown. If fewer than ten pins are knocked down in any given frame, the number of fallen pins is the score for that turn. The highest any player can score is 300 points, which comes by bowling only strikes in the entire game. That is 12 strikes in a row.