The History of the Sport of Bowling

Bowling which is one of the most popular and widely played sports today is thought to be well over 5000 years old. It is believed that the Egyptians were among the first to play this game. Sir Flinders Petrie and a team of archaeologists discovered bowling artifacts in an Egyptian grave dating back to 3200BC.

Bowling also has some history in . According to German historicist William Pehle bowling was played in around 200-300AD. According to German history, bowling was played during festivals where stones were thrown at wooden sticks which were known as 'kegles' and the bowlers were known as 'keglers'.

Bowling history in dates back to around 1100AD. According to history, in 1366 King Edward III forbid his troops from playing the sport in hopes they would spend more time practicing archery. Bowling gained popularity in during King Henry VIII's reign.

During this time other countries were also establishing their own forms of the game of bowling. In , the bowler would throw a fingerless ball between his legs toward the pins and then flop onto the lane landing on his belly. The their form of bowling was commonly called 'Dutch Pins'. In , 'Bocce' was established. In they enjoyed the game of lawn bowling while the French played 'Petanque'.

It is believed that Dutch and German settlers were among the first to bring the game of bowling to around the 16th century. According to accounts the first permanent location for bowling in was in Manhattan, New York which is still referred to as ' Bowling Green '.

Bowling has enjoyed its successes and hardships throughout its long history in . In 1841, establishing any 'Nine Pins' lanes was outlawed in Connecticut due to its connection to gambling. Due to bowling's popularity this did not stop wealthy individually from installing their own bowling facilities inside their mansions.

The exact time frame and location where the tenpin form of bowling was established is uncertain, but by the late 1800s tenpin bowling had evolved to become the most common form of bowling in . It was prevalent in several states including New York, Ohio and Illinois . At this time there was still a lack of common rules and guidelines to govern the game of bowling. Each region and location had their own variation of the sport until Joe Thum, a restaurant owner, finally decided to get regional representatives together to establish a common set of rules to govern the game.

The American Bowling Congress was established on September 9, 1895 at Beethoven Hall in New York City . This became this original governing body of the sport of bowling and was responsible for standardizing the rules and establishing major national competitions.

Even though woman had been participating in the sport of bowling the later half of the nineteenth century, the American Bowling Congress (ABC) was the governing body for Men's bowling. It wasn't until 1917 that the Women's International Bowling Congress (WIBC) was formed in St. Louis.

There were some key advances in bowling technology also around this time. Bowling balls were originally made of lignum vitae which was a very hard wood material. In 1905, the first rubber bowling ball, the 'Evertrue' was created. Bowling continued to grow in popularity. In 1951 probably the most important advance in the sport of bowling came about. The American Machine and Foundry Company (AMF), who was known around this time for its involvement in the bakery, tobacco and apparel industry, purchased the patent for Gottfried Schmidt's automatic pinspotter. By late 1952, AMF had begun producing the first automatic pinspotters which revolutionized the game of bowling. ‘Pinboys’ who were hired by bowling establishments to set pins by hand were not longer needed.

In the 1950s, bowling's popularity soared due to NBC's first national television broadcast of 'Championship Bowling'. Other bowling shows could also be found on air around this time including 'Make That Spare', 'Celebrity Bowling' and 'Bowling for Dollars'. In 1961, ABC was the first network to televise the Pro Bowlers Association (PBA) events. Telecasts of the Ladies Pro Bowlers Tour (LPBT) soon joined the PBA, and Americans interest in bowling continued to grow.

Still today, bowling is a sport that is enjoyed by millions of people in more than 90 countries worldwide.