A Brief History of Bowling
Bowling has grown to become a popular sport throughout the world. In this sport, the player aims to score points by rolling a bowling ball along a flat surface called the lane, to topple the objects stationed at the end of the lane, called pins. Just like the sport itself, bowling's history is also very interesting. Ancient Egypt appears to be the area where bowling originated. This was first reported by the British Anthropologist Sir Flinders Petrie and his team of archaeologists, in the 1930s.
Anthropologist Sir Flinders Petrie and his team unearthed a collection of objects from a small child’s grave in ancient Egypt, which indicated the existence of some primitive form of bowling. All the artifacts collected could be traced back to 3200 BC, making the game more than 5000 years old. However, there are conflicting views on the origination of the game, with many historians believing that bowling evolved much later. German historian William Pehle, believed that the game of bowling originated in Germany around 300 AD.
Bowling was introduced as a religious ceremony by monks in Germany, as a customary test of faith. Beyond that, the existence of bowling was also reported in England during the early 1100s. Throughout the country, several variations of bowling, such as half-bowls, skittles and ninepins, were played during the mid 1300s. However, the first documented proof of the game was made by King Edward III in 1366. Edward banned bowling by his troops, because it was distracting them from their archery practice.
Later, the game gained popularity during the regime of King Henry VIII and was played as a symbol of nobility and social status. Bowling has also been popular in America since colonial days. It is also believed that during the 17th century, all the English, Dutch and German settlers brought their own version of bowling to America. During that time, the game involved only nine pins, which were regularly played in a specific area of New York that is still known as ‘Bowling Green’. However, in 1841, Connecticut banned ninepins because it was used primarily as a way to gamble.
Bowling gained additional stature when restaurateur Joe Thum brought together the representatives of the various regional bowling clubs in 1895. This initial organization resulted in the formation of the American Bowling Congress on September 9, 1895, at Beethoven Hall in New York. The establishment of the congress brought about standardization as well as several major national competitions. Though the game of bowling became quite popular amongst women by the latter half of the nineteenth century, the American Bowling Congress was originally restricted only to men. This decision gave rise to the Women's International Bowling Congress in 1917 in St. Louis. It was established by proprietor Dennis Sweeney, who gathered women leaders from around the country to form the ‘Women's National Bowling Association’. In 2005, the WIBC merged with the ABC, the Young American Bowling Alliance (YABA) and USA Bowling to form the United States Bowling Congress (USBC). 
At about this same time, a major leap occured in bowling technology. Previously, the balls used were primarily made from lignum vitae, a very hard wood. In 1905 the "Evertrue" was introduced as the first rubber ball. And in 1914, the Brunswick Corporation promoted the Mineralite ball, hyping its ‘mysterious rubber compound’. In addition, the automatic pinspotter, invented in 1940s, revolutionized the bowling game as well as industry.
In 1952, the Federation Internationale de Quilleurs was formed to administer amateur bowling. The federation sponsored a world championship tournament every four years in three zones: American, European and Asian. In 1965 the prestigious World Cup was first played and in the 1988 Summer Olympics, bowling was accepted as a demonstration sport. With this, the first world youth tenpin championships began in 1990.
A Brief History of Bowling
Bowling has grown to become a popular sport throughout the world. In this sport, the player aims to score points by rolling a bowling ball along a flat surface called the lane, to topple the objects stationed at the end of the lane, called pins. Just like the sport itself, bowling's history is also very interesting. Ancient Egypt appears to be the area where bowling originated. This was first reported by the British Anthropologist Sir Flinders Petrie and his team of archaeologists, in the 1930s.
Anthropologist Sir Flinders Petrie and his team unearthed a collection of objects from a small child’s grave in ancient Egypt, which indicated the existence of some primitive form of bowling. All the artifacts collected could be traced back to 3200 BC, making the game more than 5000 years old. However, there are conflicting views on the origination of the game, with many historians believing that bowling evolved much later. German historian William Pehle, believed that the game of bowling originated in Germany around 300 AD.
Bowling was introduced as a religious ceremony by monks in Germany, as a customary test of faith. Beyond that, the existence of bowling was also reported in England during the early 1100s. Throughout the country, several variations of bowling, such as half-bowls, skittles and ninepins, were played during the mid 1300s. However, the first documented proof of the game was made by King Edward III in 1366. Edward banned bowling by his troops, because it was distracting them from their archery practice.
Later, the game gained popularity during the regime of King Henry VIII and was played as a symbol of nobility and social status. Bowling has also been popular in America since colonial days. It is also believed that during the 17th century, all the English, Dutch and German settlers brought their own version of bowling to America. During that time, the game involved only nine pins, which were regularly played in a specific area of New York that is still known as ‘Bowling Green’. However, in 1841, Connecticut banned ninepins because it was used primarily as a way to gamble.
Bowling gained additional stature when restaurateur Joe Thum brought together the representatives of the various regional bowling clubs in 1895. This initial organization resulted in the formation of the American Bowling Congress on September 9, 1895, at Beethoven Hall in New York. The establishment of the congress brought about standardization as well as several major national competitions. Though the game of bowling became quite popular amongst women by the latter half of the nineteenth century, the American Bowling Congress was originally restricted only to men.
This decision gave rise to the Women's International Bowling Congress in 1917 in St. Louis. It was established by proprietor Dennis Sweeney, who gathered women leaders from around the country to form the ‘Women's National Bowling Association’. In 2005, the WIBC merged with the ABC, the Young American Bowling Alliance (YABA) and USA Bowling to form the United States Bowling Congress (USBC).
At about this same time, a major leap occured in bowling technology. Previously, the balls used were primarily made from lignum vitae, a very hard wood. In 1905 the "Evertrue" was introduced as the first rubber ball. And in 1914, the Brunswick Corporation promoted the Mineralite ball, hyping its ‘mysterious rubber compound’. In addition, the automatic pinspotter, invented in 1940s, revolutionized the bowling game as well as industry.
In 1952, the Federation Internationale de Quilleurs was formed to administer amateur bowling. The federation sponsored a world championship tournament every four years in three zones: American, European and Asian. In 1965 the prestigious World Cup was first played and in the 1988 Summer Olympics, bowling was accepted as a demonstration sport. With this, the first world youth tenpin championships began in 1990.