The History Of Bowling: One Of The World’s First
Sports
Gray Rollins
The act of trying to knock over a series of pins by rolling a
round object towards them may not be new, but this great
activity is as challenging and engaging today as it was in the
past. Archaeologists have found evidence of bowling-type games
from as long as five thousand years ago. This makes bowling one
of the oldest sports on record, dating all the way back to the
civilization of the ancient Egyptians. Every time you pull on
your bowling shoes and head for your favorite lane to try and
hit a few strikes, you are participating in a ritual that has
amused and challenged humans since the year 3200 BC.
Although the unique pedigree of bowling hardly sounds like a
recipe for one of modern America’s favorite family pastimes,
the truth remains that the game is roughly ninety percent
derived from ancient Egypt and ten percent derived from
nineteenth century law dodgers. Add a splash of turn of the
century technology, and you have the modern game of bowling.
From what historians have been able to piece together, the
basic game of bowling did not change very much between its
inception at the dawn of human culture and the middle of the
nineteenth century. At that time, the ancient game of ninepin
bowling had caught on all over Europe and had made its way to
the United States where it was a very popular sport in the
underworld community and became a favorite target for gamblers.
This led the government of the state of Connecticut to pass an
1841 law that prohibited owning a ninepin bowling alley. This
was an attempt to fragment the gambling community by making it
impossible for them to meet in the bowling alleys where they
usually gathered.
To get around this law, the gamblers in the area simply changed
the rules of the game. They added an extra pin to the bowling
setup; thereby making their alleys into tenpin bowling alleys.
The tenpin bowling alleys were technically legal to own and
operate simply because they hadn’t existed when Connecticut
banned the game of ninepins. The game of tenpins proved to be
more fun than its predecessor, and ten is the number of pins
that we still play with today.
Once ten pins became the standard for the game, the only aspect
of bowling that remained old fashioned by today’s perspective
was the ball. The first modern bowling ball was not introduced
until 1905. Before that time, most bowling balls were made of a
wood called “lignum vitae,” which was prized both for its light
weight and its durability. However, wooden bowling balls did
not have as much spring or bounce as the materials we use
today.
The first rubber bowling ball hit the market in 1905, and was
immediately popular. By 1914 a new rubberized plastic compound
was created specifically for use in bowling balls. This
compound was known as Mineralite and its use transformed the
game, enabling faster rolling speeds and greater precision.
This created whole new styles of bowling techniques, many of
which are still in use today by both top bowlers and by young
children who are just starting out.
Gray Rollins is a featured writer for Bowling
Success. To learn more about bowling, visit
http://www.bowlingsuccess.com/
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