Bowling is one of the oldest and most widely played of the world's games. Its history has been traced back to the Stone Age, to the Egyptians, Romans, and right up to today's modern bowling centers. Chances are that the caveman's idea of bowling was to roll or throw a round stone at other stones or possibly logs.

The earliest record of bowling goes back 7,000 years to ancient Egypt where a round object resembling a bowling ball, and marble bars, resembling bowling pins, were found in the ruins of a pyramid. From Egypt , bowling moved to ancient Babylonia and then to Northern Italy around Julius Caesar's time.

The Italian version of bowling, bocce, which is still played today, is somewhat similar to lawn bowling--an English game originating over 800 years ago. The English also played other games which can be considered variations of bowling--such as half-bowls, skittles, and nine pins.

The form of bowling we play today, bowling at pins, was first mentioned in a book about the city of London , England , written over 800 years ago. In those days, bowling was strictly an outdoor game. The first indoor bowling took place in London as far back as 1455. It was a popular game reserved mainly for the nobility. In Germany , the name of the game was kegling--and the participants were known as "keglers

Bowling came to America with the first Dutch settlers. And of course, Washington Irving wrote about bowling in his famous story about Rip Van Winkle. Through the years, the game changes continually

In America the game became very popular. But people began to gamble on the sport, and for a while it was looked on as an evil event. The state of Connecticut outlawed "bowling at nine pins," as it was described. To get around that law, residents added an additional pin and this was the beginning of the 10-pin game played today! By the mid-1900s, the sport was once again an accepted form of family recreation.

The American Bowling Congress , which was organized in 1895, established standard playing rules and regulations.

The American Bowling Congress (ABC)

As bowling became more and more popular, it became apparent that a standard set of rules and regulations had to be established. Most bowling alleys did not have a standard for pin weight,size, ball weight/size and lane dimensions. This obviously caused several problems when people bowled in more than one house. The American Bowling Congress a for profit, non-governmental institution was established in 1895 to standardize the bowling industry.

To "enforce" these standards in all houses, the ABC sanctioned (inspected and approved) all houses that met the new rigid standards. This sanctioning allowed the bowling establishments to form ABC sanctioned leagues and hold ABC sanctioned tournaments. The importance of this was not trivial. The ABC provided varying levels of awards and recognition for excellence which, until the establishment of the ABC, was not widely available to the average bowler. These awards, especially the coveted 300 patch and ring because highly prized and sought after by bowlers. The percentage of unsanctioned leagues started to drop dramatically.

Additionally, the ABC provided strict yet flexible rules and regulations for league play and tournament play. This helped establish common ground rules in all sanctioned events. The ABC also established a governing board that was the final authority in any league rule disputes. Today, the ABC has over 2.9 million members bowling in literally thousands of leagues all over the United States and selected countries throughout the world. Membership to the ABC is usually provided through your local league and mandatory in ABC sanctioned events. Membership is good for one year and includes summer leagues in the year membership.

An interesting side note is that during the league season of 1990-1991 there were 14,192 sanctioned 300 games by ABC members, while during the 1961-62 season (the earliest statistics 300's were kept), there were only 790 sanctioned 300 games. Ironically in 1962 there were 11,476 bowling centers, and according to the ABC, in 1992, the number had dwindled to 7,904.

The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA)

The Professional Bowlers Association was established in 1958 by founder Eddie Elias. When the PBA was founded, there were only 33 members. Today, that number has grown to almost 3500. Additionally, there are 700 members on the PBAs senior tour.

The PBA was formed to promote the status of the qualified bowler to the rank of prefessional and to promote bowling to the status of a major sport. Additionally, it was formed to promote the sport of bowling and to allow the bowler to gain employment through bowling. Additionally the PBA provides its members a retirement plan, life insurance, a benevolent fund for the relief of deserving members to institute welfare and retirement and pension programs.

To gain membership into the PBA, a prospective applicant must meet the following minimum requirements:

Once the application is received, the Regional Director will review the application for completeness and accuracy and forward the applicaton and initiation fee to the Commissioner who in turn will mail a synopsis of the applicant to all Executive Board members and the Regional representatives.

The Executive Board members will vote "YES", "NO" or "Don't Know" on the applications and mail the response to the Commissioner. If the tabulated votes show three or more negative votes, the applicant will be rejected and the commissioner will notify the applicant.

In Europe , as already mentioned, it was played with 9 pins. Then, after its introduction in America , a tenth pin was added-- which is still the way it is played today. The tenth pin was added, according to popular legend, to circumvent a ruling in the 1840's by the Connecticut Legislature which outlawed nine-pins because of widespread gambling in the game.

The most significant technological advancement in the game of bowling was the introduction of the automatic pinspotter in the 1940's. This amazing machine revolutionized the bowling industry and brought bowling into the modern era. Since then, bowling has continued to advance with the introduction of "bumpers", devices that are placed in the gutter lanes to prevent gutter balls for small children. Many bowling centers in the mid 1990's offer Galactic Bowling , bowling with black lighting, pins that glow in the dark and special effects lighting and music. Today, one out of every three (3) Americans bowl -- over 72 million men, women and children. Who knows what the 21st Century holds for Bowling!

The International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame has replicas of artifacts for a game similar to bowling which were found in the tomb of an ancient Egyptian youth who died approximately 5,200 BC. Ancient Polynesians rolled stones at objects from a distance of 60 feet (18.29 meters) - the same distance as from foul line to headpin.

During the 3rd and 4th century, bowling was a religious ceremony for determining absence of sin. German parishioners had to roll or throw an object at a pin or kegel (derivation of the word kegler for bowler) to avoid performing an act of penance.

The earliest known legislation against bowling dates to 14th Century England . The sport had become so popular that people were neglecting the archery practice necessary for national defense during the 100 Year War (a misnomer, since it actually lasted from 1337 to 1453). Both King Edward III who reigned from 1327-1377 and King Richard II (1377-1399) banned the game. From Europe to America , bowling has been banned throughout the world for the "evil it leashes on society."

A life size diorama at The International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame portrays Martin Luther bowling on the single lane at the side of his home. A brochure from the Museum states that Luther, an avid bowler, "once preached a sermon which, if put into bowling vernacular, proclaimed we all strive for perfection in life. But if we roll a gutterball, all is not lost."

Dutch Colonists brought bowling to America in the 17th century. The game consisted of nine pins set in a triangle. It was regularly played in an area of New York City still known as " Bowling Green ".

In 1841, Connecticut banned "bowling at the game of ninepins" because of widespread gambling. Other states followed suit. It is popularly believed that today's game of tenpins was devised to circumvent the laws against the game of ninepins. An outdoor game for most of its history, indoor bowling became popular in the mid-nineteenth century after the introduction of indoor lanes in New York in 1840.

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