1940: Bowling

The history of bowling dates back to our primeval days when cavemen are known to have played a game called 'Sheeps' Joyntes' which consisted of the throwing of small-sized stones at the joint bones stuck into the ground. Credit for having originated the more modern version of the sport, however, is divided between the natives of Northern Italy and the Polonysians of the South Sea Islands where variations of the game are still played.

Other forms of the sport were enjoyed, so historians tell us, by kings and paupers alike. The kings of England were especially impressed with bowles and were often found engaged in the game with members of their court. Martin Luther, Charlemagne and Sir Francis Drake are other notables with whom the pastime found exceeding favor.

The game of tenpins, however, actually originated in the United States, bowling being brought to this country by the Dutch as ninepins. The game rapidly digressed and was contaminated by a gambling element whose influence state legislators of New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut sought to eliminate by placing a ban on ninepins. The bowlers circumvented this move by adding an extra pin and, there being no law against tenpins, proceeded with their activities without interruptions.

Attempts to elevate the game of bowling failed consistently until 1895. In that year, a group of sportsmen who had taken the game to heart, organized the American Bowling Congress in a meeting held in Beethoven Hall, New York City. From that time forward, the progress of the game has been marked. Not only has bowling been taken from the saloon and placed in the wholesome environment of the modern tenpin establishment, but women and children are rapidly becoming frequent visitors to bowling centers and are enjoying the benefits of the sport in ever-increasing numbers.

The chief contribution of the American Bowling Congress to date has been the accomplishment of a uniformity of rules and playing conditions and a strict policing of the game, which has resulted in the building of a sport now ranked as the leading participative game. Today nearly 20,000,000 men, women and children of the Western Hemisphere bowl, either in sanctioned leagues or in open play.

The American Bowling Congress annually conducts a tournament for its members. This event, which was begun in 1901 when 41 teams were entered, last season drew 6,073 teams at Detroit. The 1941 tournament is scheduled to be held in St. Paul, Minn.

The world's champions for the 1939-40 season as determined by the ABC at Detroit are as follows: Singles — Raymond Brown, Terre Haute, Ind., 742; Doubles — Herbert Freitag, Joe Sinke, Chicago, Ill., 1,346; All Events — Fred Fischer, Buffalo, N. Y., 2,001; Team — Monarch Beer, Chicago, Ill., 3,047.

The national match-game champion is Ned Day, West Allis, Wis., who won the tournament conducted by the Bowling Proprietors Association of America.

Champions for the 1939-40 season, as determined by the annual tournament of the Women's International Bowling Congress, conducted at Syracuse, N. Y., are as follows: Singles — Sally Twyford, Chicago, Ill., 626; Doubles — Tess Morris, Dorothy Miller, Chicago, Ill., 1,181; All Events — Tess Morris, Chicago, Ill., 1,777; Team — Logan Square Buicks, Chicago, Ill., 2,689.