1941: Bowling

So rapidly has the game of tenpin bowling created new adherents that it has become the leading participative sport of the Western Hemisphere. Figures quoted in many newspapers throughout the United States during the past season reveal that Americans spend more money for tenpin bowling than for any other leisure activity, with the single exception of attendance at motion pictures.

This stupendous growth of interest in the game and the great increase in its following may be attributed, partially, to the amazing numbers in which women, high school and college students have taken to bowling. The organization in May 1941, of the American High School Bowling Congress is an outstanding contribution to the welfare of American youth and constitutes a warm compliment to the proprietors of tenpin bowling establishments who have elevated the standards of their recreation centers to such a degree that high school boys and girls, women and small children and countless Church groups invade them nightly to take part in the healthful recreation.

While the membership of the American Bowling Congress, governing body for men's bowling, is now roughly placed at 1,000,000 and that of the Women's International Bowling Congress at 150,000, the total of men, women and children tenpin bowlers in the Western Hemisphere is estimated to exceed 16,000,000.

Organized bowling, however, under the guidance of the American Bowling Congress and the Women's International Bowling Congress continues to have a most steadying effect upon the game and their annual tournaments and their thousands of leagues are still the ambition and the goal of the beginner bowler.

Industry has contributed heavily to the ranks of ABC-sanctioned bowlers and nearly every manufacturing or business concern has several intramural tenpin leagues in operation. Among the largest of these are the Douglas Aircraft Corp. League, the Lockheed Aircraft Corp. League and the Southern California Telco Bowling Association League, all located in California, each of which is comprised of more than 100 five-man teams. The 86-team Catholic League of Philadelphia, however, is the largest league bowling simultaneously under one roof.

Tenpin bowling added immeasurably to its fund of knowledge of its own history during the season 1940-1941 with the discovery by Sir Flinders Petrie, famed Egyptologist of the University of London, of a game similar to tenpins found in the grave of an Egyptian child, authentically placed at 5200 bc This antedates by some 5,000 years all previous accurate information on the game's existence. It also adds greatly to the historical treasure trove being compiled by the American Bowling Congress.

The 41st annual tournament of the American Bowling Congress to determine world's champions among men was held in St. Paul, Minn., in the spring of 1941. This huge event was conducted upon 40 specially-constructed tenpin lanes, attracted an entry of 5,797 five-man teams and lasted 56 consecutive days and nights. The tournament produced the following winners: Team — Vogel Brothers, Forest Park, Ill., 3,065; Doubles — William Lee (579) and Ray Farness (767), Madison, Wis., 1,346; Singles — Fred Ruff, Belleville, Ill., 745; All-Events — Harold Kelly, South Bend, Ind., 2,013. The ABC tournament for 1942 is scheduled to be held in Columbus, Ohio, and an entry of 7,000 teams is anticipated.

The Women's International Bowling Congress tournament held in Los Angeles in 1941 drew 1,015 five-woman teams and produced the following champions: Team — Rovick Bowling Shoes, Chicago, Ill., 2,661; Doubles — Jo Pittenger and Mary Jane Hogan, Los Angeles, Calif., 1,155; Singles — Nancy Huff, Los Angeles, Calif., 662; All-Events — Sally Twyford, Chicago, Ill., 1,799. The WIBC tournament for 1942 is scheduled to be held in Milwaukee, Wis.

Ned Day, youthful Milwaukee bowler, was successful in the defense of his national match game title, defeating Lowell Jackson, St. Louis, in a series of 160 games contested in Santa Monica, Calif., Indianapolis, St. Louis, Milwaukee and Chicago. John Crimmins, Detroit, was the winner of a round-robin tournament, conducted in Chicago, and will challenge Day for his championship next year (1942).