Bowling

Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). Most references to bowling are to pin bowling, specifically tenpin bowling, played in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries. Bowling can also refer to target bowling, such as lawn bowls. Bowling is played by 120 million people in more than 90 countries, including 70 million people in the United States alone.[1]

## Contents

* 1 Types
* 1.1 Pin bowling
* 1.1.1 Tenpin bowling
* 1.1.2 Nine-pin bowling
* 1.1.3 Other types
* 1.2 Target bowling
* 2 History
* 2.1 Ancient history
* 2.2 Post-classical history
* 2.3 Modern history
* 2.3.1 16th to 18th centuries
* 2.3.2 19th century
* 2.3.3 20th century
* 2.3.3.1 Early 20th century
* 2.3.3.2 Mid 20th century
* 2.3.3.3 Late 20th century
* 2.3.4 21st century
* 3 Equipment
* 3.1 Ball
* 3.2 Pins
* 3.3 Shoes
* 4 Scoring
* 5 Accessibility
* 6 In popular culture
* 6.1 With notable individuals
* 6.1.1 U.S. Presidents
* 6.2 Paintings
* 6.3 Informal usage
* 7 See also
* 8 References
* 9 Further reading
* 10 External links

## Types

Bowling is split into two general classes: pin bowling and target bowling.

### Pin bowling

In pin bowling, players knock over pins on a long smooth surface called a lane. Lanes have a wood or synthetic surface with protective lubricating oil applied in different oil patterns that affect ball motion. A strike is achieved when all the pins are knocked down on the first roll, and a spare is achieved if all remaining pins are knocked over on a second roll. The most common variation of pin bowling is tenpin; other variations include candlepin, duckpin, nine-pin (kegel), and five-pin. The historical game skittles is the forerunner of modern pin bowling.

#### Tenpin bowling

Candlepin balls are the smallest, but candlepins are tallest and thinnest.

Duckpins are the shortest, and duckpin balls are barely larger than candlepin balls.

Tenpin balls and pins are the heaviest.

Tenpin bowling is the most popular type of bowling. It arranges 10 pins in a triangle at the end of a bowling lane.[2] It commonly referred to as just bowling.

#### Nine-pin bowling

Nine-pin bowling (also commonly called kegeln in Germany) is a style of bowling that is commonly played in Europe.[3] It uses, as the name suggests, 9 pins instead of 10 pins.[3]

#### Other types

Balls and pins from the 3 most popular types of pin bowling.

* Candlepin bowling: tallest pins (at 40 cm or 16 in), thin with matching ends, bowled with the smallest and lightest (at 1.1 kg or 2.4 lb) handheld ball of any bowling sport, and the only form with no fallen pins removed during a frame.
* Duckpin bowling: similar to tenpin, but with shorter pins and bowled with a smaller handheld ball.
* Five-pin bowling: pins are taller than duckpins and shorter than tenpins, between duckpins and candlepins in diameter with a rubber girdle, bowled with a handheld ball, mostly found in Canada.

### Target bowling

Target bowling is usually played outdoors on a specially prepared lawn or natural terrain, like grass[4] . Depending on the particular game, players roll or throw a ball in an attempt to land it closest to a mark or target ball within the arena.

Lawn bowls, bocce, carpet bowls, pétanque, and boules can have both indoor and outdoor varieties. Curling may be considered target bowling but on ice.

## History

This section is in list format, but may read better as prose. You can help by converting this section, if appropriate. Editing help is available. (May 2025)

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### Ancient history

Archeologist's drawing of items found in 1895 in an ancient tomb in Naqada, Egypt, thought to resemble the more modern game of skittles. The archeologist conjectured as to the particular arrangement of the items found.[5]

The earliest known forms of bowling date back to ancient Egypt,[6] with wall drawings depicting bowling being found in a royal Egyptian tomb dated to 3200 BCE and miniature pins and balls in an Egyptian child's grave about 3200 BCE. Remnants of bowling balls were found among artifacts in ancient Egypt going back to the Egyptian protodynastic period in 3200 BCE.[7] What is thought to be a child's game involving porphyry (stone) balls, a miniature trilithon, and nine breccia-veined alabaster vase-shaped figures—thought to resemble the more modern game of skittles—was found in Naqada, Egypt, in 1895.[5]

Balls were made using the husks of grains, covered in a material such as leather, and bound with string. Other balls made of porcelain have also been found, indicating that these were rolled along the ground rather than thrown due to their size and weight.[7] Some of these resemble the modern-day jack used in target bowl games. Bowling games of different forms are also noted by Herodotus as an invention of the Lydians in Asia Minor.[8]

In the Roman Empire, a similar game evolved between Roman legionaries entailing the tossing of stone objects as close as possible to other stone objects, which eventually evolved into Italian bocce, or outdoor bowling.[9]

In Germany in the third or fourth century AD, a religious ritual involved a believed cleansing of oneself of sin by rolling a rock into a club (kegel) representing the heathen.[10] Later pin bowlers were sometimes called keglers.[10]

### Post-classical history

An image of bocce embedded in a medieval manuscript

In 1299, the oldest-surviving known bowling green for target style bowling was built: Master's Close (now the Old Bowling Green of the Southampton Bowling Club) in Southampton, England, which is still in use.[11] Berlin and Cologne passed laws in 1325 that limited bets on lawn bowling to five shillings.[10] King Edward III also banned bowling as a distraction to archery practice.[12]

During the 15th–17th centuries, lawn bowling spread from Germany into Austria, Switzerland, and the Low Countries,[clarification needed] with playing surfaces made of cinders or baked clay.[10]

In 1463, a public feast was held in Frankfurt, Germany, with a venison dinner followed by lawn bowling.[10]

### Modern history

#### 16th to 18th centuries

Peasants bowling in front of a tavern in the 17th century

The Bowling Game (Jan Steen, c. 1655). Many Dutch Golden Age paintings depicted bowling.

Often associated with gambling, bowling had a negative image. This 1800 English mayor instructed "putting a stop to the growing evil of skittle and bowling alleys ... to take care that there are as few inducements as possible for the thoughtless husband to spend his substance to the detriment of his family."[13]

To project a higher image, this 1838 New York newspaper ad for the Knickerbocker Hotel's three bowling alleys boasted "excellent accommodations" and appealed to "gentlemen to perform their ablutions".[14]

English King Henry VIII was an avid bowler.[15] In 1511, he banned bowling for the lower classes and imposed a levy on private lanes to limit them to the wealthy.[15]

Protestant Reformation founder Martin Luther set the number of pins (which varied from 3 to 17) at nine.[10] He had a bowling lane built next to his home for his children, sometimes rolling a ball himself.[10]

On 29 July 1588, English Vice-Admiral Sir Francis Drake allegedly was playing bowls at Plymouth Hoe when the arrival of the Spanish Armada was announced; he replied, "We have time enough to finish the game and beat the Spaniards too."[16] In 1609, Dutch East India Company explorer Henry Hudson discovered Hudson Bay, bringing Dutch colonization to New Amsterdam (later New York); Hudson's men brought some form of lawn bowling with them.[10] In 1617, English King James I published the Declaration of Sports, banning bowling on Sundays but permitting dancing and archery for those who first attended an Anglican service, outraging Puritans; it was reissued in 1633 by his successor Charles I ordered publicly burned in 1643 by the Puritan Parliament.

Dutchmen in the late 17th century liked to bowl at the Old King's Arms Tavern near modern-day 2nd and Broadway in New York City.[17]

#### 19th century

Though the origin of tenpin bowling is often attributed to the U.S., this circa-1810 painting from Ipswich, England shows outdoor bowling with ten pins.[18]

A tongue-in-cheek illustration of a bowling alley, from the cover of Harpers Weekly magazine (U.S., 1860)

This 1820 Indiana (U.S.) newspaper ad touts a "Ball and Ten Pin Alley" to attract customers to a bakery.[19]

An 1838 Indiana newspaper describes how tenpin bowling alleys were constructed to evade a Baltimore statute prohibiting nine-pin bowling.[20]

An 1890 Bowler's Guide describes how "innings" or "rolls" (now called frames) involved up to three balls played in succession.

Palace Bowling Alleys in the Music Hall in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, circa 1895.[21] Note the different-sized bowling balls.

A circa 1810 painting of Ipswich, England shows a man bowling with a triangular formation of ten pins, before that variant of the sport is believed to have appeared in the United States.[18] An 1828 auction notice, also in Ipswich, explicitly mentions "ten-pin and skittle grounds".[22]

In 1819, New York writer Washington Irving made the first mention of ninepin bowling in American literature in his story "Rip Van Winkle".[23]

Newspaper articles and advertisements at least as early as 1820[19] refer to "ten pin alleys", usually in the context of a side attraction to a main business or property[24][25][26][27] as distinguished from dedicated "bowling alley" establishments as presently understood. By the late 1830s, New York's Knickerbocker Hotel housed a bowling alley with three lanes.[14][28] The oldest surviving bowling lanes in the United States were built in 1846 as part of Roseland Cottage, the summer estate of Henry Chandler Bowen (1831–1896) in Woodstock, Connecticut. The lanes, now part of Historic New England's Roseland Cottage House Museum contain Gothic Revival architectural elements in keeping with the style of the entire estate.[29] In 1848, the Scottish Bowling Association for lawn bowling was founded in Scotland by 200 clubs; it was dissolved then refounded later in 1892. Then, in 1864, Glasgow cotton merchant William Wallace Mitchell (1803–1884) published Manual of Bowls Playing, which became a standard reference for lawn bowling in Scotland.[30] In 1859, the National Bowling Association (NBA) was founded by 27 local clubs in New York City to standardize rules for tenpin bowling, setting the ball size and the distance between the foul line and the pins, but failing to agree on other rules; it was superseded in 1895 by the American Bowling Congress.[31] Candlepin Bowling was invented in 1880 by a man named Justin White.[32]

In the 1880s, Brunswick Corporation (founded 1845) of Chicago, Illinois, maker of billiard tables began making bowling balls, pins, and wooden lanes to sell to taverns installing bowling alleys.

On 9 September 1895, the modern standardized rules for tenpin bowling were established in New York City by the new American Bowling Congress (ABC) (later the United States Bowling Congress), who changed the scoring system from a maximum 200 points for 20 balls to a maximum 300 points for 12 balls, and set the maximum ball weight at 16 lb (7.3 kg), and pin distance at 12 in (30 cm). The first ABC champion (1906–1921) was Jimmy Smith (1885–1948).[33] In 1927 Mrs. Floretta "Doty" McCutcheon (1888–1967) defeated Smith in an exhibition match, founding a school that taught 500,000 women how to bowl.[34][35][36] In 1993 women were allowed to join the ABC. In 2005 the ABC merged with the Women's International Bowling Congress (WIBC) et al. to become the United States Bowling Congress (USBC).[citation needed] In the early 1890s, Duckpin bowling was invented in Boston, Massachusetts; from then it spread to Baltimore, Maryland in about 1899.

Joe Thum—who would become known as the "father of modern bowling"—began opening tenpin bowling alleys including at 401 Greenwich Street in the Tribeca West Historic District[37] and strove to elevate the sport's image to compete with upper-class diversions such as theaters and opera houses.[38]

#### 20th century

##### Early 20th century

File:American Bowling Congress, Bowling Tournament, Milwaukee, Wis LCCN2007663973.tif

early bowling tournament (1905; American Bowling Congress; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.)

Side-by-side duckpin and tenpin bowling lanes. The duckpin ball has no finger holes, whereas the ten-pin bowling balls of the day (photo circa 1919) had only a single finger hole in addition to a thumb hole.

Bowling alley in February 1940]]

In 1903, the English Bowling Association was founded by cricketer W. G. Grace. On 1 January 2008, it merged with the English Women's Bowling Association to become Bowls England. Also in 1903, D. Peifer of Chicago, Illinois, invented a handicap method for bowling.[39]

In 1905, Rubber Duckpin bowling was invented by Willam Wuerthele of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, catching on in Quebec, Canada.

The ABC initially used bowling balls made of Lignum vitae hardwood from the Caribbean, which were eventually supplanted by the "Evertrue" rubber bowling ball, and the Brunswick "Mineralite" rubber ball, in 1905.[40][41] Columbia Industries, founded in 1960, was the first manufacturer to successfully use polyester resin ("plastic") in bowling balls.[42] In 1980, urethane-shell bowling balls were introduced by Ebonite.

Rules for target bowls evolved separately in each of the other countries that adopted the predominantly British game. In 1905, the International Bowling Board was formed;[43] its constitution adopted the laws of the Scottish Bowling Association, with variations allowed at the individual country level.[44] In September 1907, the Victorian Ladies' Bowling Association was founded in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, becoming the world's first women's lawn bowling association. Then, the now-oldest surviving bowling alley for the tenpin sport which was opened in 1908 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the basement of the Holler House tavern, containing the oldest sanctioned lanes in the United States.[45] In 1909, the first tenpin bowling alley in Europe was installed in Sweden, but the game failed to catch on in the rest of Europe until after World War II. Meanwhile, tenpin bowling caught on in Great Britain after hundreds of bowling lanes were installed on U.S. military bases during World War II.[10]

In 1913, the monthly Bowlers Journal was founded in Chicago, Illinois, continuing to publish to the present day.[46] In late 1916, the Women's International Bowling Congress (originally the Woman's National Bowling Association) was founded in Saint Louis, Missouri, merging with the United States Bowling Congress in 2005.[47] Prohibition in the U.S. caused bowling alleys to disassociate from saloons, turning bowling into a family game and encouraging women bowlers.[36]

The annual Petersen Open Bowling Tournament (a.k.a. The Pete) was first held in Chicago, Illinois on 2 October 1921, becoming bowling's richest tournament of the day. In 1998, it was taken over by AMF.[48]

In 1926, the International Bowling Association (IBA) was formed by the United States, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, and Finland, holding four world championships by 1936.[10]

On 21 March 1934, the National Bowling Writers Association was founded in Peoria, Illinois, by four bowling journalists; it changed its name in 1953 to the Bowling Writers Association of America.[49]

In August 1939, the National Negro Bowling Association was founded in Detroit, Michigan, dropping Negro from the title in 1944 and opening membership to all races. It reached 30,000 members in 2007.[50]

In 1942, the Bowling Proprietors Association of America (BPAA) held its first BPAA All-Star tournament.

In 1947, the Australian Women's Bowling Council was founded. It held the first Australian women's national lawn bowling championship in Sydney in 1949, which was won by Mrs. R. Cranley of Queensland.

On 18 April 1948, the Professional Women Bowling Writers (PWBW) was founded in Dallas, Texas, admitting men in 1975. On 1 January 2007, it merged with the Bowling Writers Association of America.[51]

##### Mid 20th century

Dick Weber (1986)

Earl Anthony (1979)

In 1961, the U.S. Navy Seabees constructed two lanes at McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Stuffed penguin "pins" were used in the inauguration.[52]

The McMurdo lanes, among very few in the world to still have human pinsetters,[53] were dismantled in 2009/2010 due to structural problems in the building.[52]

In 1950, following extensive lobbying by civil rights groups in the wake of the 1947 integration of Major League Baseball, the American Bowling Congress opened its membership to African Americans and other minorities.[54] The WIBC followed suit the following year.[50] Professional bowlers made salaries rivaling those of baseball, football, and hockey players during this time; this ended in the late 1970s.

In 1951, the first ABC Masters tournament was held, becoming one of the four majors by 2000.

In 1952, the Fédération Internationale des Quilleurs (FIQ) was founded in Hamburg, West Germany, to coordinate international amateur competition in nine-pin and tenpin bowling. In 1954, the first FIQ World Bowling Championships were held in Helsinki, Finland. In 1979, the International Olympic Committee recognized it as the official world governing body for bowling. Its name changed to World Bowling in 2014 and International Bowling Federation in 2020.

In 1952, American Machine and Foundry (AMF) of Brooklyn, New York, began marketing automatic Pinsetter machines.[55] This eliminated the need for pinboys[55] and caused bowling to rocket in popularity, making the 1950s the Decade of the Bowler.

In 1953, Grazio Castellano of Brooklyn, New York, was the first to roll a perfect game on live television. This occurred on 4 October, during an Eastern All-Star league session in Newark, New Jersey.[56] In 1954, Steve Nagy (1913–1966) became the first person to bowl a perfect 300 game while filmed.[57]Cite error: Closing `</ref>` missing for `<ref>` tag ABC Television aired its first Saturday afternoon broadcast of a PBA Tour event, the Empire State Open held at Redwood Lanes in Albany, New York,[58] beginning a partnership between ABC and the PBA that lasted through 1997. The Saturday afternoon bowling telecasts garnered very good ratings through the early 1980s, until the cable television-fueled explosion of sports viewing choices caused ratings to decline.

In 1962, the first PBA Tournament of Champions was held; it became an annual event in 1965, and was sponsored by Firestone Tire from 1965 through 1993. Also, the American Wheelchair Bowling Association (AWBA) was founded in Louisville, Kentucky, by Richard F. Carlson.[59]

On 28 June 1963, the first British-made tenpin was made by H Massil and sons who received permit no.1 from the British Tenpin Bowling Association (BTBA).[60]

Between 3 and 10 November 1963, the Fifth FIQ World Bowling Championships in Mexico City, Mexico were attended by 132 men and 45 women (first time) from 19 nations. It featured the debut of Team USA, which won seven of the eight gold medals.[61]

On 25 November 1963, Sports Illustrated published the article "A Guy Named Smith Is Striking It Rich", revealing that PBA stars made more money than other professional sports stars, for "with more than $1 million in prizes to shoot for, the nation's top professional bowlers are rolling in money."[62] This was short-lived, however, for although the number of bowling alleys in the U.S. zoomed from 65,000 in 1957 to 160,000 in 1962, the U.S. bowling industry boom hit a brick wall in 1963. This was compensated, however, by a new boom in Europe and Japan, making 10-pin bowling an international sport.[63]

In 1964, "Mr. Bowling" Don Carter became the first athlete to sign a $1 million endorsement contract: a multi-year deal with Ebonite International.

In 1964, Marion Ladewig, a nine-time winner of the Bowling Writers Association of America's Female Bowler of the Year Award, became the first Superior Performance inductee into the WIBC Hall of Fame.

In 1965, the AMF Bowling World Cup was established by the FIQ.

On 27 January 1967, the Japan Professional Bowling Association (JPBA) was founded in Tokyo, Japan.

In 1971, the BPAA All-Star tournament was renamed the BPAA U.S. Open, and officially became one of the PBA's major tournaments.

In 1978, National Negro Bowling Association pioneer J. Elmer Reed (1903–1983) became the first African-American to be inducted into the ABC Hall of Fame.[64]

On 16 December 1979, Willie Willis won the Brunswick National Resident Pro Tournament in Charlotte, North Carolina, becoming the first African-American bowling champion in the PBA in a non-touring event. In 1980, he became the first African-American in the Firestone Tournament of Champions, placing 13th.[65]

##### Late 20th century

File:20221008 Bowling lane oiling machine.webm On 27 February 1982, Earl Anthony won the Toledo Trust PBA National Championship, becoming the first bowler to reach $1 million in career earnings.

In 1982, the Young American Bowling Alliance was formed from a merger of the American Junior Bowling Congress, the Youth Bowling Association, and the collegiate divisions of the ABC and WIBC.[66]

In 1982, the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, Australia, added women's bowls to the events.

On 1 July 1982, former PBA pro Glenn Allison rolled the first 900 series (three consecutive 300 games in a three-game set) to ever be submitted to the ABC for award consideration. The ABC, however, refused to certify the score, citing non-complying lane conditions.[67]

On 22 November 1986, George Branham III (born 1962) became the first African-American to win a PBA national touring event: the Brunswick Memorial World Open in Chicago, Illinois.

On 18 September 1988, the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, featured tenpin bowling as a demonstration sport.

On 2 August 1991, in Havana, Cuba, tenpin bowling became an international medal-level sport for the first time at the 1991 Pan American Games, and continues to this day.

In the 1992–1993 season, the ABC introduced resin bowling balls, causing perfect 300 scores to increase by 20%.[68]

In 1995, the first Best Bowler ESPY Award was presented.

In 1995, the National Bowling Stadium opened in Reno, Nevada, becoming known as the Taj Mahal of Tenpins.

On 2 February 1997, Jeremy Sonnenfeld (born 1975) bowled the first officially sanctioned 900 series of three straight perfect 300 games at Sun Valley Lanes in Lincoln, Nebraska, becoming known as "Mr. 900".[69]

In 1998, the World Tenpin Masters 10-pin bowling tournament was established.

In 2000, the Weber Cup, named after Dick Weber, was established as 10-pin bowling's equivalent to golf's Ryder Cup, with Team USA playing Team Europe in a three-day match.

#### 21st century

File:20190818 Zach Wilkins two-handed bowling.webm

The two-handed delivery, first widely popularized by Jason Belmonte in the 2000s[70] (shown: Zach Wilkins)

File:20220715 Kyle Troup two-handed bowling delivery.webm

A different view of a two-handed delivery, showing increased rev rate and resultant hook (shown: Kyle Troup)

The number of sanctioned perfect (300) games per league bowler has increased substantially since the 1990s. Freeman and Hatfield posit that the increase in perfect games is due to factors such as the introduction of reactive resin coverstocks, asymmetric ball cores, synthetic lane surfaces, and precision lane oiling machines.

On 31 March 2004, Missy Bellinder (born 1981) (later changing her name to Parkin) became the first female member of the PBA.[71] The PBA had opened up its membership to women following the 2003 demise of the PWBA. One year later, Liz Johnson became the first woman to make the televised final round of a PBA Tour event.[72]

In 2004, the Brunswick Euro Challenge was founded for amateur and pro 10-pin bowling players from Europe, Asia, and the U.S.[73]

On 24 January 2010, Kelly Kulick (born 1977) became the first woman to win the PBA Tournament of Champions and the first woman to win a PBA national tour event.[74]

In November 2012, after league bowling dropped from 80% to 20% of their business, AMF Bowling Centers of Richmond, Virginia filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time (first in 2001), merging in 2013 with upscale New York-based bowling center operator Bowlmor (which did not support league bowling) in an attempt to turn league bowling around, growing from 276 centers in 2013 to 315 in 2015.

In 2013, the PBA League was founded, composed of eight permanent five-person teams, with an annual draft.[75]

In 2015, the Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA) was revived after a 12-year hiatus.[76]

A study of professional and master tenpin bowlers found that average scores declined less than 10% from age 20 to age 70.[77] This decline in a sport focusing on skill and technique is considerably smaller than that of events dominated by muscular strength, cardiovascular endurance or agility—which are known to decrease about 10% per decade.[77]

## Equipment

### Ball

Bowling balls with cores exposed, as displayed in the International Bowling Museum

Main article: Engineering:Bowling ball

Bowling balls vary, depending on the type of bowling. Tenpin balls are about 8.59 inches (21.8 cm) in diameter, typically have three holes, and weigh from 6 to 16 lb (2.7 to 7.3 kg). The size and spacing of the finger holes on non-customized balls are generally smaller on lighter balls to accommodate smaller hands. Modern resin covers (surfaces) available since the early 1990s enhance a ball's hook (curve) potential, and the shape of the balls' cores (pictured) permit fine-tuning of desired ball paths. In contrast, traditional plastic balls are suitable for straighter shots. Duckpin and candlepin balls fit in the palm, and have no holes.

### Pins

Tenpin bowling pins shown at different stages of manufacture

Bowling pins are the target of the bowling ball in pin bowling variations. The size and shape of pins vary but are generally cylindrical and widen where the ball strikes the pin. Tenpin bowling pins are the largest and heaviest, weighing 3 lb 6 oz (1.5 kg). Duckpins are shorter and squatter than standard tenpins and candlepins are the tallest at 15 3⁄4 in (40 cm), but only 2 15⁄16 in (7.5 cm) wide and 2 lb 8 oz (1.1 kg) in weight.

Bowling pins are constructed by gluing blocks of rock maple wood into the approximate shape, and then turning on a lathe. After the lathe shapes the pin, it is coated with a plastic material, painted, and covered with a glossy finish. Because of the scarcity of suitable wood, bowling pins can be made from approved synthetics. Currently there are synthetic pins sanctioned for play in five-pin, duckpin, and candlepin. There is one synthetic tenpin model approved by the USBC. When hit by the ball, synthetic pins usually sound different from wooden pins.

The USBC indicated that, effective 1 August 2023, it is certifying string pinsetters and string pin bowling as an independent category of equipment and competition separate from conventional free-fall pinsetters.[78] USBC lab data indicated strike percentage on string pin bowling is 7.1% lower, causing the USBC to plan additional testing to determine whether a scoring conversion should be created between the categories.[78] String pinsetters are less expensive and easier to maintain, motivating bowling centers to phase them in.[79]

### Shoes

Bowling centers maintain bowling shoes for rental to patrons, to prevent damage to lane approaches.

The sole of the non-sliding shoe is generally made of rubber for traction, while the sole of the sliding shoe is made of a smooth material allowing a smooth slide into the release. Bowling shoes can be bought, and may be rented from bowling centers. Wet or dirty soles may not slide properly and could damage the approach surface.[80]

## Scoring

A standard game of tenpin bowling consists of 10 frames, with a maximum of two rolls in each of the first nine frames and three in the tenth. A strike occurs when the bowler knocks down all 10 pins on the first roll; if this occurs in any of the first nine frames, the frame ends immediately without a second roll being taken. A spare occurs if the bowler leaves any pins standing after the first roll, then knocks them all down on the second. In any given frame, the bowler scores one point for every pin knocked down; a spare or strike awards one extra point for each pin knocked down on the next one or two rolls, respectively.[81] In the tenth frame, the bowler gets one extra roll for making a spare, or two for a strike. The highest possible score for a single game is 300, achieved by rolling 12 consecutive strikes (a "perfect game").

## Accessibility

Technological innovation has made bowling accessible to members of the disabled community.

* The IKAN Bowler, a device designed by a quadriplegic engineer named Bill Miller, attaches to a wheelchair and allows the user to control the speed, direction, and timing of the tenpin bowling ball's release. The name comes from the Greek work ikano, which means "capable" or "enable".[82]
* For bowls the sport has introduced a number of innovations to enable people with a disability to participate at all levels of the sport, from social through to Olympic standards:
* The use of bowling arms and lifters enables bowlers to deliver a bowl minimising the amount of movement required
* Wheelchair and green manufacturers have produced modified wheel tyres and ramps to enable wheelchair athletes to access bowls greens
* Modified conditions of play as outlined in Disability classification in lawn bowls

## In popular culture

This section is in list format, but may read better as prose. You can help by converting this section, if appropriate. Editing help is available. (May 2026)

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### With notable individuals

* When Abraham Lincoln served a term in the U.S. House of Representatives (1847–1849), he lived near a bowling alley. "He was 'very fond of bowling' " and "Though 'a very awkward bowler,' he nevertheless 'played the game with great zest and spirit, solely for exercise and amusement' ". "He took victory and defeat 'with like good nature and humor, and left the alley at the conclusion of the game without a sorrow or disappointment' ".[83]

#### U.S. Presidents

The single bowling lane under the White House's north portico after extensive renovation, 2019

The two-lane Truman Bowling Alley in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, 2018

Richard Nixon bowling in what was then the Old Executive Office Building, 1971

George W. Bush bowling at the White House, 2001

* In 1948, two bowling lanes were installed in the ground floor of the West Wing of the U.S. presidential residence, the White House, as a birthday gift for then-President Harry S. Truman.[84] The lanes were moved to the Old Executive Office Building (now the Eisenhower Executive Office Building) in 1955, for the benefit of White House employees;[85] its old location became a mimeograph room and, in 1961, the Situation Room.[84] On 9 July 2014, the General Services Administration published, then quickly withdrew, a solicitation for bids to replace the Truman bowling lanes, which were deemed "irreparable" for not having had "any professional, industry standard maintenance, modifications, repairs or attention" for fifteen years.[85][86]
* In 1969, friends of then-President Richard Nixon, who was said to be an avid bowler, had a one-lane alley built in an underground space below the building's North Portico.[84] The one-lane bowling alley underwent major renovations in 1994, and again in 2019.[87]

### Paintings

* A painting (shown above) that dates from around 1810 shows British bowlers in Ipswich, England, playing the sport outdoors in the earliest known pictorial depiction of "ten-pin bowling" of any type, chronologically before ten-pin bowling was clearly documented in the United States.[18]
* On 28 January 1950, the painting Bowling Strike by George Hughes (1907–1989)[88] appeared on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post.[89]
* In 1982, American expressionist painter LeRoy Neiman produced a famous painting of PBA star Earl Anthony's million dollar strike.[90]

### Informal usage

* Children afraid of thunderstorms are told that thunder is God bowling.[91]

## See also

* Automatic scorer
* Bowling Alone (2000) argues the decline in league bowling exemplifies a decline in social participation
* Bowling alley
* Bowling ball
* Bowls, lawn bowling
* Frames per stop
* Glossary of bowling
* International Bowling Federation, the world governing body of bowling
* Irish road bowling, along country roads, without a target
* New Zealand Indoor Bowls
* Open bowling
* Pinsetter
* Skittles, from which alley-based bowling derived

## References

Notes

1. ↑ "Niagara Falls Bowling Association". http://www.nfmba.com/tidbits.htm.
2. ↑ "USBC Bowling Specifications". https://bowl.com/uploadedFiles/Equipment_Specs/Information/2012FebESManualWEBINTERACTIVE.pdf.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Nutting, Dave. "German Traditions, Influences and Leisure Activities in Australia". http://teachers.ash.org.au/dnutting/germanaustralia/e/traditions.htm.
4. ↑ Crystal-Mark (2010). Laws of the Sport of Bowls. World Bowls Ltd. p. 9.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Petrie, William Matthew Flinders; Quibell, James Edward (1896). "VII. Games". Naqada and Ballas, 1895. London: B. Quaritch. p. 35. https://archive.org/details/cu31924028748261. Cornell University Library. (archeologist's drawing)
6. ↑ "Bowling History – Origin of Bowling". http://helpwithbowling.com/history-origins-of-bowling.php.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Pretsell, James M. (1908). The Game of Bowls Past and Present. Oliver & Boyd. p. 1.
8. ↑ Pretsell 1908, p. 2.
9. ↑ Administrator. "A little Bowling History". http://canbowl.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=331:a-little-bowling-history&catid=18:general&Itemid=62.
10. ↑ 10.00 10.01 10.02 10.03 10.04 10.05 10.06 10.07 10.08 10.09 "bowling – game". Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/sports/bowling. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
11. ↑ Linney, E.J. (1933). A History of the Game of Bowls. Edingburgh Press. p. 22.
12. ↑ "History of Bowling". International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame. 2016. https://www.bowlingmuseum.com/Visit/Education/History-of-Bowling.
13. ↑ Goldson, William (Mayor) (19 May 1800). "A Charge / Delivered to the Jury at a Court Left Holden for the Borough of Portsmouth". Portsmouth Telegraph (later Hampshire Telegraph and Naval Chronicle). https://www.newspapers.com/image/394014258/.
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Communicated – Bowling Alleys". Morning Herald (New York): p. 5. 18 June 1838. https://www.newspapers.com/image/466528819/. (edition of New York Daily Herald) (clipping)
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "History of Bowls". http://www.banwellbowlsclub.com/history.html.
16. ↑ "The Spanish Armada". http://www.localhistories.org/armada.html.
17. ↑ "Bowling Museum & Hall of Fame > Visit > Online Exhibits". http://www.bowlingmuseum.com/Visit/Online-Exhibits.
18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 Pluckhahn, Bruce (December 1988). "Bowling Games People Play". Bowlers Journal (Chicago, Illinois: National Bowlers Journal Inc.): 121.
19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 "H. G. Kirk ... Banking and Confectionary Business (advertisement)". Indiana Centinel & Public Advertiser (Vincennes, Indiana, U.S.): p. 3. 10 June 1820. https://newspaperarchive.com/vincennes-indiana-centinel-jun-10-1820-p-3/. (Click for image) The owner "has erected, for the amusement of those who favor him with their custom, a Ball and Ten Pin Alley".
20. ↑ "Evasions of Law". Logansport Telegraph (Logansport, Indiana, U.S.): p. 1. 10 March 1838. https://newspaperarchive.com/logansport-telegraph-mar-10-1828-p-1/.
21. ↑ "Bowling Catalog E". Narragansett Machine Company. 1895. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/57337/57337-h/57337-h.htm. Project Gutenberg release date: 16 June 2018.
22. ↑ "Bury Saint Edmunds / Free Public House". The Ipswich Journal (4701): p. 3. 26 April 1828. https://www.newspapers.com/image/390258918/.
23. ↑ "Bowling | Sports and Leisure | Research Starters | EBSCO Research" (in en). https://www.ebsco.com/.
24. ↑ "Miscellaneous / From the Western Spy". The Maryland Republican and Political and Agricultural Museum (Annapolis, Maryland, U.S.): p. 4. 26 May 1821. https://newspaperarchive.com/annapolis-maryland-republican-and-political-agricultural-museum-may-26-1821-p-4/. (Click for image) Reference to "keeper of the ten-pin alley".
25. ↑ "White House Retreat (advertisement)". Daily National Intelligencer (Washington, D.C.): p. 4. 2 April 1830. https://newspaperarchive.com/washington-national-intelligencer-apr-02-1830-p-4/. (Click for image)
● A slightly earlier, though less clearly legible, version of the same ad ran the previous month: "White House Retreat (advertisement)". Daily National Intelligencer (Washington, D.C.): p. 3. 24 March 1830. https://newspaperarchive.com/washington-national-intelligencer-mar-24-1830-p-3/.
● Advertises a property having "a first rate ten pin alley".
26. ↑ "York Sulphur Springs". Daily National Intelligencer (Washington, D.C.): p. 3. 21 June 1831. https://newspaperarchive.com/washington-national-intelligencer-jun-21-1831-p-3/. (Click for image) Advertises a property with a "commodious and well-adjusted ten-pin alley".
27. ↑ "For Rent". The Globe (Washington, D.C.): p. 3. 28 June 1832. https://newspaperarchive.com/washington-globe-jun-28-1832-p-3/. (Click for image) Offering for rent, a "Public House" with "a good Ten Pin Alley attached".
28. ↑ "First recorded ten-pin bowling match played...". Old Farmer's Almanac. https://www.almanac.com/fact/first-recorded-ten-pin-bowling-match-played-at.
29. ↑ "Roseland Cottage – Historic New England". Historicnewengland.org. http://www.historicnewengland.org/historic-properties/homes/roseland-cottage.
30. ↑ "History". http://www.pelhamsbowlsclub.co.uk/Pages/History.aspx.
31. ↑ Riess, Steven A. (2015). Sports in America from Colonial Times to the Twenty-First Century. Routledge. ISBN 978-1317459477. https://books.google.com/books?id=DnCsBwAAQBAJ&q=national+bowling+association+1875&pg=PA187. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
32. ↑ Hanlon, Phyllis. "City of Worcester: 300 Years". https://300years.worcesterhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/City-of-Worcester-300-Years.pdf#page=28.
33. ↑ "A Jimmy Smith Bibliography". Dr. Jake's Bowling History Blog. 20 January 2009. https://bowlinghistory.wordpress.com/2009/01/19/jimmy-smith-famous-bowler-bibliography/.
34. ↑ "Bowl.com – Floretta McCutcheon". http://www.bowl.com/Hall_of_Fame/Hall_of_Famers/Superior_Performance/Floretta_McCutcheon/.
35. ↑ "Floretta McCutcheon biography". http://www.ballreviews.com/miscellaneous/floretta-mccutcheon-biography-t71008.0.html.
36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 Riess, Steven A. (2015). Sports in America from Colonial Times to the Twenty-First Century. Routledge. ISBN 978-1317459477. https://books.google.com/books?id=DnCsBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA187. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
37. ↑ "JOSEPH THUM DIES; A BOWLING FIGURE; ' Father' of the Game in This Country Had Been Active in Sport Half Century.". The New York Times. 10 January 1937. https://www.nytimes.com/1937/01/10/archives/joseph-thum-dies-a-bowling-figure-father-of-the-game-in-this.html.
38. ↑ Woloson, Wendy (2002). "Bowling". St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. Gale Group. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g1epc/is_tov/ai_2419100164/. Retrieved 31 March 2006.
39. ↑ "History of Bowling". http://www.bowling2u.com/trivia/game/history_of_bowling.asp.
40. ↑ Carrubba, Rich (June 2012). "Bowling Ball Evolution". https://www.bowlingball.com/BowlVersity/bowling-ball-evolution.
41. ↑ "Pollack Wins Tourney With a Mineralite". Oregon Journal: p. 12. 7 November 1905. https://newspaperarchive.com/portland-oregon-daily-journal-nov-07-1905-p-12/. (clipping of article) Other sources are apparently wrong in citing 1914.
42. ↑ "About Us". Columbia300.com. http://www.columbia300.com/about-us.html.
43. ↑ "International Bowling Board". Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/International-Bowling-Board. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
44. ↑ Munro, J.P. (1951). Bowls Encyclopedia. Melbourne Australia: Wilke & Co. p. 167.
45. ↑ Press, Dinesh Ramde / Associated (2008-09-13). "Milwaukee bowling alley, oldest in US, turns 100" (in en-US). https://www.twincities.com/2008/09/13/milwaukee-bowling-alley-oldest-in-us-turns-100/.
46. ↑ "BJI History Part 1 — Dave Luby: A Bowler Through and Through" (in en-US). http://www.bowlersjournal.com/?p=7357.
47. ↑ Swift, Chem. "Bowl.com | USBC About". http://www.bowl.com/about/index.jsp.
48. ↑ "About The Petersen Classic". http://petersenclassic.com/about-the-petersen-classic/.
49. ↑ "Bowling Media – IBMA History". http://bowlingmedia.wstemp03.com/About-Us/IBMA-History.
50. ↑ 50.0 50.1 "National Negro Bowling Association – Ohio History Central". http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/National_Negro_Bowling_Association?rec=2347.
51. ↑ "NWBW History – Bowling Media". http://bowlingmedia.wstemp03.com/About-Us/NWBW-History.
52. ↑ 52.0 52.1 Raymond, Bruce (credited photographer) (1 July 1960). "Stuffed penguins were set up as bowling pins for the inauguration of the newly constructed bowling alley during the austral winter of 1961 at McMurdo Station. The bowling alley was installed by US Navy Seabees. It was dismantled during the austral summer of 2009–2010 due to structural problems in the building.". National Science Foundation, Office of Polar Programs (United States Antarctic Program, USAP). https://photolibrary.usap.gov/PhotoDetails.aspx?filename=PENGUINPINS.JPG.
53. ↑ Inglis, Jeff (credited photographer) (30 January 2000). "Pinsetting for Dollars". The Antarctic Sun (McMurdo Station, Antarctica: United States Antarctic Program): 7. https://antarcticsun.usap.gov/pastIssues/1999-2000/2000_01_30.pdf.
54. ↑ Rigali, James. H.; Walter, John C. (July 2005). "Afro-Americans in New York Life and History: The integration of the American Bowling Congress: the Buffalo experience". Afro-American Historical Association of the Niagara Frontier. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0SAF/is_2_29/ai_n15763168.
55. ↑ 55.0 55.1 Carrubba, Rich (2 October 2013). "History of Bowling". BowlingBall.com (Bowlversity educational section). https://www.bowlingball.com/bowlversity/history-of-bowling.
56. ↑ Championship Bowling – Steve Nagy 300 (1954). 29 June 2014. Archived from the original on 31 October 2021. Retrieved 24 January 2016 - via YouTube.
57. ↑ Bowl-A-Roll Lanes (2 November 2011). "Bowl A Roll Lanes: Steve Nagy's 300 Game on Championship Bowling". http://bowl-a-roll.blogspot.com/2011/11/perfect-tv-drama-steve-nagy-is.html.
58. ↑ Vint, Bill (27 June 2012). "PBA Spare Shots: Historic Redwood Lanes May Soon Close; "Million Dollar Shot" Artist LeRoy Neiman Dies". Professional Bowlers Association. http://content.pba.com/post/2012/06/27/PBA-Spare-Shots-Historic-Redwood-Lanes-May-Soon-Close3b-e2809cMillion-Dollar-Shote2809d-Artist-LeRoy-Neiman-Dies.aspx.
59. ↑ "History of the AWBA – AWBA.ORG – Promoting Abilities, not Disability". http://awba.org/about-awba/history-of-the-awba/.
60. ↑ "BTBA Bowling Pin – Who was William Ivor Massil? – Talk Tenpin". https://wp.talktenpin.net/2019/03/17/btba-bowling-pin-who-was-william-ivor-massil/.
61. ↑ "PEAC Course Wiki / Team USA". http://uarkpeac.pbworks.com/w/page/5757823/Team USA.
62. ↑ Robert Boyle. "A Guy Named Smith is Striking It Rich". Vault. https://www.si.com/vault/1963/11/25/596532/a-guy-named-smith-is-striking-it-rich.
63. ↑ "Riding the Crest of Bowling's Boom". Bowlers Journal International. http://www.bowlersjournal.com/?p=8016.
64. ↑ "Encyclopedia of Cleveland History: REED, J. ELMER". http://ech.case.edu/cgi/article.pl?id=RJE.
65. ↑ "A Pioneer in Bowling: Branham Finds Fame—and Fortune—to Be Right Down His Alley". Los Angeles Times. 29 January 1987. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-01-29-sp-2003-story.html.
66. ↑ "Young American Bowling Alliance". Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Young-American-Bowling-Alliance. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
67. ↑ USBC concludes re-evaluation of Glenn Allison 900 series Bigham, Terry on 22 November 2014. Retrieved 27 November 2014
68. ↑ Lennox, Doug (7 September 2009). Now You Know Big Book of Sports. Dundurn. ISBN 9781770705876. https://books.google.com/books?id=vnj4TSwDvacC&pg=PA352. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
69. ↑ Ken Hambleton (29 April 2006). "Q&A with Jeremy Sonnenfeld". Lincoln Journal Star. http://journalstar.com/sports/q-a-with-jeremy-sonnenfeld/article_5fbb30ac-7a69-5b92-a36c-141b0e5f98a2.html.
70. ↑ Thompson, Adam (5 February 2009). "Young Australian Puts a New Spin on Bowling: He Throws Two-Handed". The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123379401410650043.
71. ↑ "About Me". http://www.missyparkin.com/about-me.
72. ↑ "PBA Profile, Liz Johnson". PBA.com. https://www.pba.com/bowlers/bowler/14831.
73. ↑ "Brunswick names Dream-Bowl Palace host of Brunswick Euro Challenge through 2018 – Brunswick". http://www.brunswickbowling.com/news/article/brunswick-names-dream-bowl-palace-host-of-brunswick-euro-challenge-through/.
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## Further reading

* Allen, George, and Dick Ritger. The Complete Guide to Bowling Principles: The Encyclopedia of Principles (Tempe Publishers, 1982)
* Dulles, Foster Rhea. A History of Recreation: America Learns to Play (2nd ed. 1965) online
* Grasso, John, and Eric R. Hartman. Historical dictionary of bowling (Rowman & Littlefield, 2014) online.
* Hurley, Andrew. Diners, Bowling Alleys, and Trailer Parks: Chasing the American Dream in Postwar Consumer Culture (Basic Books, 2001)
* Jackson, Emma. "Bowling together? Practices of belonging and becoming in a London ten-pin bowling league." Sociology 54.3 (2020): 518–533.
* Miller, Mark. Bowling (Bloomsbury, 2013) online.
* Perris, Jeff. All about Bowls: The History, Construction and Maintenance of Bowling Greens (STRI, 2008) online.
* Pritchard, Tony T., and Starla J. McCollum. "Bowling for a lifetime using sport education." Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance 79.3 (2008): 17–23.
* Putnam, Robert D. Bowling Alone: the Collapse and Revival of American Community (Simon & Schuster, 2000)
* Randall, Carol. Spares & Strikes: History of Candlepin Bowling in New Brunswick (1996) in Canada
* Schmidt, Doug. They Came to Bowl: How Milwaukee Became America's Tenpin Capital (Wisconsin Historical Society Press, 2007)
* Thomas, Patrick R., Paul J. Schlinker, and Ray Over. "Psychological and psychomotor skills associated with prowess at ten-pin bowling." Journal of sports sciences 14.3 (1996): 255–268.
* Verfurth, Emily. Strikes, spares, and gutter balls: A history of Women's bowling in twentieth century American. (PhD dissertation, Texas Tech U. 2012) online

## External links

| Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bowling.

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* Vogel, A. E. (December 1892). "Bowling". Spalding's Athletic Library (New York: American Sports Publishing Company) 1 (3). http://www.hucosystems.com/articles/First Job.htg/bowling2.pdf.
* Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). "Bowling". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
* "Bowling History", The Historyscoper
* "Playing Rules 2024–2025". 2024. https://bowl.com/getmedia/cabf49db-8cc5-4ce4-abc0-dfca1a1d7706/071724_USBC-Playing-Rules.pdf.

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