| Show 0 R 2 1 v ftc tib V UT by ROBERT mcshane released by western newspaper union n TAme HIS winter upwards of ricans 8 are enjoying wr which we a game sa s1 was once outlawed both in Eur europe and the united states several other sports have been verc boten at one on time or another in this country and abroad but none of them has as pious a background abis chis particular sport traces its origin not to an english barroom but to the ancient cathedrals lot germany where in the middle ages the canons encouraged their parishioners to play it there was a religious significance to it then each member of the church would place his pin at one end of the church cloister the pin representing heide meaning heathen the parishioner was then given a ball and asked to throw it at the heide if a hit was scored it indicated that the thrower was leading a clean pure life if he missed it meant that he was more or less a heel the bad reputation under which bowling once suffered got its start not from a pool hall environment as popularly supposed but from an english rulers desire to maintain a fervent military spirit king edward disgruntled when his soldiers found themselves so attracted by the game of bowls that they neglected their archery practice had parliament pass a law banning it to america in 1623 the knickerbocker fathers who brought the dutch game of ninepins to manhattan island in 1623 are responsible for our modern sport which is not only enjoyed by millions of americans for personal relaxation but which has been ado adopted pt by business men throughout the nation as a means of constructing a more closely knit pattern of relationship tion ship between employer and employee the american bowling congress estimates that more than men now belong to bowling leagues sponsored by their employers schenley distillers corporation which maintains plants and branch offices throughout the country encourages cou rages bowling competition for its employees throughout the winter the season being climaxed by telegraphic matches each spring pan amer ican airways claims the record for long distance competition with teams located in buenos aires cristobal mexico city miami san francisco new york and other key offices the first american bowling alley was located outdoors on a plot of ground in front of the battery fort on manhattan island new york today a small park called bowling green is still maintained on this spot the new england puritans forbade bowling but the british were we re too fond of the sport to leave it behind when they came to america ninepins were popular in america for a great many years until the game fell under the control of gamblers and this proved its temporary undoing an doing but a nation of bowlers in 1941 can be thankful this happened for the present game of ten pins was started as a means of circumventing cum venting the laws which were passed to make bowling illegal 9 pins vs 10 pins it happened this way when ninepins became the rage of sporting men the connecticut legislature passed an act prohibiting the game new york soon followed suit but the real devotees of bowling would not be discouraged why someone asked cant we get around the anti ninepin law by bowling with ten pins and the lawmakers who by this time were themselves yearning for a chance to bowl again dropped the fight entirely bowling in america experienced one more setback when new yorkers who were the games staunchest supporters found tenpins becoming monotonous after a few years because of the great size 0 of the pins at that time they were placed so close together that even a fair toss of the ball would result in in a strike that much coveted stroke in which all ten pins are knocked down at once but in its dark days bowling never lost favor among the germans on the east side of new york in the through gh their efforts interest the in the ga game me was revived size of the I 1 pins ins was reduced and someone anve invented anted a ball in in which S holdis had been bee n drilled to facilitate in handling A few years later in the national bowling association 1875 was wal organic organized e d by 27 delag delegates ates iram manhattan and brooklyn from at germania hall in in int the meeting bowery this group established bowery h lat la which were rules rues for the game bowl adapted by the american ex ing ang aress congress established in 1895 |
