Ancient history . The archeologist conjectured as to the particular arrangement of the items found. 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. 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. 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. Around AD 400, bowling began in Germany as a religious ritual to cleanse oneself from sin by rolling a rock into a club (kegel) representing the heathen, resulting in bowlers being called keglers.
Post-classical history 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. In 1325, laws were passed in
Berlin and
Cologne that limited bets on lawn bowling to five shillings. In the 15th–17th centuries, lawn bowling spread from Germany into Austria, Switzerland, and the Low Countries, with playing surfaces made of cinders or baked clay. Another
English law, passed in 1541 (repealed in 1845), prohibited workers from bowling except at
Christmas, and then only in their master's home and in his presence. In 1530, he acquired
Whitehall Palace in central London as his new residence, having it extensively rebuilt complete with outdoor bowling lanes, indoor tennis court, jousting tiltyard, and cockfighting pit. Protestant Reformation founder
Martin Luther set the number of pins (which varied from 3 to 17) at nine. He had a bowling lane built next to his home for his children, sometimes rolling a ball himself. 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. In 1733,
Bowling Green in New York City was built on the site of a Dutch cattle market and parade ground, becoming the city's oldest public park to survive to modern times.
In the 19th century 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. An
1828 auction notice, also in Ipswich, explicitly mentions "ten-pin and skittle grounds". In 1819, New York writer
Washington Irving made the first mention of ninepin bowling in American literature in his story "
Rip Van Winkle". Newspaper articles and advertisements at least as early as 1820 refer to "ten pin alleys", usually in the context of a side attraction to a main business or property 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. In 1846, the oldest surviving bowling lanes in the
United States were built 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. In 1848, the
Revolutions of 1848 resulted in accelerated German immigration to the U.S., reaching 5 million by 1900, bringing their love of beer and bowling with them; by the late 19th century they made New York City a center of bowling. In 1848, the
Scottish Bowling Association for lawn bowling was founded in Scotland by 200 clubs; it was dissolved then refounded in 1892. 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. In 1875, 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. In 1880, Justin White of
Worcester, Massachusetts, invented
Candlepin Bowling. 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 , and pin distance at . The first ABC champion (1906–1921) was Jimmy Smith (1885–1948). 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. 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). In the early 1890s,
Duckpin bowling was invented in
Boston, Massachusetts, spreading to
Baltimore, Maryland about 1899. In 1886,
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 and over decades strove to elevate the sport's image to compete with upper-class diversions such as theaters and opera houses.
In the 20th century 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. In 1903, D. Peifer of Chicago, Illinois, invented a handicap method for bowling. 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 by 1905.
Columbia Industries, founded in 1960, was the first manufacturer to successfully use polyester resin ("plastic") in bowling balls. 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; its constitution adopted the laws of the Scottish Bowling Association, with variations allowed at the individual country level. In September 1907, the
Victorian Ladies' Bowling Association was founded in
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, becoming the world's first women's lawn bowling association. In 1908, the now-oldest surviving
bowling alley for the tenpin sport was opened in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the basement of the
Holler House tavern, containing the oldest
sanctioned lanes in the United States. 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. In 1926, the International Bowling Association (IBA) was formed by the United States, Sweden, Germany, Netherlands, and Finland, holding four world championships by 1936. 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. 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. 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. The WIBC followed suit the following year. This eliminated the need for pinboys In 1954,
Steve Nagy (1913–1966) became the first person to bowl a perfect 300 game while filmed. The PBA later named its sportsmanship award after him. In 1958, the
Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) was founded in
Akron, Ohio by 33 prominent bowlers (including
Don Carter,
Dick Weber,
Dick Hoover,
Buzz Fazio,
Billy Welu,
Carmen Salvino and
Glenn Allison) after they listened to a presentation by sports agent
Eddie Elias. The PBA eventually reached about 4,300 members in 14 countries worldwide. In 1975,
Earl Anthony became the first PBA member with $100,000 yearly earnings, and the first to reach $1,000,000 total earnings in 1982. In 2000, it was purchased by former executives of
Microsoft, who moved the PBA headquarters to
Seattle, Washington. On 28 November 1960, the first
PBA Championship in
Memphis, Tennessee was won by
Don Carter. It was renamed the PBA World Championship in 2002, and now awarded the Earl Anthony Trophy to the winner. In 1960, the
Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA) was founded as the first professional women's bowling association; it went defunct in 2003. In 1960, the
National Bowling League (NBL) was founded to compete with the PBA. It attracted name players such as
Billy Welu and
Buzz Fazio, but failed to sign top star
Don Carter. The league's failure to get a TV contract caused it to fold following its first championship in 1962. On 26 May 1961 the
British Tenpin Bowling Association (BTBA) was formed. Their first General Secretary was Maurice Glazer. On 27 January 1962,
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, 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. In 1962, the American Wheelchair Bowling Association (AWBA) was founded in
Louisville, Kentucky, by Richard F. Carlson. On 28 June 1963, The first British made tenpin was by H Massil and sons who received the permit no.1 from the
British Tenpin Bowling Association (BTBA) 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. 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." 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. 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. 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. 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. In 1982, the
1982 Commonwealth Games in
Brisbane, Australia, added women's bowls to the events. " oil patterns enable higher scores than the more challenging "
sport shots". 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. 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%. 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". 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.
In the 21st century 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. 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. In 2004, the Brunswick Euro Challenge was founded for amateur and pro 10-pin bowling players from Europe, Asia, and the U.S. 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. 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. In 2015, the Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA) was revived after a 12-year hiatus. A study of professional and master tenpin bowlers found that average scores declined less than 10% from age 20 to age 70. ==Equipment==