PHYSICAL EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR SCHOOLS (PEP)

BRIEF HISTORY OF BOWLING – PART I

Early Beginnings
The earliest indication about bowling came from archaeological evidence in Egypt from
around 3200 B.C. where a collection of stone balls and nine stone pins was found in the
grave site of a child by a British anthropologist, Sir Flinders Petrie. Around the beginning of
the first millennium A.D., German clergy and parishioners bowled as part of religious rites.
Martin Luther was an avid bowler. He once said that it was a great cure for human pride.
In the 1300s, bowling lanes graduated from hard-packed earth to wooden planks. A
tropical hardwood called “lignum vitae” replaced the stone bowling balls.
Important
dates: Beginnings in America
3200BC - first
record in The first record of bowling in America took place in 1611 at Jamestown, Virginia. The
egypt first indoor lane opened its doors in Manhattan in 1840. The lane was for the game of
ninepin that was popular at the time. With the rapid growth of the sport came attempts by the
1300 -
replaced authorities to ban it because of gambling. The game of tenpin was actually invented as a
stone/hard means to get around such law.
pack earth
with wooden
planks Standards of the Game
(lignum vitae)
On September 8, 1895, the American Bowling Congress (ABC), the organization destined
1611 - first
record in
to standardize the sport throughout the world was formed. In 1901, ABC hosted its first
America national tournament in Chicago. On November 30, 1916, the Women’s National Bowling
Association was formed which eventually became the Women’s International Bowling
1840 - first
indoor bowling Congress (WIBC). During the 20th century, bowling turned high tech, as equipment began to
change to better complement the sport. American Hard Rubber Co. came out with the first
Sept 8, hard rubber ball, the Evertrue, in 1905. Brunswick followed suit in 1914 with the Mineralite.
1895 -
standardize Today’s bowling balls are made of polyurethane, polyester and polyester resins.
the sport Until the 1950s there were no automatic pinsetters. Instead, pinboys had to set up the pins
in between frames. The first automatic pinsetter machine was in operation in a bowling
center in 1951.

Bowling as an Olympic Sport

In 1984, ABC and WIBC were admitted as non-voting members of the United States
Olympic Committee (USOC). The greatest of the amateur competitors became Team USA,
the U.S. National Bowling Team.
In 1986, bowling was recognized as a Pan American medal sport. During the 1988
Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea, bowling was competed as an exhibition sport. In 1989, the
USTBF was formed as the official National Governing Body of amateur bowling and was
recognized by the USOC. In 1993, it became USA Bowling and subsequently, to what is
now the United States Bowling Congress (USBC), in 2005.
As of this writing, bowling has yet to become a medal sport in the Olympic games. It is
with great pride that in the Philippines, efforts towards this goal has been started by one of
the living icon of the sport of Bowling, Ms Olivia “Bong” Coo, herself a USBC Certified
Coach, in a cooperative partnership with the country’s educational system, with the
introduction of Physical Education in Tenpin Bowling. Ms. Olivia “Bong” Coo, now a
Commissioner of the Philippine Sports Commission, somehow, has completed her journey from
being a national athlete to PBF President and as policy-maker for the sport of Tenpin Bowling.