bowling

/boh"ling/, n.

1. any of several games in which players standing at one end of an alley or green roll balls at standing objects or toward a mark at the other end, esp. a game in which a heavy ball is rolled from one end of a wooden alley at wooden pins set up at the opposite end. Cf. boccie, candlepin (def. 2), duckpin (def. 2), lawn bowling, ninepin (def. 2), tenpin (def. 2).

2. the game of bowls.

3. an act or instance of playing or participating in any such game: Bowling is a pleasant way to exercise.

[1525-35; BOWL² + -ING¹]

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Game in which a heavy ball is rolled down a long, narrow lane to knock down a group of 10 wooden objects (called pins).

Versions of the game have existed since ancient times. Ninepin bowling was brought to the U.S. in the 17th century by Dutch settlers; it became so popular and so associated with gambling that it was outlawed in several states. The game grew to enormous popularity in the 20th century, both as a recreational activity and (since 1958) as a professional sport. If all the pins are knocked down with the first ball, a strike is recorded (10 points). If pins remain standing but the second ball knocks them down, the player is awarded a spare (10 points). If a strike is thrown in a frame (turn), the number of pins knocked down by the next two balls bowled count in that frame. After a spare, the score of the next ball counts in the spare's frame. Thus, the maximum point total for a single frame is 30. Each game is divided into 10 frames, and each player is allowed to deliver up to two balls per frame (except in the final frame, in which two additional deliveries are permitted following a strike [one additional following a spare]. A perfect score is 300, or 12 strikes in a row. Versions of the game include candlepins, duckpins, and skittles.

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▪ 2006

Introduction

World Tenpins.

      The 40th AMF World Cup, the biggest singles tenpin bowling tournament of the 2004–05 season, was held in Singapore in December 2004. A record-breaking 167 players (93 men and 74 women) from 95 countries participated. American Shannon Pluhowsky celebrated her second victory in three years, defeating Canada's Kerrie Ryan-Ciach in the women's final, while 35-year-old Kai Virtanen of Finland outclassed Norway's Petter Hansen in the men's final.

      The World Ranking Masters tournament, a showcase for the top eight men and women from each of the three regional zones of the World Tenpin Bowling Association (WTBA), took place in April in Lake Wales, Fla. In the men's division Kimmo Lehtonen of Finland was victorious over his countryman Jouni Helminen. Clara Guerrero of Colombia defeated Malaysia's Wendy Chai in the women's final.

      Finland ruled at the men's European championships in Moscow in June, winning gold medals in all six events: singles (Virtanen), doubles, trios, teams, all-events (Petteri Salonen), and masters (Petri Mannonen). The Finnish team added two silver and two bronze medals in the individual competitions.

      The 2005 World Games for non-Olympic events was held July 14–24 in Duisburg, Ger. Virtanen added one more gold to his collection when he defeated Belgian Gery Verbruggen in the men's tenpin final. Kim Soo Kyung of South Korea beat Zara Glover of Great Britain by one pin to win the women's event. Bowling was one of several sports at the World Games seeking Olympic status. (See Sidebar (World Games and the Quest for Olympic Status ).)

      For the first time, the WTBA voted to sponsor separate men's and women's world championships in alternating years. The women's tournament was held August 4–13 in Ålborg, Den., with 216 participants representing 53 countries. The team from Taiwan won the trio and team events as well as the individual all events (Wang Yu-ling). Malaysia's Esther Cheah captured the singles title, and Yang Suiling of China took the masters. The only gold medal that the Asian competitors missed was in the doubles event, which was won by Germany. The next men's world championship was scheduled to take place in 2006.

Yrjö Sarahete

U.S. Tenpins.

      Just four years after he captured his first career title, Patrick Allen of the U.S. emerged as the bowler ranked number one in the world, earning honours as the 2005 Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Player of the Year and claiming the PBA's Harry Smith Point Leader Award. Allen finished in the top five at all four major events of the PBA Tour during the season, including a win at the PBA Denny's world championship, held on April 3 in Ypsilanti, Mich. Allen placed second at two other major tournaments, the American Bowling Congress (ABC) Masters event and the U.S. Open. He also led the PBA Tour in season earnings with more than $350,000—the second highest single-season earnings total in tour history.

      A highlight of the PBA season was the first appearance of a female bowler, Liz Johnson of Cheektowaga, N.Y., in a nationally televised PBA tournament, the Banquet Open, held in Grand Rapids, Mich. Johnson, who had won 11 meets in the Professional Women's Bowling Association before that organization was disbanded in 2003, finished second in the tournament. She established an even greater milestone later in the year when she became the first woman to win a PBA Tour title. Johnson triumphed in August at the PBA's East Region Kingpin Games Open in Rome, N.Y., prevailing 244–171 over Michael Fagan in the title match.

      One of the growing issues facing tenpin bowling during the year was the effect of advancing technology on the sport. The improvement in bowling balls and the weakening of regulations governing the application of oil on the lanes had caused the number of high-score awards to increase dramatically. In the 1979–80 season, for example, when membership in the ABC peaked at 4,799,195, there were 5,373 perfect (300) games sanctioned. In the 2000–01 season, with ABC membership down to 1,866,023, the number of 300s approved was 39,470, and the trend toward higher scoring had only increased by 2005. The U.S. Bowling Congress did not propose any specific measures for limiting the number of high-score awards, however.

John J. Archibald

▪ 2005

Introduction

World Tenpins.

      The World Cup, held Sept. 27–Oct. 4, 2003, in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, was an excellent opening event for the 2003–04 bowling season. National champions from 77 member countries of the World Tenpin Bowling Association (WTBA) participated. In the men's best-of-three-games final, Christian Jan Suarez of the Philippines defeated Dutchman Marcel van den Bosch with a two-game score of 437–411 (thus eliminating the need for a third game). On the women's side, Canadian Kerry Ryan-Ciach's two-game 444–385 victory over defending champion Shannon Pluhowsky of the U.S. was even easier. The top 16 bowlers in the world were invited to compete in the World Tenpin Masters in London in April 2004. Norwegian Tore Torgersen outclassed Tomas Leandersson of Sweden 436–415 for his third title and $30,000.

      Norwich, Eng., was the venue for the final European Team Cup in early June. This championship had been inaugurated in the late 1960s, but a lack of interest and the increasing cost of holding numerous international competitions were putting an end to the event. England beat Finland 438–430 in the women's final. Finland was once again the men's champion, outclassing Germany 398–367. At the end of June, the eight top-ranked qualifiers (men and women) from each of the three world tenpin zones had a play-off in Moscow. Mohd al-Qubaisi of the U.A.E. was the men's winner, and American Diandra Asbaty (formerly Diandra Hyman) topped the women's division.

      In late July participants in the world youth championships had to travel around the globe to Agana, Guam. The long distance and high travel costs were thought to have been the reason for the limited participation, with only 66 girls and 105 boys representing 27 of the WTBA national federations. Australian Jason Belmonte won three individual titles: boys' singles, all-events, and round robin, while Yannaphon Larpapharat of Thailand won the masters. The other boys' winners were Sweden (doubles) and Finland (team). American Jennifer Petrick won the girls' masters title and took second to Finland's Minna Makela in all-events. The remaining girls' champions were Kang Hyun Jin of South Korea (singles), Mexico (doubles), and the U.S. (team).

Yrjö Sarahete

U.S. Tenpins.

      The choice of Finland's Mika Koivuniemi as the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Player of the Year for 2004 served as another indication of the improved caliber of bowlers from outside the U.S. The 37-year-old Koivuniemi, who had lived with his family in Ann Arbor, Mich., for several years, was chosen in a vote by PBA members. Koivuniemi led the PBA with a 222.7 average; won tournaments in Windsor Locks, Conn., and Reno, Nev.; and was second to Tom Baker of Buffalo, N.Y., in the PBA World Championship. In a televised semifinal match at Windsor Locks, Koivuniemi rolled a perfect game. Steve Jaros of Bolingbrook, Ill., who captured three PBA titles, was second in the voting, and Pete Weber of St. Ann, Mo., was third.

      Koivuniemi, whose previous honours included the U.S. Open in 2001, was among the 58 bowlers who qualified for 16 of the 20 PBA tournaments in the 2004–05 season under a new system. Only this group, plus six bowlers who would be invited for various reasons each week, would be permitted to compete on the national televised tour. Each would be guaranteed a minimum prize of $2,000, the first time that PBA bowlers were to be provided with the equivalent of a salary. Other non-American bowlers who were guaranteed places in most of the weekly events included Venezuelan Amleto Monacelli, the PBA Player of the Year for 1989 and 1990; Tore Torgersen of Norway; and Canadians Bill Rowe and Patrick Girard. All PBA members were eligible to compete in the men's American Bowling Congress (ABC) Masters, the U.S. Open, and the PBA World Championship. The PBA Tournament of Champions was open only to winners of other PBA meets.

      After several years of negotiating, delegates to the ABC and the Women's International Bowling Congress finally voted to merge into a single organization. They were quickly joined by USA Bowling, an organization designed to train and support teams for international competition, and the Young American Bowling Alliance, for young bowlers. The unified group, to be called the United States Bowling Congress, was scheduled to begin operations on Jan. 1, 2005.

John J. Archibald

▪ 2004

Introduction

World Tenpins.

      The 2002–03 tenpin-bowling season began with the European Cup in Schiedam, Neth., in the first week of September 2002. In the men's final Jouni Helminen of Finland bested England's Nick Froggatt; Germany's Tanya Petty defeated Mhairi Shaw of Scotland for the women's title. In the last week of October, 83 male and 72 female finalists arrived in Riga, Latvia, for the World Tenpin Bowling Association (WTBA) Bowling World Cup. Mika Luoto of Finland outbowled Remy Ong of Singapore 511–438 in the final, and American Shannon Pluhowsky won the women's championship 426–348 over Nikki Harvey of England.

      The first major event of 2003 was the World Tenpin Team Cup, held in Odense, Den., in February. Malaysia surprised the bowling world as the Malaysian men beat Sweden and the women triumphed over England. In April the eight top-ranked bowlers (male or female) from each of the three WTBA geographic zones were invited to Dagenham, Eng., to determine the best tournament bowler of the year. Harvey beat Andrew Frawley of Australia 431–402 and took home the $30,000 first prize. The World Ranking Masters for the top 24 men and women (determined after the 2002 ranking tournaments) took place in Lake Wales, Fla., in July. Anders Öhman of Sweden defeated American Bill Hoffman in the three-game final, while Britt Brönssted of Denmark beat Germany's Patricia Schwarz for the women's title.

      The world championships were held at the end of September 2003 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. There were 65 nations represented by 348 men and 234 women. Zara Glover of England won the women's singles, the doubles with her partner, Kirsten Penny, and the all-events with an average of 220.25. Trios gold went to the Philippines, and Malaysia captured the women's team championship. The women's stepladder title went to American Diandra Hyman over Liza Clutario of the Philippines. Luoto won the men's singles. Öhman and Tomas Leandersson took the doubles and led Sweden to the men's team title, while Öhman also won the all-events with an average of 230.58. The U.S. won men's trios. Michael Little of Australia defeated Tim Mack of the U.S. en route to the men's stepladder title. Because of the increasing size of the world championships, the WTBA voted to change the format. In the future, men and women would bowl in separate quadrennial tournaments, with the next women's event scheduled for 2005.

Yrjö Sarahete

U.S. Tenpins.

      Readers of the summer 2003 issue of American Bowler, the official publication of the American Bowling Congress (ABC), were startled by a headline-opening sentence of an editorial by the ABC's executive director, Roger Dalkin: “It's time to dissolve the American Bowling Congress.” Dalkin, disappointed that both his organization and the Women's International Bowling Congress (WIBC) had rejected a merger with two smaller bowling groups, was suggesting that it was in the “best interests” of the ABC to be disbanded “in order to create a new organization to serve bowlers of all ages, regardless of gender.” At their 2003 conventions a majority of the WIBC delegates favoured the merger, but it did not gain the required two-thirds vote needed for passage, while ABC delegates voted 630–628 against the measure. Officials of both groups said that additional efforts would be made to convince delegates that a merger would be beneficial.

      The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) announced that in 2002–03, its second season as a for-profit institution, it showed a 6% increase in ratings for its ESPN TV broadcasts, a 20% increase in membership, and a 35% increase in tournament entries. In competition six-time PBA Player of the Year Walter Ray Williams, Jr., lost to Byron Smith in the final of the ABC Masters in January but came back to win the U.S. Open on February 2 and the PBA world championship on March 9.

      Significant changes for the 2004–05 PBA tournament tour were announced in August. Sixteen of the 20 nationally televised meets would be limited to 64 entrants, 60 of whom would have exempt status for the full season. Exemptions would be determined by bowlers' performances in the 2003–04 season plus an assortment of qualifying events. For the four major tournaments—the Tournament of Champions, the U.S. Open, the ABC Masters, and the PBA world championship—the old qualifying format would be maintained. The 16 standard meets would consist of best-of-seven matches—except for the televised final round—with losers immediately eliminated. The PBA, however, would award each of the 64 entrants a minimum of $2,000 per week.

John J. Archibald

▪ 2003

Introduction

World Tenpins.

      The annual increase in the number of countries participating in the World Tenpin Bowling Association (WTBA) Bowling World Cup had been the hallmark of the tournament's 37-year history, and in November 2001, players from a record 88 nations were on the lanes in Pattaya, Thai. In the men's two-game grand final, Norwegian Kim Haugen defeated Ahmed Shaheen of Qatar 528–402. Japan's Nachimi Itakura won over Liza del Rosario of the Philippines 504–448 for the women's title.

      The first major event of 2002, the World Ranking Masters, took place in Ålborg, Den., in May, with the top eight women and eight men from each of the three WTBA geographic zones. The men's final was a duplicate of the 2001 European championship, which Gery Verbruggen of Belgium lost to Anders Öhman of Sweden. This time, Verbruggen had his revenge and defeated Öhman. In the women's final Jesmine Ho, the 2001 victor, had a chance to repeat, but fellow Singaporean Jennifer Tan put an end to her dreams.

      Two major European events were held in July. At the European Cup teams event in Mülheim, Ger., for the fourth time in a row, the Finnish women secured the gold medal, beating the Germans in the final match 382–366. In the men's division Norway continued its golden year, besting Sweden 439–337 in the final.

      Later in the month the British girls dominated the European youth championships in Rome, capturing four gold, three silver, and two bronze medals. All three qualifiers for the grand final were from England. In the last match Holly Towersey, the all-events champion, outclassed teammate Jemma Smith 403–357. On the boys' side Sweden was on top with two golds, one silver, and a bronze. The all-events king was Peter Smits of The Netherlands.

      Less than two weeks later, the world youth tenpin championships were held in Pattaya. Angkana Netruiseth of Thailand won the girls' singles, but England captured the girls' doubles and team event. In the boys' competition the singles winner was Yannaphon Larpapharat of Thailand, the best duo came from South Korea, and the best team was from Sweden.

Yrjö Sarahete

U.S. Tenpins.

      The reorganized Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) put its show on the road in 2001–02 in the form of a 19-tournament schedule on ESPN cable television. The PBA president, Steve Miller, reported an 18% increase in TV ratings over the previous season, a 34% jump in PBA membership, and a 35% increase in tournament entries. The renewed interest was attributed largely to the fact that the prize fund went from $1.8 million to $4.3 million.

      In March 2000 the PBA had been rescued from bankruptcy and converted from a nonprofit into a potentially for-profit corporation. In 2002, 70 top bowlers were given stock options, believed to be a first for any sports organization. One TV event, the PBA Tournament of Champions, had to be dropped, however, because of a cancellation by its sponsor, the Brunswick Corp. During the summer, however, the tournament was reinstated as the first major event of the 2002–03 season. It was held in Uncasville, Conn., in December and was won by Jason Couch.

      The 22-event schedule for 2002–03 included two tournaments in Japan. In the Dream Bowl 2002, members of the Japanese PBA and the South Korean PBA, as well as Japanese and Chinese amateurs, competed. Hugh Miller of Seattle, Wash., defeated Japan's Yukio Yamazaki 431–427 in a two-game match for the $40,000 prize. In the Oronamin C Japan Cup, Robert Smith of Simi Valley, Calif., won $50,000 by topping Chris Barnes of Dallas, Texas, 224–222.

      The plan to consolidate the four major nonprofessional bowling groups into a single-membership organization was stalled when delegates to the Women's International Bowling Congress (WIBC) delayed their vote until 2004. The consolidation had been approved by the men's American Bowling Congress (ABC), the Young American Bowling Alliance (YABA), and USA Bowling, which oversaw American participation in international events.

      In 2002 membership in the ABC slipped 5.3%, to 1,866,023, while the WIBC fell 7.3%, to 1,481,163. YABA membership rose 3,599, to 409,465. High scores, however, were slightly ahead of the previous season—41,303 ABC-sanctioned 300 games were bowled by men, 915 by women, and 1,213 by youngsters in YABA leagues. Karen Rosenburg of Rolla, Mo., rolled the highest three-game series in WIBC history, 878, in a league match in Rolla.

John J. Archibald

▪ 2002

Introduction

World Tenpins.

      In June 2001 the Fédération Internationale des Quilleurs (FIQ), the world governing body for the sport of tenpin bowling, reported at its biennial congress, held in Ålborg, Den., that 123 national member federations, with close to 15 million individual members, were affiliated with the FIQ. Traditionally, the FIQ was formed by three geographic zones—American, Asian, and European. The forming of a new African zone was under consideration, however, because the number of tenpin countries on that continent had reached 15.

      In October 2000, at the beginning of the 2000–01 season, the 36th AMF Bowling World Cup took place in Lisbon. The field included 67 female and 88 male national qualifiers from as many countries. Mel Isaac of Wales and Tomas Leandersson of Sweden won the women's and men's titles, respectively.

      The world youth championships, held in Santo Domingo, Dom.Rep., ended on Nov. 4, 2000. The American team took home 12 of the 21 medals awarded (5 gold, 5 silver, and 2 bronze). Kelly Kulick of the U.S. won the girls' singles and all-events titles, finished second to teammate Diandra Hyman in the masters, and teamed with Hyman to take silver behind England in the doubles. South Korea's Kim Jae Hoon captured gold in the boys' singles, all-events, and doubles (with partner Kong Sun Jong).

      After two postponements the FIQ's 24 top-ranked men and women gathered in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E., in mid-April 2001 for the final roll-off to determine the world's best amateur bowlers. Jesmine Ho of Singapore and Sunny Hui of Hong Kong won the women's and men's titles, respectively, and received $10,000 each in prize money. At the 11th European championships in June, Finland captured the most medals (12), while England won the most gold (5). Top bowlers Kirsten Penny of England and Mika Luoto of Finland each won four golds and a bronze. Women competitors broke a total of 14 tournament records, while the men broke 9.

      In 2001, for the first time, the national coaches elected an International Bowler of the Year—Clara Juliana Guerrero of Colombia.

Yrjö Sarahete

U.S. Tenpins.

      In July 2001 the new owners of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) presented a 20-tournament schedule for the 2001–02 season, with all of the events to be carried on ESPN cable television as part of a three-year contract. In March 2000 the troubled PBA had been purchased by a trio of former computer software executives, Chris Peters, Mike Slade, and Rob Glaser. In the process the nonprofit PBA was converted into a for-profit corporation.

      ESPN guaranteed a set time for the 10-tournament first half of the season, to be broadcast on Tuesday evenings from September to December with only a few variations. The second half of the season would be shown on Sunday afternoons, beginning on Jan. 6, 2002, and concluding with the “Battle of Little Creek” in Norfolk, Va., on March 17. The finals of the PBA world championship, with a top prize of $120,000, would be televised March 3.

      To attract bowlers who had withdrawn from competition because of insufficient incentive, the PBA boosted the prize fund from $1.8 million in 2000–01 to approximately $4 million in 2001–02. Ian Hamilton, the new PBA commissioner, who previously had directed the Nike global tennis program for 14 years, said that the TV finals of the PBA tournaments would have a completely different look “without affecting the integrity of the sport.” Spectators would be seated on both sides of the tournament lanes and would be encouraged to participate vocally at all times. An indefinite number of summer events would be scheduled.

      In amateur bowling a joint task force began to explore the feasibility of combining five American governing bodies—the men's American Bowling Congress, the Women's International Bowling Congress, the Young American Bowling Alliance, Bowling, Inc., and USA Bowling—into one single-membership organization.

      In August Earl Anthony, the PBA's most prolific champion and six-time Player of the Year, died at age 63. (See Obituaries (Anthony, Earl ).)

John J. Archibald

▪ 2001

Introduction

World Tenpins.

      The number of national federations affiliated with the Fédération Internationale des Quilleurs (FIQ), the world governing body of the sport of bowling, reached 122 in the year 2000. This growing popularity was reflected in continued calls for the sport's inclusion in the Olympic Games.

      The FIQ world championships, held in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E., in November 1999, were the major competition in the 1999–2000 bowling season and the most attended event of the FIQ's 47-year history. A record number of 345 male and 255 female competitors represented 67 countries at the 16-day tournament. The championships were held in the ultramodern $24 million Khalifa International Bowling Stadium, built and financed by the emirate for the championships. If the number of competitors was the highest in FIQ history, so was the scoring as 25 new records were established. During the preceding 45-year history of the world championships, only one perfect 300 game had been recorded—by American Rick Steelsmith in Helsinki, Fin., in 1987. In Abu Dhabi his achievement was matched by four men and the first woman ever, South Korean Cha Mi Jung. Another memorable match was in men's doubles, with a 599 game rolled by Colombia's Jaime Andrés Gómez (300) and Jaime Monroy (299). Australia topped the list of gold medals won with three (women's doubles, all events, and masters). Two were won by South Korea (women's trios and team) and Sweden (men's doubles and team), while Belgium (men's singles), Finland (men's trios), Norway (men's all events), Qatar (men's masters), and the U.S. (women's singles) won one gold each. In all, the 36 medals were shared by 15 countries.

      The host country, which won no medals, was praised for a well-run event, despite the increasing difficulty and expense of organizing the international tournament. Meanwhile, the men's masters champion, Ahmed Shaheen of Qatar, gave a warning to the bowling world of what could be expected from future Gulf region competitors. Just a month earlier he had won the 35th AMF Bowling World Cup in Las Vegas, Nev. The World Cup had been the most important international singles tournament since it was created in 1965, and in Las Vegas the field included bowlers from 79 countries.

Yrjö Sarahete

U.S. Tenpins.

      An indication of the status of tenpin bowling in the U.S. was the headline “Membership Decline Slows” in the Sept. 7, 2000, issue of Bowling Newsline, the official publication of the combined men's American Bowling Congress (ABC) and the Women's International Bowling Congress (WIBC). The story celebrated the fact that during the 1999–2000 season the two organizations (which together sought to register all league bowlers), in combination with the Young American Bowling Alliance (which registered younger bowlers), had lost only 4.5% of their members. This was the lowest decrease in a decade and left the three groups with a combined total of 3,756,651 paid members.

      The decrease was generally believed to reflect a reduction in the number of bowlers who chose to commit to a specific number of weeks, often as many as 35, required for league membership, rather than dissatisfaction with the ABC or WIBC. Some followers of the sport attributed part of the decline in bowling's popularity to the rapid rise in the number of ABC/WIBC-sanctioned perfect games and other high scores. Whereas a 300 game was once regarded as an outstanding achievement, the total of perfect-score awards in 1999–2000 was 41,473 (with 39,470 rolled by men). Observers were nearly unanimous in their opinion that improvement in the manufacture of bowling balls was the chief cause. The record-high scores set at the 2000 ABC tournament in Albuquerque, N.M., and especially the WIBC tournament in Reno, Nev., seemed to confirm this trend.

      A positive element in the tenpin scene was the purchase of the financially troubled Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) in March by a group of high-tech entrepreneurs. The new owners were former Microsoft Corp. vice president Chris Peters, who had hoped to become a pro bowler himself a few years earlier; Mike Slade, former chairman and CEO of Starwave Corp.; and Rob Glaser, CEO of RealNetworks, Inc. The PBA, formerly a nonprofit group, would henceforth be operated as a profit-making corporation, with heavy use of the Internet for promotion.

      Meanwhile, the seldom-publicized Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA) continued to flourish. Despite small prize money—the PWBA's leading money winner in 1999, Wendy Macpherson, earned $86,265—a core of about 40 full-time participants competed regularly. The PWBA announced that all of its 23 tournaments in 2001 would be carried on delayed broadcast by the ESPN2 cable television network.

      In February Norm Duke narrowly defeated his neighbour and close friend Jason Couch to take the PBA national championship. Couch took his revenge in November, however, winning his second consecutive PBA Tournament of Champions, the first bowler ever to successfully defend that title. Duke finished third.

John J. Archibald

▪ 2000

Introduction

World Tenpins.

      The Commonwealth Games, held in September 1998 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, served as a good start for the 1998–99 season. Cara Honeychurch of Australia captured a gold medal in all three events in which she participated, while Malaysia's Kenny Ang won one gold fewer. The 21 European national champions competed in the European Cup Individuals, held in Odense, Den. Achim Grabowski of Germany defeated Kai Virtanen of Finland in the men's final, and Katriina Kukkula, also from Finland, outclassed Annemiek van de Boogart of The Netherlands in the women's event.

      Kobe, Japan, hosted the world's most respected singles tournament, the AMF World Cup, in November 1998. The event drew attendees from more than 60 countries, each of them having qualified through national elimination tournaments. Taiwan's Yang Cheng-Ming used his 4.5-kg (10-lb) ball to triumph over Mexico's Mario Quintero in one of the most superior wins in the Cup's history, 233–152. In the women's final, Tseng Su-Fen of Taiwan failed in her attempt to capture back-to-back crowns, losing to Australian Maxine Nable by a thrilling score of 235–231.

      Bangkok was host of the 13th Asian Games in December 1998. The women's singles was won by South Korea's Lee Ji Yeon; doubles gold also went to South Korea. The men's singles title was won by Wu Fu-Lung of Taiwan. Taiwan also dominated the men's doubles, men's team, women's trios, and women's team events. Thailand was on top in the men's trio.

      The Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Man., finished the season in August 1999. In 23 bowling events held since the sport first enjoyed medal status in 1983, the U.S. had earned at least one medal in each tournament. This time the U.S. took gold in men's and women's team events, and American Janette Piesczynski won the women's masters, defeating Venezuela's Alicia Marcano by only one pin, 3,328–3,327. The fourth gold medal was earned by Colombia's David Romero, who bested American Michael Mullin, 3,544–3,529.

Yrjö Sarahete

U.S. Tenpins

      The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) made an innovative bid to get the attention of potential advertisers for its televised tournaments by staging the final round of a meet outdoors in New York City on May 1, 1999. Fortunately, the weather was clear, and the tournament, televised nationally by CBS, proceeded without interruption. Eric Forkel of Tucson, Ariz., defeated Mark Mosayebi of Charlotte, N.C., 243–231, in the title match.

      The open-air event created considerable media attention but did not persuade any corporation to purchase advertising on PBA productions. PBA had contracted with CBS to buy one hour of Saturday afternoon time in 1998 and 1999 for a series of spring/summer tournaments, with the PBA to recoup that outlay by obtaining sponsors. PBA Commissioner Mark Gerberich acknowledged in September that the organization had suffered heavy financial losses in the arrangement and would not continue a third year.

      Another indication of the continuing slump in bowling interest was the announcement that membership in the men's American Bowling Congress (ABC), the Women's International Bowling Congress (WIBC), and the Young American Bowling Alliance declined in the 1998–99 season by 5.3% to 3,933,553. Nearly three-quarters of the ABC and WIBC leagues included both men and women bowlers. Surprisingly, participation in the ABC and WIBC annual tournaments, which were open to virtually all league bowlers, remained steady. The 96th annual ABC meet, held in Syracuse, N.Y., attracted 50,491 entrants during its 128-day run. The 67-day WIBC tournament, in Indianapolis, Ind., drew “nearly 43,000” bowlers.

      The record score for a five-man team was broken May 1 by the Just-Us Tree Service from Detroit, Mich., competing in a tournament at the Toledo (Ohio) Sports Center. The Detroit bowlers shot 3,870, two pins higher than Hurst Bowling Supplies rolled in Luzerne, Pa., in 1994.

John J. Archibald

▪ 1999

Introduction

World Tenpins.

      To open the 1997-98 international calendar year, the AMF Bowling World Cup finals were held in Cairo in November 1997. Through national eliminations the female and male champions of nearly 100 countries qualified for the tournament. The grand finals took place under clear skies on temporary bowling lanes constructed near the great pyramids. In the women's competition Tseng Su-fen of Taiwan overcame South Korea's Lee Ji Soon 236-225. In the men's roll-off, Christian Nokel of Germany defeated Taiwan's Peng Yung-nein 210-200.

      The world's best young (under-17) athletes gathered in Moscow in July to compete in the first World Youth Games, with bowling one of the 40 sports on the program. Tracy Ward and Chris Detmore of the U.S. won mixed doubles, Isao Yamamoto of Japan gained the boys' singles title, and Lisa John of the U.K. captured gold in the girls' singles competition. Guatemala was host to the FIQ (Fédération International des Quilleurs) American Zone youth bowling championships during the same month. As expected, the U.S. sent the strongest team, which prevailed in seven events. Other winners included Eduardo Soria of Mexico (boys' singles), Paola Gómez of Colombia (girls' singles), and Guatemalan Sofia Granda, who captured the all-events' crown in front of a home audience.

      Taiwan welcomed bowlers from Asia, Australia, and Oceania to the 15th FIQ Asian Bowling Championships in July. Competitors from South Korea were victorious in four men's and three women's events. Cara Honeychurch of Australia was the biggest individual winner, with gold medals in women's singles and all-events. Bowlers from more than 25 countries competed in the fifth world youth championship, held in August in Inchon, S.Kor. Individual champions included Shalin Zulkifli of Malaysia (girls' singles and all-events), American Shawn Evans (boys' singles), and Petteri Salonen of Finland (boys' all-events).

      The European team championships were held in Malmö, Swed., in June. For the first time, the usual favourites in the men's division, Finland and Sweden, were not among the top five teams and did not qualify for the World Tenpin Team Cup to be bowled in October in The Netherlands. In the European final The Netherlands defeated Spain 589-516. Sweden finished first in the men's competition for the World Tenpin Team Cup, and Finland repeated its European victory in the women's event.

YRJÖ SARAHETE

U.S. Tenpins.

      In 1998 the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) emerged successfully from its first season affiliated with the CBS television network after 36 years with the ABC network. The men's organization matches appeared on CBS on Saturday afternoons April-June under a contract that provided for the PBA to purchase the one-hour slot from CBS, produce its own shows, and sell commercial time. The PBA and CBS reached an agreement during the year that would keep the bowling matches on the network through 2000 and would add a 10th tournament, the World Invitational, in 1999. During the nine PBA tournaments broadcast in a 10-week period in 1998, the audience averaged 2.5 million viewers, according to PBA Commissioner Mark Gerberich, despite the late-spring schedule that caused the tournaments to compete with outdoor activities. A new format for the final round was used. The second-, third-, and fourth-place finishers in the qualifying round bowled one game each, and the high scorer then met the qualifying leader for the championship.

      for the third year in a row Walter Ray Williams, Jr., of Stockton, Calif., was named PBA Player of the Year. He won five tournaments including the U.S. Open and set a record for a single-season average of 226.13. His prize money totaled $238,225. Runner-up Parker Bohn III of Jackson, N.J., won four tournaments and reached the title round of the prestigious American Bowling Congress (ABC) Masters Tournament at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nev., by bowling a 300 game on television, good for a $10,000 bonus, but then lost to Mike Aulby of Indianapolis, Ind., 224-192. In November Pete Weber and Teata Semiz were inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame. Also in November Tony Roventini of Milwaukee, Wis., became the second person to bowl an ABC-approved 900 series.

JOHN J. ARCHIBALD

▪ 1998

Introduction

World Tenpins.

      The 1996-97 international bowling season started early when the world youth championships were held in August 1996 in Hong Kong. Owing to the travel cost and the full calendar of European tournaments, many top European countries could not participate. The winners of the 10 events came from Colombia, Japan, Taiwan, Venezuela, and South Korea.

      In October Colombia and Venezuela dominated the lanes at the South American championships in Brasília, Braz. Colombian bowlers took 7 of the 12 events, while Venezuelans captured 4, leaving the Uruguayan winners of the men's doubles as the only exceptions.

      The European Individual Cup for the national champions of each country closed the year in November in Nottingham, Eng. Jaana Strömberg of Finland, two-time world youth champion, prevailed over top-seeded Isabelle Saldjian of France 402-387 to capture the title. In the men's division the host nation's Wayne Greenall defeated Sweden's Göran Carlsson 427-373 to gain England its first men's victory.

      Calendar year 1997 opened with the East Asian Games in Pusan, S.Kor., where China pulled a stunning upset by sweeping the men's and women's titles. Jun Zhao defeated heavily favoured Tagata Kengo of Japan 415-380 to win the men's gold medal. Liying Liang completed China's remarkable triumph, winning 427-420 over South Korea's Yeau Jin Kim in the final women's competition.

      At the end of June, Europe's top bowlers were again in Nottingham, this time for the European championships. Susanne Erlandsson of Sweden won the singles, and bowlers from The Netherlands swept the other gold medals in the women's events. Patrik Johansson of Sweden won the men's singles, with Sweden winning two other men's events and one gold each going to Germany, Belgium, and Norway.

      In global qualification tournaments 24 countries qualified to send their best female and best male bowler to Lahti, Fin., for the fifth world games in August 1997. The mixed doubles title was unexpectedly captured by Malaysia, which, in a tension-filled final, defeated Australia 838-816. In singles competition top-seeded Patricia Schwarz of Germany had no problem defeating Saldjian 395-345 to take home the gold medal. In the men's final Gery Verbruggen of Belgium upset Vernon Peterson of the U.S. 463-430.

YRJÖ SARAHETE

U.S. Tenpins.

      Bowling suffered a much-publicized setback in 1997 when the ABC television network announced that it would no longer carry the championship round of Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) tournaments, a Saturday afternoon feature on ABC for 36 years. The cancellation of the live telecasts was the latest in a series of reverses for the tenpin game. Many bowling centres had closed, and membership in the American Bowling Congress and the Women's International Bowling Congress (WIBC) continued to decline. To compensate for the loss of ABC, the PBA reached an agreement with the CBS network, which would broadcast the final round of nine tournaments beginning in April 1998. The PBA contracted with the ESPN cable network, which had carried some of the professional tournaments for many years, to telecast 23 meets in 1998.

      In a final match delayed by computer glitches and other technical problems, John Gant of Winston-Salem, N.C., defeated former champion Mike Aulby 208-187 at the PBA's 1997 Brunswick World Tournament of Champions, held at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nev., in January. At the WIBC championship tournament at the same venue in July, Kendra Cameron of Gambrills, Md., won the all-events title with a record nine-game total of 2,039. Jeff Richgels, of Oregon, Wis., captured the all-events title (2,241 points) at the men's American Bowling Congress tournament in July in Huntsville, Ala., while John Socha of New Berlin, Wis., racked up a record 847 series to win the singles.

      A highlight of the 1997 bowling season was the first 900 series in American Bowling Congress-sanctioned competition. Jeremy Sonnenfeld, a 20-year-old sophomore at the University of Nebraska, rolled three successive perfect games in a tournament at Sun Valley Lanes in Lincoln, Neb., on February 2. Sonnenfeld's feat was even more remarkable because the right-hander shot each game on a different pair of lanes. Meanwhile, Walter Ray Williams, Jr., a PBA Hall of Famer and three-time Player of the Year, was favoured to win the title again in 1997.) (Williams, Walter Ray, Jr. )

JOHN J. ARCHIBALD

▪ 1997

Introduction

World Tenpins

      The fully packed year in international bowling started in 1996 in Helsinki, Fin., with national teams competing for the Cup of Europe. The tournament was first scheduled to be bowled in Israel, but because of uncertainty regarding the safety of the participants, the European federations voted in favour of moving the event to Helsinki. There, 22 men's and 18 women's teams gathered in late May. In both divisions the teams played one-game matches in a round-robin format.

      In the women's tournament, Finland lost only two matches to win the championship. Norway and Sweden finished second and third, respectively. In the men's competition Sweden and Finland tied in match points, but Sweden's quintet finished first because it had knocked down more pins. Norway won the bronze medal. Individually, Finland's Pauliina Aalto paced both the men and the women with a 218.29 average. Kai Virtanen of Finland led the men with 217.33.

      Early in August young players were invited to Hong Kong for the fourth world youth championships. Bowlers from 31 countries accepted the invitation. For the girls and boys, the events were singles, doubles, teams (4 players), all events (18 games), and masters (round-robin for 16 top players of all events). By the conclusion of the championship, 11 countries had shared the medals. Taiwan performed capably, capturing for the island four gold medals and one bronze. Japan and Venezuela were successful, winning two titles apiece. The remaining golds were won by Colombia and South Korea.

      In September in Calgary, Alta., 16 nations bowled for the second World Tenpin Team Cup. During the tournament all teams bowled three round-robin matches, with the three best teams proceeding to the final round. In the men's division Scandinavia dominated, with Finland placing first, Sweden second, and Denmark third. In the women's final the U.S. and Finland bowled to a tie. In the following two-frame roll-off, Finland won 56-40. Malaysia finished third.

      In the AMF World Cup tournament in Belfast, N.Ire., in November Paeng Nepomuceno of the Philippines won the men's competition, defeating Drew Hylen of the United States 243-172 in the final. Cara Honeychurch of Australia was the women's champion. (YRJÖ SARAHETE)

U.S. Tenpins.

      The popularity of "arena" settings for the final rounds of Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) tournaments continued to grow in 1996. Under this format the tournament was moved from the bowling centre used for the qualifying round to a nearby site, often a college gymnasium, that would accommodate about 4,000 persons seated on three sides of specially installed lanes. Most bowling centres had space for only a few hundred spectators. The first three arena-style PBA tournaments were held in 1994. There were 9 in 1995, including a meet in Detroit's Joe Louis Arena that attracted 7,212 fans, and 12 in 1996. "Only the cost of installing lanes for one day's use will limit the increase in arena finals," according to PBA Commissioner Mark Gerberich. "We must find ways to assist the local proprietor with this expense."

      In an arena meet at the Erie (Pa.) Civic Center—the PBA's Flagship Open on April 6—Bob Learn, Jr., an Erie resident, bowled a 300 game against Johnny Petraglia of Manalapan, N.J. (279), and received a $100,000 bonus. Learn then defeated John Mazza of Shelby township, Mich., 270-268; Parker Bohn III of Jackson, N.J., 280-279; and Randy Pedersen of Hollywood, Fla., 279-257 to capture his third championship and an additional $30,000. Learn's 1,129 for four games was a PBA record.

      With a handful of tournaments remaining, Walter Ray Williams, Jr., of Stockton, Calif., with three championships in 1996, seemed the most likely to succeed Mike Aulby of Indianapolis, Ind., as PBA Player of the Year. Williams earned the honour in 1986 and 1993. Aulby was one of several bowlers with one title in 1996.

      The increasing interest in mixed leagues—those that include both men and women—was reflected in a record entry of 1,933 four-person teams in the sixth annual mixed championships at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nev. Easy Rollers #3 of Houston, Texas, won the team event with a score of 2,825. (JOHN J. ARCHIBALD)

▪ 1996

Introduction

World Tenpins.

      The 13th world tenpin bowling championships took place July 9-15, 1995, in Reno, Nev. A record number of participants, 358 men and 253 women from 61 countries, bowled in a new five-story stadium with 80 lanes.

      In men's singles Canada's Marc Doi (1,364) and Bill Rowe (1,356) won the gold and silver medals. In women's singles Debby Ship, also from Canada, won the world title (1,318). Second was Elizabeth Johnson of the U.S. (1,295).

      The world champion in men's doubles was Sweden (2,702), and Thailand (2,489) won the women's doubles. In the trio event the young Dutch male team silenced the rest of the field with their double victory (3,954 and 3,889). Australia won the women's competition (3,626). In the five-player team event the Dutch men captured their second world title (6,282), and the Finnish women won the gold (5,974).

      The total score of these four events decided the all-events champions. The men's winner was the tournament's youngest participant, 17-year-old Michael Sassen from The Netherlands, with a new world record of 5,496. Jaana Puhakka from Finland made bowling history as the first woman to win the world youth champion's title twice in a row and then in her first adult world championships the all-events (4,916).

      The top 16 men and women continued bowling a one-game round-robin, after which the three on top bowled a step-ladder final for the Masters crown. Yang Chen-ming of Taiwan was the men's champion, and Celia Flores of Mexico won the women's crown. (YRJÖ SARAHETE)

U.S. Tenpins.

      A long-shot contender for Bowler of the Year honours emerged in the summer of 1995 when 57-year-old John Handegard of Las Vegas, Nev., stunned the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) by winning its Northwest Classic in Kennewick, Wash. He became the oldest bowler ever to win on the PBA regular tour. A few months later he captured the PBA Senior Championship in Jackson, Mich.

      Handegard defeated Mark Williams of Beaumont, Texas, 278-247 in the Northwest final. In the title match of the Senior event, he scored a 246-185 victory over Avery LeBlanc of Houma, La.

      The more likely Bowler of the Year for 1995, however, was Mike Aulby of Indianapolis, Ind., winner of the Brunswick World Tournament of Champions 237-232 over Bob Spaulding of Greenville, S.C., and the ABC Bud Light Masters 200-187 over Williams.

      A record 91,059 individual entries in the American Bowling Congress Tournament helped the ABC celebrate its 100th anniversary. The winners in the five-month-long event were: team, Arden Lanes, of Seattle, Wash., 3,387; singles, Matt Surina, Mead, Wash., 826; doubles, Scott Kruppenbacher and Michael Wambold, Rochester, N.Y., 1,486; all-events, Jeff Kwiatkowski, Maumee, Ohio, 2,191.

      In the Women's International Bowling Congress Queens Tournament in Tucson, Ariz., Sandy Postma, a 48-year-old grandmother from Lansing, Mich., was the unexpected winner. Postma, who previously had never finished better than 11th in national competition, topped Carolyn Dorin of North Richland Hills, Texas, 226-187 in the final.

      Beth Owen, a Dallas, Texas, bowling instructor, won the singles event with 749 and the all-events title with 1,983 in the Classic Division of the WIBC Tournament. The Contour Power Grips of West Bloomfield, Mich., set a tournament record in the team competition with 3,125. The doubles winners were Carol Harsh and Debbie Villani of Las Vegas with 1,299.

      (JOHN J. ARCHIBALD)

▪ 1995

Introduction

World Tenpins.

      The crown jewel among all international tenpin bowling tournaments of 1994 was the third world youth championships, held in Monterrey, Mexico, August 6-13. A record 29 countries sent their best young bowlers to Mexico to compete for world titles in boys' and girls' divisions. Stars of the tournament were Jaana Puhakka and Pasi Pöllänen of Finland, each of whom won two individual titles. In addition, Pöllänen won a gold medal in team competition and a silver in masters, and Puhakka took a silver in doubles. In girls' masters, Puhakka, the defending world champion from 1992, made bowling history by winning the title again. Her double was the first in the 40-year history of international bowling.

      Champions in the girls' competition were: singles—Puhakka, Finland, 1,208; doubles—Australia 2,477; teams of four—Australia 4,626; all-events—Kelly Warren, Australia, 3,649; masters—Puhakka 394. Winners of the boys' events were: singles—Pöllänen, Finland, 1,285; doubles—U.S. 2,438; teams of four—Finland 4,710; all-events—Pöllänen 3,697; masters—Chiang An-Shan, Taiwan, 405. In competition for overall team performance, Finland easily won the Cojuangco Cup for men, and Australia took it for women.

      At the 13th Asian zone championships in Guam, held July 1-10, women's winners were: singles—Shalin Zulkifli, Malaysia, 1,251; doubles—Australia 2,482; trios—Australia 3,550; five-person teams—Japan 5,767; all-events—Cara Honeychurch, Australia, 4,883; masters—Honeychurch 3,390. Champions in men's competition were: singles—Muhammad Khalifa al-Qubaisi, United Arab Emirates, 1,367; doubles—Korea 2,467; trios—Qatar 3,736; five-person teams—Taiwan 6,320; all-events—Chen Yu-Chia, Taiwan, 5,027; masters—Paeng Nepomuceno, Philippines, 3,453.

      The major tournament in Europe was the Team Cup, which took place in Scheveningen, Neth., May 30-June 5. Denmark won the men's competition, with Germany second and Sweden third. The Netherlands placed first in the women's competition, followed by Germany and the U.K.

      (YRJÖ SARAHETE)

U.S. Tenpins.

       Bowling's oldest record was broken in 1994. The Hurst Bowling Supplies team of Wilkes-Barre, Pa., competing in the Empire Arcade Classic League in Luzerne, Pa., rolled a three-game score of 3,868, topping the 3,858 shot by the St. Louis (Mo.) Budweisers in 1958. Hurst's games were 1,351, 1,255, and 1,262.

      When he won the General Tire Tournament of Champions in April, Norm Duke of Edmond, Okla., appeared to have assured himself of succeeding Walter Ray Williams, Jr., as Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Player of the Year with only one-third of the year having elapsed. Duke had won three other PBA tournaments earlier. In the Tournament of Champions final, he defeated Eric Forkel of Chatsworth, Calif., 217-184 after Forkel followed a run of three strikes with a gutter ball in the eighth frame.

      In the American Bowling Congress (ABC) Masters Tournament, in Mobile, Ala., Steve Fehr of Cincinnati, Ohio, took the $43,700 first prize by topping Steve Anderson of Colorado Springs, Colo., 224-206 in the final. The Regular Division winners in the tournament were: team, Bluemound Bowl No. 1, Milwaukee, Wis., 3,305; singles, John Weltzien, Boca Raton, Fla., 810; doubles, Dean Distin and Mike Tryniski, Fulton, N.Y., 1,468; all-events, Thomas Holt, Abilene, Texas, 2,190.

      Anne Marie Duggan of Edmond, Okla., won the Women's International Bowling Congress (WIBC) Queens Tournament, defeating Aleta Sill of Dearborn, Mich., 238-218 in the title match. Duggan also was a member of the Strike Zone Pro Shop team of Rolling Meadows, Ill., which won the WIBC Classic Division team championship for the second consecutive year. The Strike Zones totaled 3,027. Both tournaments took place in Salt Lake City, Utah. Other WIBC winners included: singles, Vicki Fifield, El Paso, Texas, 716; doubles, Lucy Giovinco, Norcross, Ga., and Cindy Coburn-Carroll, Tonawanda, N.Y., tied with Rachel Perez, San Antonio, Texas, and Kim Straub, Beatrice, Neb., 1,307; all-events, Wendy Macpherson-Papanos, Las Vegas, Nev., 1,940. (JOHN J. ARCHIBALD)

▪ 1994

Introduction

World Tenpins.

      The international bowling season of 1992-93 began in Venezuela as young athletes from 25 countries gathered in Caracas for the second world tenpin youth championships. Boys' singles was won by Angelo Constantino of the Philippines with a record score of 1,313. Lee Dong Hee of South Korea finished second with 1,306. Constantino and his younger brother, Norberto, also won the boys' doubles for the Philippines with a score of 2,473. Qatar placed second with 2,453.

      In another close contest Cristina Kortright of Puerto Rico won the girls' singles by defeating Nikki Brandolino of the U.S. 1,206-1,204. Venezuela won the girls' doubles with 2,330, and South Korea was second with 2,250. Champion of the mixed foursomes was the U.S. with 4,754, Finland placing second with 4,630.

      Anthony Chapman of the U.S. won the boys' masters tournament for the 16 top bowlers in the team events, defeating South Korea's See Kook 414-380 in the final. In the girls' masters Finland's Jaana Puhakka defeated Tammy Turner of the U.S. 408-338.

      Malmö, Sweden, was the site for the European championships in June. The tournament was notable in that every tournament record was broken. The winners of men's events were: singles, Patrick Boman of Sweden, 1,434; doubles, Finland, 2,760; trios, Sweden, 3,785; teams of 5, Finland, 6,318; 24 games all-events, Raymond Jansson, Sweden, 5,259; and masters, Achim Grabowski, Germany, 425-413, over Thomas Leandersson of Sweden. South Africa's George Jagga bowled the first perfect (300) game in the tournament's history.

      For the women the winners were: singles, Anu Peltola, Finland, 1,284; doubles, Great Britain, 2,504; trios, Sweden, 3,692; and teams of 5, Great Britain, 6,016. The all-events' champion was Asa Larsson of Sweden with 5,001. The two-game play-off was between Larsson and Pauliina Aalto of Finland, with Aalto triumphing as the champion 439-413.

      (YRJÖ SARAHETE)

U.S. Tenpins.

      Walter Ray Williams, Jr., dominated the professional bowling scene in 1993, just as he had reigned over the nation's horseshoe-pitching stars in other years. Williams, 34, won an astonishing seven Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) championships and held a wide lead in earnings ($296,370 to his nearest opponent's $174,528) and in average score per game (223 to 220.6). The right-hander from Stockton, Calif., appeared certain to succeed Dave Ferraro as PBA Player of the Year.

      One of the other highlights of the year was the 300 game by Mike Aulby of Indianapolis, Ind., in the title match of the Wichita, Kan., Open against a 279 by David Ozio of Vidor, Texas. The perfect score gave Aulby, PBA Player of the Year in 1985, his second title of 1993.

      George Branham III of Indianapolis won the 29th annual Firestone Tournament of Champions in Akron, Ohio, by defeating Parker Bohn III of Freehold, N.J., 227-214. This was the last time the tournament was sponsored by Firestone. The 1994 meet would be known as the General Tire Tournament of Champions.

      There was a three-way tie for the Regular Division doubles championship in the American Bowling Congress (ABC) tournament in Tulsa, Okla. The co-winners, with a score of 1,498, were: Terry Saccone and Dave Callery of Cincinnati, Ohio; Darrin Lindsey and Rick Fangman of Waterloo, Iowa; and Ron and Randy Wilde of Green Bay, Wis. Other champions were: team, Bruegger's Bagels No. 1, Albany, N.Y., 3,537; singles, Dan Bock, Owatonna, Minn., 798; all-events, Jeff Nimke, Kenosha, Wis., 2,254.

      A mother and daughter from Toronto, Gloria and Karen Collura, won the Open Division doubles crown in the Women's International Bowling Congress (WIBC) tournament in Baton Rouge, La., with a score of 1,304. Other Open winners included: singles, Kari Murph, Dayton, Ohio, and Karen Collura, 747; team, Strike Zone Pro Shop, Rolling Meadows, Ill., 2,978; all-events, Anne Marie Duggan, Edmond, Okla., 1,990. Jan Schmidt of Rochelle, Ill., captured the WIBC Queens Tournament in Baton Rouge with a 201-163 victory over Pat Costello of Lantana, Fla.

      In the women's U.S. Open, sponsored by the Bowling Proprietors Association of America, Dede Davidson of San Jose, Calif., scored a 213-194 victory over Dana Miller-Mackie of Fort Worth, Texas, in the final.

JOHN J. ARCHIBALD

* * *

▪ game

Introduction

also called  tenpins 

 game in which a heavy ball is rolled down a long, narrow lane toward a group of objects known as pins, the aim being to knock down more pins than an opponent. The game is quite different from the sport of bowls, or lawn bowls, in which the aim is to bring the ball to rest near a stationary ball called a jack.

      There are many forms of bowling, but tenpins, the most widely played variation, is the principal form in the United States, Canada, western Europe, East Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and Latin America. Its many variations include duckpins, candlepins, fivepins, skittles, and ninepins, with differences within the framework of each of the games.

History

Origin and early period

      Articles found in the tomb of an Egyptian child buried in about 3200 BC included nine pieces of stone, to be set up as pins, at which a stone “ball” was rolled, the ball having first to roll through an archway made of three pieces of marble. The modern sport of bowling at pins probably originated in ancient Germany, not as a sport but as a religious ceremony. As early as the 3rd or 4th century AD, in rites held in the cloisters of churches, parishioners may have placed their ever-present club, or Kegel (the implement most Germans carried for sport and, certainly, self-protection), at one end of a runway resembling a modern bowling lane. The Kegel was said to represent the Heide (“heathen”). A stone was rolled at the Heide, and those successfully toppling it were believed to have cleansed themselves of sin. Although the peasants' club evolved into pins, the association remained, and even today bowlers are often called keglers.

      The passage of time brought an increase in the size of the stone rolled at pins, and eventually the ball came to be made of wood. Many variations of the game developed, some played with three pins, others with as many as 17. A biographer of the 16th-century cleric Martin Luther (Luther, Martin) has written that Luther built a bowling lane for his children which he occasionally visited, sometimes throwing the first ball.

      Among other significant historical references to bowling are an account of a great feast given the citizenry of Frankfurt in 1463, at which the venison dinner was followed by bowling; notations from 1325 in which “gambling on bowling” in Berlin and Cologne was limited to five shillings; and the award of an ox to the winner of a bowling competition in 1518, given by the city of Breslau (now Wrocław, Pol.).

      In the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries, the game spread into the Low Countries and also into Austria and Switzerland. The playing surfaces were usually cinders or clay, specially treated and sun-baked to a hardness resembling concrete. The roofing over of lanes, first done in London for lawn bowls around 1455, was the beginning of bowling as an all-weather, around-the-clock game. When the lanes were covered or put into sheds (called Kegelbahns in Germany and Austria and usually attached to village taverns or guest houses), the playing surfaces ranged from wood or hardened clay to, in later years, asphalt.

Bowls and pins in North America

      There is confusion about how and when bowling at pins came to North America (United States), arising from the inconsistent use of the terms bowl, bowler, and bowling. The early British settlers brought lawn bowls with them to America because that was the game they knew best. Dutch explorers under Henry Hudson were said to have brought some form of pin bowling.

      Many of the early European pin games involved rolling the ball along a wooden plank, 12 to 18 inches (30 to 46 centimetres) wide and 60 to 90 feet (18 to 27 metres) long, toward a diamond-shaped formation of nine pins. The plank still can be found in parts of Europe, notably in eastern European countries, where bowling games called bohle, asphalt, and schere are popular. In these, the nine pins are smaller than tenpins, and the duckpin-type ball, without finger holes, is held in the palm of the hand. The Netherlands has a “plank” game in which a large ball, with only a thumbhole, is rolled on the plank toward the nine pins. The earliest known reference to bowling in the United States was made by Washington Irving in his short story “Rip Van Winkle” (1819–1820).

Emergence of the tenpin game

      By the mid-1830s, as bowling at pins was flourishing, the scourge that periodically struck the game in Germany, France, England, and other countries—gambling—became a plague on the U.S. bowling scene. To combat the problem, the state legislature of Connecticut in 1841 banned the playing of “Nine-Pins, whether more or less than nine-pins are used.” However, a month before the Connecticut legislation, the town of Perry, N.Y., had enacted a law banning tenpins. There are other earlier signs of tenpin bowling, including a painting, traced to 1810, that shows English dandies playing a game with 10 oddly shaped pins set up outside a factory in Ipswich, Eng., an area that was populated by many Dutch immigrants in the 1700s. Regardless of how tenpins came into being, its popularity spread as German immigrants began populating Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Louis (Mo.), Cincinnati (Ohio), Detroit, and other cities. Although intercity bowling events were becoming common, the lack of uniform playing rules and equipment specifications stifled the development of the game. In 1875 delegates from nine bowling clubs in New York City and Brooklyn, N.Y., organized the National Bowling Association. Some of the legislation agreed upon then is still in effect in modified form, but the group lacked national acceptance.

Organization and tournaments

      Disagreement over rules continued, principally as an alignment of New York bowlers against everyone else. On Sept. 9, 1895, the American Bowling Congress (ABC) was organized in New York City. Rules and equipment standards were developed, and the game as it finally was organized remained basically unchanged as the sport grew steadily. An early technological development that helped the sport's progress was the introduction of the hard rubber ball in 1904, its predecessor having been made of lignum vitae, a tropical wood that was durable but that often chipped or otherwise lost its shape. The next big advance was the introduction of the automatic pin-setting machine in the early 1950s. Later, balls made of polyester and urethane were developed and in some cases replaced the hard rubber ball.

      In 1901 the ABC started its national tournament. The Women's International Bowling Congress (WIBC) was organized in 1916 and conducted annual national championships from 1917. While the ABC and WIBC are autonomous organizations, each billing itself as the “world's largest” men's or women's sports organization, respectively, they share a number of functions, including equipment testing and research and the joint issuance of credentials to the mixed leagues that made up more than 70 percent of their late 1980s combined membership of approximately 7,000,000. A third membership organization, the Young American Bowling Alliance (YABA; established in 1982), administers to the league and tournament needs of young bowlers through college age.

      In the late 20th century it was estimated that more than 60,000,000 persons bowled at least once or twice a year in the United States. The backbone of the sport continued to be its highly organized, competitive league structure. Most men's and women's leagues consist of eight to 12 teams, but some have 40 or more, depending on the number of lanes in the bowling centre. League play is conducted under rules laid down by the three major membership organizations, including the handling of prize funds by the adult leagues. The prize funds are developed from the contestants' entry fees and are distributed to the various teams and individuals on a performance basis.

Professional bowling

      The Professional Bowlers Association of America (PBA) was organized in 1958. It quickly developed a star system and a tournament tour fashioned after that of professional golf. PBA members, helped by a booming television industry, were soon playing for more than $1 million in yearly prize money; this figure had grown to more than $7 million by the late 1980s, though by the early 21st century the tour's total prize monies awarded had dropped to about $4 million. Don Carter became the leading winner in the 1950s, succeeded by Dick Weber in the 1960s and Earl Anthony into the 1980s. The Professional Women Bowlers Association (1959; since 1981 called the Ladies Pro Bowlers Tour [LPBT]) began modest tournament play in the early 1960s. A major influence in development of the game was the Bowling Proprietors' Association of America, founded in 1932. In addition to its trade association functions, it is affiliated with a number of tournaments, most notably the All-Star tournament, a match game event begun in 1941 that in 1971 became the U.S. Open and a part of the PBA tour. The National Bowling Council, founded in 1943 by manufacturers, proprietors, and membership groups, concerns itself with national promotional campaigns and other activities.

Tenpins in other countries

      The first tenpin lanes in Europe were installed in Sweden in 1909. Attempts to popularize tenpin bowling elsewhere in Europe were unsuccessful over the next several decades, but the game became popular in Great Britain during World War II, when hundreds of lanes were installed on U.S. military bases.

      As league bowling in the United States peaked in the mid-1960s, equipment manufacturers began looking elsewhere for new markets. With assistance from the ABC, the British Tenpin Bowling Association was formed in 1961 and was ready for the boom. With the same ABC assistance, Australia followed suit. Mexico, where Emperor Maximilian had installed a skittles alley in Chapultepec Castle a century earlier, joined the tenpin trend, as did other Latin American countries.

      By the early 1970s the bowling boom had spread to Japan. Leading players for the PBA were invited to compete in an annual Japanese tournament. Unlike the United States, where the male professionals dominated television, however, the most popular bowlers on Japanese television were women. Bowling also became popular in other Asian localities, including Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Korea, and Indonesia.

International competition

      Documents indicate that an international competition was held in Hannover, Ger., as early as 1891. An early bowling proprietor and promoter in New York City was so taken with the idea of international play that he sponsored an event in Union Hill, N.J., in 1900, but the use of the word international was only thinly justified by the appearance of some teams from Canada. Competitions apparently limited to ninepins and other “small ball” games were held in the German cities of Solingen (1904), Dresden (1908), and Berlin (1914). Few other than German bowlers were entered.

      In 1923 a group of American bowlers toured Sweden and were roundly defeated by their hosts. The outcome was the same in 1926, at which time teams from Denmark, Finland, Norway, The Netherlands, and Germany joined the Swedes and Americans in forming the International Bowling Association. In 1929 they held what came to be called the Third International tournament, again in Sweden, followed by a Fourth International held in New York City in 1934. Germany hosted the Fifth International in 1936, as a prelude to, but having no connection with, the Olympic Games in Berlin. It was the last international meet of any consequence until the Fédération Internationale des Quilleurs (FIQ) was formed in 1952 to coordinate international amateur competition. Its headquarters is in Helsinki, and it has grown to more than 70 member nations.

      The first world tournament of the FIQ was held in Helsinki in 1954, and from 1967 championships were played every four years. Competition is held in three zones—American, European, and Asian. The organization has four sections, the principal one being devoted to tenpins. The other three are the small-ball games, schere, bohle, and asphalt. FIQ competition is for nonprofessionals; and gold, silver, and bronze medals are awarded to champions and runners-up. Bowling was accepted as an exhibition sport in the summer 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea.

J. Bruce Pluckhahn

Play of the game

Lanes and equipment

      The U.S. game of tenpins is played according to the rules and specifications of the American Bowling Congress. The game is played indoors on wooden or synthetic lanes with maximum dimensions of 62 feet 10 ¹¹/₁₆ inches (19.17 metres) in length and 42 inches (107 centimetres) in width. The surface, coated with lacquer or plastic-type material, must be free of continuous grooves and must be within 40/1,000th inch (one millimetre) of perfect levelness. The distance from the foul line, past which the player may not slide when delivering the ball, to the centre of the spot on which the headpin stands is 60 feet (18.3 metres). The approach to the foul line has a minimum length of 15 feet (4.6 metres).

      The pins are 15 inches (38 centimetres) tall and arranged in a triangle formation with the point or No. 1 pin at the head of the formation facing the bowler. The centres of the pin spots are 12 inches (30.5 centimetres) apart. The pins have a laminated wood core covered by a plastic coating. The weight ranges between 3.5 and 3.7 pounds (1.6 and 1.7 kilograms).

      The ball is of nonmetallic composition—either hard rubber, polyester, or urethane—with a circumference of 27 inches (68.6 centimetres) and a weight limit of 16 pounds (7.3 kilograms). There is no minimum weight.

Principles of play

      A game of tenpins consists of 10 frames. Two deliveries (rolls of the ball) per frame are allowed, the ideal being to knock down all pins on the first for a strike. If pins are left standing after the first delivery, the fallen or “dead” wood is removed and a second delivery permitted. If all remaining pins are knocked down, a spare is recorded. A split can occur on the first ball when two or more pins are left standing, separated by at least one fallen pin. Stepping over the foul line is a foul and results in loss of all pins knocked down on that delivery. There are depressed troughs on each side of the lane; a ball falling therein is a gutter ball and out of play, with resulting loss of one delivery.

      Both a strike and a spare count 10 pins plus additional pins scored on the next two (after a strike) or one (after a spare) deliveries. If two strikes in a row are recorded (a double), the player counts 20 pins in the first frame plus the number of pins he knocks down on his first delivery in the third frame. Should he score another strike, he will have 30 pins in his first frame. A perfect game is 300 and consists of 12 strikes in a row, two additional deliveries being permitted in the 10th, or final, frame (one additional following a spare). Competition in league and tournament play includes individuals, as well as teams of up to five players. Two teams are assigned to a pair of lanes, the bowlers alternating lanes for each frame.

J. Bruce Pluckhahn

PBA Tournament of Champions winners

       Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tournament of Champions Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tournament of ChampionsWinners of the PBA Tournament of Champions are provided in the table.

USBC bowling championships—open division winners

       USBC bowling championships-open division USBC bowling championships-open divisionWinners of the open division of the USBC bowling championships are provided in the table.

USBC bowling championships—women's division winners

       USBC bowling championshipswomen USBC bowling championshipswomenWinners of the women's division of the USBC bowling championships are provided in the table.

Men's world tenpin bowling championship winners

       World Tenpin Bowling Championshipsmen World Tenpin Bowling ChampionshipsmenWinners of the men's world tenpin bowling championships are provided in the table.

Women's world tenpin bowling championship winners

       World Tenpin Bowling Championships-women World Tenpin Bowling Championships-womenWinners of the women's world tenpin bowling championships are provided in the table.

Additional Reading

Historical works include Herman Weiskopf, The Perfect Game: The World of Bowling (1978); Ray Nelson, A History of the ABC: American Bowling Congress (1984); and Women's International Bowling Congress, WIBC History: A Story of 50 Years of Progress, 1916/17–1966/67 (1967). For a general survey, see George Allen and Dick Ritger, The Complete Guide to Bowling Principles, 2nd ed. (1986).J. Bruce Pluckhahn

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