ORIGIN OF BOWLING
In the 1930’s, British Anthropologist Sir Flinders Petrie became the first to discover evidence of a bowling-like game. He found ancient objects in a child’s grave in Egypt that were allegedly used for a primitive form of the game. The artifacts have been dated back to 3200 BC, effectively making bowling over 5,000 years old! The first written mention of a bowling-like sport can be traced to the year 1366 in England. Allegedly King Edward III outlawed the game in order to keep his troops focused on their archery practice, but it was most certainly in vogue (and legal) during the reign of King Henry VIII. Many variations of bowling have come from Europe including Italian bocce, French pentanque, and even Britain’s lawn bowling.
The origin of the tenpin game is still unknown, but by the late 1800’s it was prevalent in New York, Ohio, and Illinois. It was then that the American Bowling Congress was formed.
The first Mineralite ball was introduced in 1914 by the Brunswich Corporation, and the first commercial installation of a pin setting machine came in 1952, making "pin boys" almost entirely unnecessary.