A Short and Snappy History of Bowling

Bowlingsport during the 1100s.
As the most popular sport during the reign of KingFrom that time on, the popularity of bowling created an
Henry VIII of England, bowling is still one of the mostepidemic-like influence, infecting millions of people. King
popular sports in the world. Over 100 million bowlersEdward III even prohibited the game so that his knights
from nearly 90 countries participate in the sport. Thewould focus their attention on the "archery practices"
popularity of bowling has been traced back manyinstead of rolling the balls.
years and the game has contributed benefits to manyBy the 17th century, when the United States was still a
people world wide.colony, bowling was introduced in the area. The
The memoirs of bowling start in 5200 B.C. when some"Dutch" colonists brought this remarkable game to the
archeologists unearthed ancient forms of bowling pinsAmericans. They introduced a game of nine pins that
and balls in the crypt of a child with Egyptian lineage.are placed in a triangular formation, hence, the name
This discovery proves that Egyptians were the earliest"Dutch pins".
bowlers in the world.As the nine pins or the "Dutch" pins strived to claim
From that time on, bowling has taken many forms,fame, the state of Connecticut banned the playing of
using different pins and balls and played for different"nine-pin" bowling because some unscrupulous people
purposes. For instance, during 200 A.D., it has beenused the game as a means for their gambling activities.
recorded that Germans were fond of festivities andConnecticut then added an additional pin to the game,
"village dances" and that among their ancient ritualscreating 10-pin bowling. This was the start of a new
was a game that resembles bowling today.form of recreation as bowling continued to proliferate
In this particular German game, Germans rolled orin the society. With this additional pin, this new form of
threw rocks or stones at nine clubs that were madebowling had definitely hit "the mark" and now many
of wood. These clubs are known as "kegles", and thatpeople all over the world continue to patronize the
is why Germans who played this type of bowlinggame.
were known as "keglers" and not bowlers.With almost 50 million Americans playing the game,
After so many years of struggle for recognition,bowling is considered one of the most popular and
bowling was finally recognized in England as a form ofpleasurable sports in the U.S.