Bowling Game example essay topic

The sport of bowling has a lengthy history packed with an evolution that has comprehensive rules; and is an indoor activity that has become one of the most popular sports in the world. It can easily be said that over 50% of Americans have bowled once in their lifetime, whether it was for a birthday party or on a date. However, many people bowl routinely without knowing anything about the interesting history of the game. Oddly, one of the newest of professional sports, bowling is one of the most ancient. In one form or another bowling has been around for more than 7,000 and years. First traces of the sport were discovered in Egyptian tombs, but historians feel that cavemen may well have had been the originator.

Having the first form of bowling using rocks or pebbles to toss at other rocks or pebbles. (Pezzano 13) The Romans, Phoenicians, and Carthaginians were also believed to have played the game in some fashion, but there is no proof available. However, historians know that in Julius Caesar's time period, around 50 B.C., people in the Alpine regions of Italy played a game called "bocce", which is considered the Italian form of bowling and is still played today. (Pezzano 13) The word bowl could be derived from the Saxon boll a and the Danish boll e, which translated to a spherical object. Another theory is that the word originated from the Latin bulla, or the French boule, both meaning "ball". Bowling has been known by many different names: bowls, skittles, keg ling, ninepins, Dutch pins and quill es.

(Pezzano 13) According to ancient records, Germany's first bowling took on a religious significance. In the early Christian era citizens carried stakes or clubs called keg les. They were used for many purposes, from beating through bushes to defense weapons against attackers. However in the Cathedral cloisters the keg le was set up to represent the devil. A person was then given a rock or some sort of ball with the task of knocking the keg le down.

If the player hit the keg le, his life was considered "clean", and had proved it by knocking off the devil (keg le). However if he missed, it indicated his aim not only in the game but in life needed improvement. (Pezzano 14) The game was supposedly so popular in fourteen-century England that the young men were skipping military duties in order to bowl; therefore, King Edward passed a law to ban the sport. Also, other kings had bowling banned because it became a popular gambling sport, but the sport only continued to grow. In 1455 the sport that had been an outdoor game was brought under a roof for the first time so a game wouldn't be cancelled due to weather conditions.

One of the classic historical tales of bowling involved Sir Francis Drake. He did not stop bowling even though his men informed him that the Spanish Armada was approaching in attack formation. Admiral Drake is said to have stated, "There was time to score some of his own strikes and still strike down the Spaniards". (Pezzano 14) In various parts of the world different types of bowling games flourished; including lawn bowling in England and in Ireland road bowling where pins in various numbers, shapes, and forms were used.

Even Martin Luther constructed his own lane for his family for he considered the game good family recreation. (Pezzano 14) Bowling came to the "New World" in the 1600's as the game of ninepins, which was a favorite of the early Dutch explorers and settlers who came to the northeastern section of the United Sates. It became very popular with the early Dutch and German people, and even the strict Puritans found the game to their liking. (Pezzano 15) The game of ninepins was a popular betting game, in fact too popular for lawmakers, who eventually outlawed the game. One of the great heroes of bowling history, whose name is sadly unknown, got around the law by adding the tenth pin. This small act changed the game for the better in every way, and bowling was on its way to respectability.

(Pezzano 15) In 1895 the best men in bowling in the U.S. got together to form the American Bowling Congress (ABC). Since then, the ABC, a nonprofit organization of male tenpin bowling, established playing rules, set equipment standards and specifications and promoted bowling as a wholesome recreation and exciting competitive sport. (Pezzano 16) From a few hundred league bowlers in 1895, the ABC now reaches some 5 million male bowlers and 10,000 tournaments, and certifies more than 140,000 lanes in 10,000 bowling centers today. The di staffers organized the Women's International Bowling Congress (WIBC) in 1916 with some 40 members, that small number has now surpassed 3 million. (Pezzano 17) Thanks to the ABC and the WIBC the rules of the game are well defined. Everyone can compete with everyone else because the lanes, balls, and rules are standardized and many systems of handicapping have been developed.

(Pezzano 18) Bowling received its greatest boost with the invention of the automatic pin setter. It was a big step in allowing the businessmen of the game, the bowling alley owner, to re modernize both their alley and thinking. Bowling became a complete family sport with modern, efficient equipment available at all times for men, women, and children. (Pezzano 18) In practically all surveys taken in the early 1970's, bowling had reached the point where it rated only behind football, baseball, and basketball, not only as the most popular but as the sport people like to follow most. However, bowling has long been the number one participant sport. There are bowling lanes in basements of private homes, hotel suites, in the White House, in castles in Europe and in ships at sea, as well as in the Playboy Mansion.

So it is easy to see that bowling reaches a wide range of people and places. (Pezzano 18) Bowling was slowly continuing to grow, there were only a few major tournaments: the annual ABC tournament, and later the All-Star tournament which started in 1941, plus a few other large events. For the most part however, the better bowlers made their own money by rolling against each other for huge bets. This was more an ego matter and an attempt to determine who was the best, than a way to make a living. (Pezzano 21) It was after World War II when bowling increased in popularity and new bowling centers were constructed in huge numbers. In the 1950's there were close to more than 50 bowlers making a living or good a part-time income bowling at grand openings, and reopening's.

Some of the big names of the game had contracts with manufacturers and also with commercial sponsors. (Pezzano 21) From time to time attempts had been made to form some sort of professional group, basically to set standard fees for appearances, both on the lanes and off, and to also come up with a set of rules to determine what tournaments they should or would participate in. No attempt ever became a real success. (Pezzano 21) Some areas of bowling history are obscure, shrouded in doubt and still wide open to argument and speculation.

One fact of bowling history is clear; Eddie Elias is the father of professional bowling. It was in the great year of 1958, that after much tedious work of Eddie Elias, a young lawyer with a dream, presented his outline of his potential dream to a group of top bowlers who were in the Syracuse Grand Nationals. Most of the bowlers, and most of the bowling industry, took a "wait and see" attitude towards Elias' new plan. Thirty-three bowlers heard more than a wild dream in the word of Elias, and the 33 men put up 50 dollars apiece on a bet that Eddie would do what no other man had been able to do in the past; create a nationalized bowling organization. (Pezzano 19) He promised opportunity more than anything else. In his plans he outlined a tournament tour, an insurance program, TV shows, endorsements and a position in the sports world for the bowlers as an athlete.

It was not easy, but Elias did it. The big money purses that that now give any youngster a chance at a career is only a small part of the Elias story. The "Elias" influence made professionals out of semi pros. It made members walk, talk and think like pros. He took top names out of the game and put them into the world that captured the appeal of the entire national public, kids and oldsters, bowlers and even non bowlers. Eddie Elias worked out the dream for a professional group and brought it to life.

(Pezzano 19) 'The bowling lane is 60 feet from the foul lane to the 1-pin, the first pin or head pin. The lane is 42 inches wide and the approach is approximately 16 feet long. Lanes approved by the American Bowling Congress cannot be more than forty-thousands (. 040) of an inch higher or lower in any section or spot.

The pins are set in a triangle, with each pin exactly 12 inches (center to center) from the pins on either side of it. ABC-sanctioned pins most weigh from three pounds two ounces to three pounds ten ounces. The pin positions are numbered from right to left starting with the head pin". (Burton Jr. 58) "Playing the lanes" is a skill acquired through years of bowling under various conditions. If the ball starts to "hook" sooner than usual or curves more than normal, then the lane is referred to as "slow" or "running".

If the opposite situation occurs, where the ball skids farther than normal and does not take a normal break, the lane will be referred to as being "fast" or "holding". Most bowlers prefer to bowl on lanes that are more on the "slow" side. (Bellisimo 100) What makes a lane fast or slow? In order to answer this question, one must first know how the lane is constructed and maintained. The lane is made of boards one to one-eighth inches think and three inches wide and stand on edge.

From the foul line maple boards run a distance of sixty feet. After the sixty feet the maple boards dovetail (to join or fit together compactly or harmoniously) with pine boards. The pine board section starts from the head pin to the last row of pins, and then dovetails again with the maple boards. A base coat of lacquer is applied to the new lane, then three or four coats of lacquer finish. When thoroughly dry, a coat of alley dressing is applied over the finish, and the lanes are ready for use. The alley dressing is nothing but a light coat of oil, which keeps the lane slightly lubricated so that the continual rolling of balls does not wear through the lacquer and into the boards.

(International Bowling Museum) As a general rule, bowlers adjust to varying lane conditions in one of two ways. If the lane is slow or fast, the bowler will either move their starting positions a board or two. Another way is to move the target a board or two to compensate for the additional hook. (Bellisimo 102) A bowling game is divided in to ten frames, and each player is allowed to roll two balls per frame. If all the pins are knocked down in the first roll, a "strike" is recorded. If the pins remain standing, another bull is rolled.

If the second ball knocks down the remaining pins it is called a "spare". In scoring, "strikes" and "spares" are worth ten pins, or points. If two "strikes" are made consecutively, the score for the first frame is 20 plus the number of pins knocked down by the first ball of the next frame. A perfect score is 300, or 12 strikes in a row. Bowling competitions can be held between two players or between teams of up to five players. (Britannica 440) The sport of bowling is enjoyed by 95 million people in more than ninety countries worldwide.

As one can see, the sport also has a lengthy history that is both interesting and filled with some speculation. The quick pace high-energy game is one of the most played sport in the U.S. today and will only continue to grow. Not only can one play the sport for fun, but join the professional tour and make upwards of a half a million dollars. Whether the sport originated with the caveman or with the Egyptians, one can say that the sport of bowling has touched the hearts of many.

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