Bowling, like all things today, has a deep history. All most people know about bowling is what they experience when they go to the local bowling alley with their families. They pay for their games and shoes, pick out a ball, and head to their full synthetic lane. They start throwing the balls down the lane and having some family fun time.
But what they don’t realize Is that what they are having fun doing now, was a totally different game back in the day. Bowling is thought to be at least seven thousand years old. Bowling has changed a lot through the years to get where it is today. Today, it is one of the most popular sports known to man.
The earliest form of bowling was believed to be in 3200 BC. In the 1930’s, a group of objects were found in an Egyptian child’s grave by Sir Flinders Petrie. He found a stone ball and nine pieces of stone. He believed that this was some form of ancient bowling because it reminded him of the game that he played back home. Since his discovery, hieroglyphics have been found that are believed to be depicted a sport that is very closely related to bowling.
More early evidence lies in the Italian Alps. About two thousand years ago, the people would throw stone objects at other stone objects trying to get as close as possible. As this game was spread throughout Europe, it led to a new game called Bocce, the outdoor bowling game. There is not a lot of evidence supporting the early years of bowling, but what has been discovered has been strongly related with the sport of bowling as we know it.
Bowling was a popular sport in Britain in the 1300’s. It is believed that in 1366, in England, that King Edward did not like bowling and made it illegal because his troops were not participating in their archery practice, but instead were bowling. Even though he was against it, the sport persisted and kept growing thereafter. By the 1400’s, people were allowed to play bowling in England. During this time, the brought bowling indoors. Before, it was played outside on compacted mud or wood planks in the yard. They brought it indoors because they wanted to provide a roof over the lane so the sport could be played during inclement weather.
In the 1600’s, the first location of bowling in America was in New York. It was located in what is now known as the financial district. It was called the Bowling Green. Settlers would gather here for lawn play. They would play countless numbers of matches. As the years went on, the sport was banned in several places because of the drinking and gambling that came along with it. Even though the game was banned, the game continued.
The tale of Rip Van Winkle entails that he was woken up by the sound of crashing ninepins. This sound being the indoor bowling lanes. More indoor lanes were being built thus attracting more gamblers. This led to the laws that were made to outlaw the sport of “ninepin”. This was the end to the sport of “ninepin” as the people knew it. Or so they thought. An anonymous person came up with the idea of adding one more pin. He/she called this new game bowling.
Before the nineteenth century, the influence of bowling had been as far west as Illinois. After the new game was invented, and the more indoor centers that were built, the farther west the influence was spreading. It was seen as the essential sport in America. The more popular it became; the more people had become interested.
A couple people we all know are Abraham Lincoln and Mark Twain. The wealthy started to build lanes in their mansions. Women were becoming more involved in the sport. Bowling was becoming more socially acceptable rather than a gamblers sport. The nineteenth century was really when bowling started to become an acceptable, well-known sport. A lot of accomplishments were made in the nineteenth century.
Bowling has come a long way to become what it is now. From being played outside, to only having nine pins, bowling evolved into a big diverse sport that anyone and everyone can play. A majority of the population use bowling as a way to have fun with their families and friends, but there is a great chunk of people who play it competitively. They use this as their career and a source of their income. So the next time you and your family go bowling, just remember how far and how different it is from when it first start seven thousand years ago.
