The styles and variations of the game were duly imported to the New World by the

Dutch, English, German and French settlers.

The first permanent location for bowling was the Bowling Green in New York. The
small plot now in the centre of New Yorks financial district is still remembered by that
name.
Betting on the game rose to fever pitch in the mid 19th century, when an 1841
Connecticut law decreed it illegal to maintain any ninepin lanes. This was a setback,
but the popularity of the game was in no way diminished, and it began to entrance more
and more people. Industrialists soon started installing bowling lanes in their mansions.
Towards the end of the 19th century many states reverted to 10-pin bowling. However,
the ball, its weight, the size of the pin and so many other factors were at variance across
the bowling community. Thanks to Joe Thum, a restauranteur of New York, various
representatives of bowling clubs all over America were brought together, and on
September 9 1895 the American Bowling Congress was established.
Soon after the ABC came into existence, standardization of the game was initiated, and
nationally organized competitions began.
Two decades later in 1917, the Womens International Bowling Congress (WIBC) was
founded in St Louis. At one of their tournaments, the women participants decided to form
the Womens National Bowling Association.
With the popularity and nationalization came the advent of technology. The early
bowling balls were made of a very hard wood called lignum vitae. Evertrue was the
first rubber ball introduced in 1905. In 1914, the Brunswick Corporation promoted the
Mineralite ball with great success.
Another remarkable change in the game was brought about by a company which
manufactured machinery for tobacco, bakery and dress making companies. The
American Machine and Foundry Company (AMC), as it was called, bought the patents
for the automatic pinspotter. Invented by Gottfried Schmidt, the first model was made in
1952. The pin boys now had to look elsewhere for employment.
Television fell under the spell of bowling in the 1950s when nationally organized
competitions were telecast. The Championship Bowling telecast by NBC was the first
coverage by a television network of the sport. ABC was the first network, in 1961, to
telecast the competition of the Pro Bowlers Association. Eddie Elias - the founder of
PBA - was instrumental in making the PBA telecast, the highlight of ABCs sports
programs. Soon followed the telecast of the Ladies Pro Bowlers Tour, now renamed as
Professional Womens Bowling Association.
-9 2004, HowToBowlStrikes.com