by Scott Berk & Mark Simple
5200 B.C.
A primitive form of bowling is practiced by the ancient Egyptians.
200-300 A.D.
German monks introduce bowling to the masses as a religious ritual. Martin Luther standardizes the game, called "kegels," to nine pins.
1300's
Bowling greens appear in homes of wealthy European royalty.
1455
The first enclosed bowling center is built in London.
1465
Edward IV passes edict forbidding "hustling of stones" and other bowling-like sports.
1555
Bowling centers closed because they were being used as places of "unlawful assembly."
1611
Captain James Smith return to the colony in Jamestown, Virginia to find the colonists starving, but still happily bowling. The sport is quickly declared illegal and punishable by up to three weeks in the stocks.
1623
The Dutch enjoy nine-pins in their New York colony.
1670
King Charles of England, a compulsive gambler, standardizes bowling rules in order to even the odds.
1840
Bowling alleys are almost always associated with taverns, and are growing in popularity in the states.
1870
Nine-pin bowling banned due to associated gambling and crime. To get around the law, ten-pin bowling is invented and flourishes.
1895
The American Bowling Congress is formed. That same year, King C. Gillette invents the safety razor, allowing thousands of bowlers to get that clean, comfortable shave they could only have dreamed of in the past.
1909
Bowling's distant third cousin, Skee-Ball, invented and patented by J.D. Estes of Philadelphia.
1916
Women's International Bowling Congress established in America.
1927
World champion Jimmy Smith beaten in exhibition against local bowler Mrs. Floretta McCutcheon; the match paves way for the founding of the Mrs. McCutcheon School for Bowling Instructions.
1950's
With the advent of the automatic pinsetting machine, bowling starts to pick up mass appeal. An extensive P.R. campaign attempts to make bowling popular to the upper classes; Capezio introduces a line of bowling shoes with advertisements showing society ladies bowling.
1958
Brunswick "Bowling Ped" icon created; screaming rush of teenagers storm Brunswick HQ; logo designers escape out back door.
1959
Ed Lubanski from Detroit scores 700 pins for his five-men team in the ABC all-counts championship; later that year, Grock, the Swiss music clown, dies (b. 1880).
1961
The number of alleys in the U.S. jumps from 6500 to over 10,000; neck size of bowling pins increased, adding 7/10 oz. to total average weight.
1963
Americans spend $43.6 million on bowling balls.
1966
Dick Weber wins his fourth open U.S. Bowling championship in five years.
1984
The National Bowling Hall of Fame and Museum opens in St. Louis, Missouri. The $7 million complex contains four bowling lanes dating back to 1924 (human pinsetters; four frames for $3); Jim Webb breaks the bowling endurance record, toppling maples for a grueling 195 hours and 1 minute.
1990
The A.B.C. estimates 50 million bowlers nation-wide; X Magazine comes out with fun-e bowling issue.