Bowling in the Olympics

As the world enters into another Summer Olympics, I thought it might be fun to take a look back at bowling’s brief appearance in the Games. Now this isn’t going to be a position piece on why bowling should be an Olympic sport, though I’m sure we will see those articles pop up throughout the rest of the year, as they do every Olympic year. This is meant to be a retrospective look back at the sport’s brief moment (and I do mean brief) in the Olympic spotlight.

Bowling’s relationship with the Olympics dates back to 1936, when an international tournament was held in Berlin prior to the start of those infamous Games. American Joe Norris earned the silver medal at the event, which must have caught the eye of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) because bowling was scheduled to be an exhibition sport at the 1940 Games in Tokyo; however, the 1940 Olympics were cancelled due to the outbreak of World War II.

The sport of bowling never lost sight of the goal to reach Olympic sport status and in 1952 the Federation Internationale des Quilleurs (FIQ) was founded by several European countries to develop an international bowling community and keep those dreams alive.  The FIQ serves as the IOC-recognized federation for the sport of bowling, one of thirty-three sports recognized by the IOC but not currently participating in the Games.

Official bowling poster of the 1988 Summer Games.

Bowling’s only official involvement in the Olympics took place during the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul, South Korea, as an exhibition sport. The event took place on September 18^th at the Royal Bowling Center in Seoul. Twelve men and twelve women representing twenty countries took part in the tournament, which consisted of an eleven game round robin followed by a three bowler stepladder medal round. The entire exhibition had nine hours to complete the tournament, from opening ceremonies to the medal presentations. As per Olympic tradition at the time, only amateurs were permitted to enter the tournament, though Carol Gianotti of Australia, a former LPBA champion, did compete, but failed to medal.

In the Men’s event, the United States was represented by Mark Lewis, a McDonald’s manager from Wichita. During round robin play Lewis averaged 198.82, which was good enough for sixth place.  The complete round robin results were as follows:

1. Jack Loke Chin, Japan 2435
2. Kwon Jong Yul, South Korea 2333
3. Tapani Peltola, Finland 2274
4. Philippe Dubois, France 2261
5. Kanesumi Mori, Japan 2248
6. Mark Lewis, United States 2237
7. Luis Valezx, Puerto Rico 2209
8. T.C. cheng, Chinese Taipei 2165
9. Walter Costsa, Brazil 2154
10. Wolfgang Strupf, West Germany 2101
11. Christer Danielsson, Sweden 2084
12. Marcos Brosens, Argentina 2032

In the first stepladder match, South Korea’s Yul barely defeated Finalnd’s Peltola in a 177-164 finish. Yul then went on to defeat the top seeded Chin of Singapore 236-194, forcing a third game under the tournament’s double elimination format. In the championship match Yul threw eight strikes to best Chin 254-223 and win the gold for the host country.  NBC Sports aired portions of the final on television and the enthusiastic home crowd cheering for Yul made for an exciting TV presence.

Team USA members Mark Lewis and Debbie McMullen at the Royal Bowling Center in Seoul.
AP Images.

On the women’s side, the United States was represented by Debbie McMullen, who worked at a bowling alley in Denver. McMullen averaged 189.72 during the round robin and placed seventh overall.  The complete round robin results for the women were as follows:

1. Arianne Cerdena, Philippines 2354
2. Annikki Maattola, Finland 2315
3. Atsuko Asai, Japan 2281
4. Jane Amlinger, Canada 2271
5. Mette Hermansen, Norway 2258
6. Gabriela Bigai, Venezuela 2158
7. Debbie McMullen, United States 2137
8. Kimberley Coote, England 2125
9. Annemiek (Dagelet) van den Boogaart, Netherlands 2116
10. Edda Piccini, Mexico 2105
11. Carol Gianotti, Australia 2103
12. Kyung-Mi Song, South Korea 1871

During the stepladder match, third seed Asai of Japan defeated Finland’s Maattola 209-187. In the next match, Asai defeated top seed Cerdena of the Philippines 198-180; however, due to the double elimination format the two were forced into a rematch with the winner taking the gold. Taking advice from her coach, Cerdena changed her line for the third game and defeated Asai 249-211, making Cerdena the only Filipino to ever win a gold medal at an Olympic event.

With the excitement of placing gold medals around the necks of a hometown hero and a first time winner, bowling provided a great storyline during the Olympics and the sport was optimistic about its future on the global stage.  However, as we all know, the sport has not made a return to the Games since. And don’t worry about the two American bowlers. Although they didn’t fare too well during the Olympics, both went on to successful bowling careers and are members of various halls of fame for their achievements, not to mention that they earned the privilege to represent their country during a unique part of bowling history.

Presidential Bowling

Believe it or not, for the past 65 years the President of the United States has had access to his own personal bowling alley.

White House bowling alley, 1948.
http://www.whitehousemuseum.org/floor0/bowling-alley.htm

In 1947, President Harry Truman was presented with a two lane bowling alley in the basement of the White House for his 63rd birthday. Truman hadn't bowled since he was 19 years old, but had mentioned to a group of friends that he was considering taking up the game. While unenthusiastic about the sport, Truman did allow a White House league to form for staffers, many of whom were understandably distressed when Eisenhower was elected and there was a possibility that Truman would take his gift with him. In 1955 the alley was moved from beneath the West Wing to the basement of the Old Executive Office Building to make space for a mimeograph room. This space would eventually be the home of the Situation Room installed by President John F. Kennedy. Just because Eisenhower had the White House lanes moved that does not mean that he was not a fan of bowling, as he had a two lane alley installed at Camp David where he hosted Nikita Kruschev in 1959 (Kruschev was more interested in the pin-setter than actually bowling). Recently, George W. Bush had the Camp David lanes refurbished during his term in office.

Eisenhower children at Camp David, 1960.
http://aboutcampdavid.blogspot.com/2010/09/bowling-at-camp-david.html

In 1969, President Richard Nixon had a one lane alley built in a workspace beneath the driveway leading to the North Portico of the White House. Nixon and his wife were both avid bowlers, but they felt that they should not have to cross the street every time they wished to throw a game on Truman's lanes in the Old Executive Office Building. The new alley was paid for by a friend and it has been said that Nixon was such an avid bowler he paid the $400 annual lease fee for the automatic pin-setting machines out of his own pocket. Nixon also followed professional bowling to the point where they would send a special recording of the final rounds to the White House in case the President was not able to watch on television.

Nixon at the Old Executive Office Building, 1970.
http://www.whitehousemuseum.org/floor0/bowling-alley.htm

Since Nixon, bowling has played a small part in presidential history. Jimmy Carter revised security measures in the White House after meeting his two children in the alley and finding the full Secret Service detail there for all three people even though none of them had even left the building, a clear waste of resources. During his 2008 campaign, Barack Obama infamously bowled a 37 at a stop in Altoona, PA (my western Pennsylvania tie-in for this post). After winning the election, Obama quipped that he was going to replace the historic bowling lane with a basketball court, causing an uproar from the bowling community. A coalition of bowling organizations approached President Obama with a proposal that they update the lane for the 21st century to include an HD scoring system, top of the line bowling balls and, of course, electronic bumpers. One good thing about his terrible score on the campaign trail is that anytime Obama goes bowling it makes the headlines.

Nixon's White House lane, 1985.
http://www.whitehousemuseum.org/floor0/bowling-alley.htm

So how good were the presidential bowlers? Nixon averaged about 165-170 in 1970 and in 1978, Carter was also estimated by a friend to average about 165. First Lady Lady Bird Johnson recollected throwing a 188 game on Truman's lanes in the Old Executive Office Building and claimed that her husband President Lyndon B. Johnson wasn't such a bad bowler himself even though the first time he ever bowled was at the Camp David lanes. One of President George W. Bush's staffers, Joshua Bolten, threw the administration's high game of 207 on the Camp David lanes. After his Altoona 37 game, Obama must have practiced because his press secretary stated that he threw a 144 at Camp David in 2009.

Proposed White House alley update.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/sleuth/2008/12/could_barack_obama_become_the.html

Early 20th Century Bowling Alleys

It is no secret that I love history. So much so, in fact, that I kind of made it my job. One thing I wanted to include on this blog was articles about the history of bowling, primarily in Pittsburgh and western Pennsylvania. Recently, while doing some research on a non-bowling related interest, I came across the following information on early 20th century bowling alleys from articles originally posted online in 2009.  While these alleys are not located in Pittsburgh, there are some local ties:

Henry Clay Frick was a steel tycoon from western Pennsylvania. He is probably most notorious for his strike breaking tactics at the Carnegie Steel mill in Homestead and most famous for his extensive art collection. His first mansion, Clayton, still stands in Pittsburgh a few blocks away from my office, but as it turns out, his mansion in New York City is of a bit more interest to us. As you will see, in addition to being an industrialist and art collector, Frick was also a bowler.

In 1912, Frick was scheduled to take the Titanic back to the United States from his European vacation; however, his wife twisted her ankle in France, forcing them to cancel their reservations. After cheating death and arriving safely back in the U.S., Frick purchased land in New York City to build an extensive mansion between 70th and 71st Streets across from Central Park. In the basement of this mansion, which now houses the Frick art collection, sits one of the most exquisite bowling alleys I have ever seen.

Frick bowling alley, New York City. gothamist.com

Built in 1914 by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company (an early version of the still very much active Brunswick Corporation), this two lane alley cost Frick $850, a large sum at the time. There are pine-and-maple lane beds featuring wooden gutters and a gravity-driven ball return. A Brunswick representative at the time stated that this was the finest alley possible. For an additional $100, Frick also purchased a set of bowling balls which had two finger holes instead of the standard three and were heavier than those used today. After Frick’s death in 1919, his daughter Helen housed an entire library in the bowling alley before she could build one next door. Shelves were placed over the gutters and the lanes themselves served as the aisles. The bowling alley was restored in 1997 and is currently closed to the public due to fire code regulations (there is only one exit).

Gravity-driven ball return and padded backstop. gothamist.com

If you have the time, I encourage you to check out an interactive panorama of the bowling alley posted by the New York Times and spin around a few times.  The entire room is breathtaking. Notice that on the scoreboard, frames are called "innings".  Looking at the lanes themselves, the change from pine to maple appears to occur about where the arrows are on today's lanes and then change back to pine where the pins are located. I don't have much knowledge about different types of wood, but my guess is that the pine is more durable than the maple and so it is used in the areas that would take the biggest beatings.

Ball return. gothamist.com

Between the lanes near the pins, it looks like there are small platforms for a pinsetter to stand on while the ball is thrown.  The pinsetter would then roll the ball down the ball return and reset the pins for the next bowler. The ball return has two levels: the bottom level held the balls while not in use and the top level caught the balls being returned to the bowlers.  A semi-circle at the back of the return would slow the returning ball and place it in the bottom rack. It also appears as though the ramp leading from the return to the top rack comes off so that balls could be rolled directly into the bottom level.

Prohibition-era alley. scoutingny.com

To put things into perspective, let's also take a look at how the other half bowled during this same time period. In sticking with the New York theme, the blog scountingny.com had a post about a bowling alley found in the remnants an old factory, the basement of which served as a Prohibition-era night club. Even without the benefits of restoration like the Frick alley, the similarities are apparent. The differences, though, are what make this noteworthy. There is no separate ball return, so most likely the pinsetter rolled the balls back to the bowlers using the gutter. The gutters themselves are squared, whereas the Frick gutters are rounded like modern lanes. The overall openness of the Frick bowling/billiard room is a stark contrast to the necessary closeness of the bowling alley in an illegal speakeasy. But from now on, if someone ever hassles you about drinking at bowling, you have historical evidence to back up your actions.  People have been doing this for at least 90 years.

It brings to mind the Simpsons episode "Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment" in which Homer supplies alcohol to Springfield while under Prohibition by filling bowling balls with beer and sending them to Moe's Tavern using tubes connected to the bowling alley. If you have never seen this, do so immediately.

I hope this has been interesting for you, it was fun to research.  Please leave comments as to whether you would like more posts on the history of bowling.