Highlights Archives
A Roll Through Milwaukee's Bowling Past
A frozen rope. A baby split with company. A "urethane split on the drives." "Chicken tracks" on the telescore. Do you know your bowling lingo? You will, along with much more, when you read They Came to Bowl: How Milwaukee Became America's Tenpin Capital by Doug Schmidt from the Wisconsin Historical Society Press.
Bowling, or the idea of heaving a ball at objects, has existed for centuries, and was brought in all its iterations to the United States with different immigrant groups. Ninepin bowling was particularly popular with Germans and was the standard game in Wisconsin for many years. German immigrants organized teams and leagues who most often bowled on lanes in taverns, which gave the sport a reputation for immorality.
 Cover of They Came to BowlBowling made Milwaukee famous for more than just beer when, back in 1905, bowling alley proprietor Abe Langtry induced the fledgling American Bowling Congress (ABC), founded in New York in 1895, to hold its national championship tournament in the Brew City. Langtry then ruled the ABC as secretary for the next 25 years, ensuring that Milwaukee would remain headquarters for the nation's most accessible sport. From raucous laborers to churchgoers to women determined to "have their fling at the pins," Milwaukee's population bowled like crazy all over the city. Lavish venues like the Plankinton Arcade sprang up along with bowling alleys in saloons, the YMCA, the Martin Luther Association, and many others.
Author Doug Schmidt traces the roots of bowling from a Germanic religious rite centuries ago to the sport Milwaukeeans know and love today, in this authoritative and lively tale that includes a short history of the evolution of the ball, the struggle to open the ABC to women and minorities, and in-depth coverage of the televised tournaments that drew sell-out crowds and million-dollar beer sponsorships.
Covering both sport and city, Schmidt's wide-ranging research and interviews with popular players charts the changing face of bowling over the century. They Came to Bowl is a trip down memory lane for any "kegler" who's ever "sent a messenger," thrown a "nose hit," or bowled a "turkey" in America's Bowling Capital.
Meet author Doug Schmidt at Miller Park this Saturday, October 27, during the United States Bowling Congress' Bowlfest.
This and other Wisconsin Historical Society Press books are available from the Wisconsin Historical Museum Shop.
:: Posted October 26, 2007
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