Pins & puns - score keeping rules in bowling - Brief Article

Bowling Digest, August, 2002 by Chuck Pezzano

BOWLING'S SCOREKEEPING system was adopted in 1895 at the first meeting of the ABC and has been virtually unaltered ever since.

There have been many suggested changes to the system over the years, but the only one that has been adopted is the Baker system, which is utilized in team competition, most commonly in college events. In the Baker system, Peach member of a five-player team bowls two frames, alternating after each frame.

There is, however, another intriguing potential scoring change: the reward system, which allows a bowler to continue to score as long as he is rolling strikes. Simple and easy to implement, the reward system guarantees that a game cannot be clinched before the 10th frame.

Under the present scoring roles, if a bowler has a score of 120 in the 9th frame, the best he could do is roll three strikes and finish with a 150. Under the reward system, if he records three strikes in the 10th frame, he'll continue to roll and will earn another 30 pins for each additional strike. Some bowling observers feel that 30 pins for each extra strike is too much and recommend a 10-pin bonus, but the basic concept is the same.

The reward system would naturally make the 300 game obsolete and eliminate the notion of a "perfect" game. A score could reach the thousands. This may seem like a drastic move, but it would add much-needed interest to the game. Plus, the reward system could be tested at exhibitions and special tournaments to see how well it works and whether it would gain acceptance.

If you believe this scoring method is crazy or silly, consider the rules of baseball. In that sport, there is no limit to scoring. If a team doesn't make three outs in its final inning, theoretically it could remain at bat forever.

In 1970, a panel of 47 bowling writers selected the best bowlers of the first half of the 20th century. Named to the first team were Hank Marino, Jimmy Smith, Ned Day, Joe Wilman, and Andy Varipapa. Second-team honors went to Jimmy Blouin, Joe Norris, Junie McMahon, Buddy Bomar, and Count Gengler. All of them are now deceased, and all but Gengler--who gained his fame as a sophisticated match-play hustler--were elected to the ABC Hall of Fame.

Unfortunately, few of today's bowlers know much about these pioneers who paved the way for our modern-era stars.

Bowling has always been a perfect conversation starter. Much of its special appeal comes when you relate to someone--anyone--how well you bowled or how poorly you bowled, and the incredible explanations for why you didn't bowl as well as you or your teammates had hoped. To be honest, to entertain any bowler, all you have to do is listen.

The first attempt to start a national bowling league took place in 1897, only two years after the ABC was founded. This was 19 years before the WIBC was formed and more than 60 years before the PBA was born. The league folded before it saw any action because a poll revealed that bowling fans believed a 10-cent admission charge--the price to attend a baseball game at that time--was too high. The league's founders considered that admission price a key to the potential success of their business model, so they nixed the idea.

Just think: If those 19th century bowling fans had been willing to part with their dimes, we could now have a pro bowling league more than 100 years old.

Have you ever examined the make-up of a bowling team? Oftentimes there is more involved in the selection process than just bowling ability. On many teams that travel long distances by car in order to compete, the roster consists of three very good bowlers--and two bowlers with average talent who are willing and excellent drivers.

If you've never seen anyone roll a 300 game, take in a men's or women's pro tournament. Almost every event produces at least a couple--and up to a dozen--perfectos. And for those who like to gloat, there are usually a few scores of less than 130 as well.

Everyone is enthusiastic about something at some point in their lives. Some hold that enthusiasm for 30 minutes and some for 30 days. Then there are Dick Weber and Teata Semiz, who have maintained an enthusiasm for bowling for more than 50 years.

Most people don't realize just how good bowling pros really are. One young bowler went on tour for the first time and sent a letter home to his family. "I've bowled against the greatest bowlers in the world and proved one thing," he wrote. "I'm not one of them."

A bowler received the results of a tournament in which he participated in the mail. "Ah, the two most beautiful words in bowling," he said as he looked at the envelope. "Check enclosed."