Page 1 - MoreThanJustAGame169

MORE THAN ‘JUST A GAME’

In 1874, a grand event was held between clubs representing
Indianapolis and Louisville. The two groups sent their best players to
compete in a highly touted 12-man vs. 12-man affair that spanned several
days.
Most of the participants were German-speaking members of the
clubs. With the games of the competition being a versatile mix of
formats, there were three separate contests, including games that
involved nine-pin bowling, ten-pin bowling, and the game known as
Cocked Hat, using three pins.
Each variation in this lavish, multi-day format allotted 12 balls to
each player per game. The ten-pin game, however, consisted of only 4
frames (3 balls per frame). The totals from the nine-pin game yielded
high scores, but not so much in the ten-pin version.
The event, held in March, was greatly publicized within the two
states, with all the amenities that would visually portray a “grand
opening” for the game on a public scale.
The hometown Indianapolis club was victorious, but the fanfare
in the post-event ceremonies that followed, exhibited only amiable
feelings of good cheer extended to both sides equally.
So successful was this Louisville-Indianapolis event that it led to
an enthusiastic follow-up meeting later in the year, comprised of 18
delegates between the two states, whose ambitious and visionary intent
was “to create a national bowling association for the entire country”,
although the assembly wasn't officially named at the time. An initial set
of rules was drawn up as a guide for organizing future match play
between clubs, and it was declared that the first annual tournament be
held in Louisville, Kentucky for the upcoming year.
The Louisville club would even the score at that time in the
spring of 1875 with a victory, and again, only good sportsmanship and
harmony were present at the closing ceremonies and ensuing banquet.

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