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ROD WEAVER

THE FIRST OFFICIAL RULES OF BOWLING

News of the Indiana-Kentucky event impressed the New York
contingent of clubs so effectively that nine of the Empire state’s clubs
decided to convene in the fall of 1875, and at that time, they created an
organization, initially naming it, the “National Bowling League”, which
after a brief time was altered to be known as the “National Bowling
Association”. Earlier in the year, one of the prominent New York clubs
invited one of the clubs from the Indiana/Kentucky region to compete in
a match in New York. The New Yorkers had greater skill at the game
and were handily victorious over the visitors. It’s not known if this event
caused the Indiana/Kentucky representative clubs to relinquish the
incentive to New York for moving forward with organization, but
ultimately, the ‘responsibility baton’ had been passed to the clubs of the
Empire state.
Shortly thereafter, in autumn of 1875, delegates from nine New
York athletic and bowling clubs drafted a set of rules to govern the game
as it pertained to the circuit of New York (and nearby) athletic clubs.
These clubs were known as the Athletics, Columbias, Mutuals, Nassaus,
Nationals, Pin Knights, Empires, Apollos, and Terpsichores.
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By December 24 of that year, the first official rules to regulate
Ten Pin Bowling in at least one part of America were published. It’s not
known if these rules were the same as those created by the prior
contingent from Indiana and Kentucky. These ordinances established by
the New Yorkers contained general features about the structure of the
game, but also included provisions, such as how to handle situations of
bowlers who were in arrears of their dues, bowlers wishing to compete
for two different outfits, and similar personalized stipulations for the
New York clubs. The rules were indeed more like a set of league bylaws
and were originally intended to be used only for the circuit of New York
and New Jersey athletic clubs, as opposed to an all-encompassing series
of guidelines for the entire nation. The New York committee’s rule set

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