Who Invented Bowling?

Who invented bowling? It is perhaps the most basic sports-related skill a child can learn –using a ball to knock down a line of preset objects. This leisurely activity is now a professional sport which can be played indoors or outdoors.

So, who invented bowling? The exact origin of the sport is a bit of a hazy topic. The name of the inventor of bowling may never be known but there are research and other findings that can describe how the popular game came into being.

A research team headed by British anthropologist Sir Flinders Petrie discovered what is said to be primitive pins, balls, and other materials found in the grave of an Egyptian child. With such claims, it can be assumed that the answer to who invented bowling is that the Egyptians did. The remains date back to 3200 BC, making bowling over 5000 years old.

Ancient Bowlers

Other scientists have made similar findings. According to additional evidence found by Italian archeologists, ancient bowling was a combination of lawn bowling and billiards and was played at Narmoutheos, south of Cairo.

The game was played in a huge room that almost resembled the bowling alley we know today. The room was attached to another structure, probably a residential building which dates back to the Roman period between the 2nd and 3rd century AD.

The room had a well constructed limestone floor. The scientists also discovered two stone balls on a lane. The lane was approximately 4 m long, 20 cm wide, and 10 cm deep. The lane had a 10 cm square opening at the center.

Underneath the lane they discovered a large terracotta vase that was filled with sand. The balls they found had varying diameters. There was one that fitted perfectly on the square opening and another that could roll smoothly along the lane.

Their findings also suggest that the game was played by two players who were positioned at the lane’s two ends. One player would throw the bigger ball, and the other one with the smaller one. Players took turns in throwing the smaller ball.

Germany and Bowling

Germany is another location that claims to have invented the game of bowling. William Pehle, a German historian says that bowling was invented in Germany around 300 AD. Some other historians agree with him, claiming that around that period, German monks introduced a game to the churchgoers and which seemed to have formed the foundation of the sport we recognize today.

During that time, people would carry around clubs or kegels to protect themselves. Monks used these kegels which were fixed at the end of a runway (resembling a bowling lane) and stones were rolled to hit the 9 kegels assembled (just like bowling pins). It is suggested that if the person successfully knocks over the pins, he or she would be absolved from his or her sins. In the US and UK bowlers are still referred to as “keglers.”As time went on, the game started to be played outside of the church. Stones evolved into wooden balls then to plastic balls, and to urethane balls we use today. Interestingly, King Henry VIII allegedly used cannon balls to bowl.

The Dutch also played a similar game and in 16th century America, was called "Dutch Pins."

The Sport of Bowling

Today, bowling is an official sport which is played competitively or for recreation. Professional bowling involves a player knocking down pins along a wooden or polyurethane surface lane using a bowling ball. The warm and charming ambiance of bowling alleys make “Bowling night” a typical activity shared by friends and family.

The pins have also gradually transformed in shape and size until it achieved the standard pin we see on bowling alleys today. Other countries will have different versions of bowling which may have contributed to the modern day’s version of the game. It is very likely that immigrants traveling from country to country brought with them their games and sports and eventually shaped bowling to the exciting game it is today.