European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - June 19, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Something you can do at  says Steve Harding a Bowler who owns a pizzeria in Sherman Texas. Almost from Iho beginning would be bureaucrats descended on Bowling Bent on organizing standardizing and merchandising what was until Iho late 1800s. A haphazard affair involving however Many pins of whatever shapes and sizes happened to be on hand. That All changed in 1895, when the american Bowling Congress first met in new York formed to represent bowlers interests the Abc quickly adopted she 300-Pomt scoring system and set uniform standards for pins balls and lanes. And what did it got Tor its trouble it got trouble. The bickering started almost immediately High scores is High standards. Commercial interests is. Bowler interests sport is game bad press dogged Bowling from the beginning Ever read rip Van Winkle Only to be replaced Many years Laler by something in Limley worse no press at All. Legislators picked on Bowling in some Stales it was illegal Lor minors to walk to or trom a Bowling Alley unless accompanied by an adult those taws were repealed m the 1950s by that time Bowling had reached new Heights of . The glamorous Beer teams touring the country in their All White Good Guy outfits helped Boos Bowling s image along with sales of Strohs falstaff. Budweiser and Pfeifer. Automatic pin spotters brought respectability just As the National child labor committee was Aboul to crack Down on the Low pay and late hours Given erstwhile pin boys. And women developed an Affinity for the game prompting proprietors to class up the joints. As Ralph Ramden went so went the nation. Between the mid "40s and the mid 60s, the number of league bowlers quadrupled. Suddenly everyone was gang Bowling millions of them regularly in Abc sanctioned leagues. From 195s to 1960, membership in the women s International Bowling Congress Rose by 150 percent. Entrepreneurs were Quick to Spring into action. A Little Loo much action it turned out. In 1944, there were3fl,203 Bowling lanes. By 1964, there were 159,079 so ended the competitive Era of Bowling. So began the commercial  so says or. George Allen of Tempo. Ariz., a former College professor with four decades of involvement in Bowling and a pm 0. In finance. He s also the author of iwo scholarly volumes on Industry rends that Combine a desire to drag Bowling s leaders behind the woodshed with a penchant for capital letters no Industry or organization has an inherent right to exist forever he writes. Allen considers Bowling a sport and he d like you to. Actually what he d really like is for you to consider it a microcosm of Iii itself but what the Heck. He s a reasonable Guy. Besides this is no time to argue. Bowling Allen warns is on the verge of  done in by bouncy pins and urethane balls Wilh buil in hooking Power unscrupulous Lane conditions and greedy commercial interests. If it s True that the sport of Bowling is dying. Allen thinks the business of Bowling is what s killing 11. We have eroded the integrity of the sport of Bowling to create the recreation of Bowling according to the Lent of a speech to the Bowling proprietors association of America in 1986. Meanwhile recreational bowlers Are scoring up a storm. The same 213 average Hal made one de Troiter the highest ranked Bowler in has league in 1987 Puls him Between 50lh and 601h on this year s roster. Consider the perfect game 12 strikes for a score of 300, once so rare that the Abc gave a 14-Cara Gold ring 1o anyone who managed to put it Olf today the same ring costs a Bowler $350. The free ones Are Silver plated a Good thing Lor the Abc considering the number of perfect games bowled last year 8,537, up from 1,375 a decade ago. Honor scares in general 300,299 or 298 or a single game or boo Tor a three game series totalled 21,022 for 19b7, exceeding the totals Tor 1977.1978 and 1979 combined. During a single Day of Competition at a tournament in Hartford conn., in april there were tour perfect games. Kathy Mcbride. Who works the counter Al bowl Era lanes in Hammond. Ind., still remembers the excitement of the Center s first 300 game. It waa a big Day. Of course that was live years ago. So far this year we be had  at bowl Era "160 used to be considered a High average. Now we re seeing 225 averages. Last year my own family brought Home 16 trophies. Finally. I told them enough " a do a Tovin Street in St. Louis was transformed into a larger than life Bowling Alley Tor an event sponsored by the National Bowling Hall of Fame last year. Bill Taylor of Pasadena Calif has had enough Loo. Taylor is a Selt appointed guardian of the sport s integrity what s Lellot if. Anyway. He d sooner lock Bowling in its room than let it Strul its stuff As scheduled in a one Day exhibition the Day before opening ceremonies at the summer olympics in Seoul. Bowling is not going to any parties until it cleans itself up vows Taylor a former pro coach who now manufactures his own line of honest pins and Lano finishes products he insists would solve the whole problem. Products he claims the Abc refuses to approve. The Abc says he s never asked. Bowling says Taylor has become a Tow tile game. A 24-year-old with a �27 average just bowled his 1 the a 36-Inch cup contends Taylor who using a Speed Iraq of his own invention recently clocked a Bowling pin at 42 feel per second. In the old Days they rave led 16 eel 17 feel per second mow they re flying All Over the  next to bouncy pins nothing makes Taylor madder than blocked lanes. Oil is applied to Bowling lanes 1o protect them from the friction of the Landing Ball As Well As to provide a skid area thereby enabling he Ball 1o follow the skid roil Hook Hallern required for effective delivery. How to apply that protective Coaling is infinitely More complicated. Taylor believes and he has lots of company that less than scrupulous Bowling centers have Learned How to place Oil on the lanes to re guide errant shots into the pocket. This Lane blocking along with today s powerful balls has made bad bowlers appear Good. We have horrible bowlers  not so says Watly Han vice president of the Bowling proprietors association of America and chairman of fair lanes corp., which owns 4,000 lanes More than any other Chain whal we have Loday is an extremely skilled sport. Technical improvements May Well have helped. But i do not agree that today s bowlers Aren t As Good some proprietors not the majority but a few Are using Oil As a marketing strategy Hall concedes. Bui the average Trowler in t Able to exploit those  the Oil crisis has been under closer scrutiny than open by the Ever vigilant Abc whose previous efforts to resolve it have succeeded Only in further depleting its Stock of Honor score rings. We want to see any Rule change result in a condition that is fair and competitive to All bowlers and that will leave the Pride of accomplishment in the hands of the bowlers instead of the maintenance people Abc assistant Secretary treasurer Burt Kellermann says through clenched teem. At the tournament in Jacksonville lanes were constantly monitored to ensure the same conditions for each Bowler As Well As to prevent lanes from becoming blocked. This meticulous maintenance May have accounted Tor both the Low numbers on the scoreboard and the Long faces in the parking lot. A lot of people take Bowling too seriously confides Joe Bowler whose Mother went Bowling the nigh she gave birth to him. Mom was Lough. I grew up Wilh head Down Don t Bend your wrist keep your Damn shoulder up she used to be a killer. Now she s in it for  for what it s Worth. Joe Bowler has never done Well at the Abc tournament either. Bui no Mailer How bad you do you always come Back participant in an american Bowling Congress tournament is elated with strike in the Titt game sunday june 19,1988 the stars and stripes Page 17