14. Bowling Organizations

The tremendous spread of the popularity of bowling in re­cent years is due in large part to the organizational structure that is the sport's backbone. Organizations exist for average bowlers, for junior bowlers, and for professional stars.

You may be interested in joining one or more of these organizations. The benefits they offer are described on the following pages.

THE PROFESSIONAL BOWLERS ASSOCIATION By Eddie Elias, Executive Director

The Professional Bowlers Association is looking ahead, possibly to 1972, '82, or even 2002.

Founded only four years ago, we have grown into a nation­wide organization of more than five hundred members. They are all top ranking bowlers from every corner of America, who make their living doing what thirty million Americans do for pleasure.

Our outstanding members, numbered among the advisory staffs of large manufacturers, are gaining still further rec­ognition as outstanding instructors, in addition to their day-to-day appearances at clinics, on television, and in the PBA's growing tournament schedule.

In these few short years, the PBA has grown from a thirty-three member infant organization with under two thousand dollars in its treasury, to a widely-respected organization dedicated to one purpose . . . giving stature and support to an important segment of America's top athletes, the pro­fessional bowlers.

Frank Clause, a PBA Executive Board member, is typical of the fine bowlers who make up The Professional Bowlers Association.

Long recognized as an outstanding instructor, Frank was able to bring about financial reward to himself, recognition to his fellow PBA members, and public acceptance to pro­fessional bowlers, through his outstanding successes on tele­vision.

Large manufacturers, such as American Machine & Foundry Company, have demonstrated their faith in our organization and, together with every other bowling organiza­tion, we have worked hard to assist AMF in furthering the sport.

The PBA's tournament schedule is growing rapidly, from three tournaments in 1959, to seven in 1960, to twelve in 1961.

Every PBA member has a five thousand dollar insurance policy, and we're working on a retirement plan. In addition, we've set up instructional schools and a placement bureau.

The future? There'll be more schools, more tournaments, more television shows. And we're looking forward to the day when we can have our own arena. But the thing we're look­ing forward to most is cooperation with the people who have been so kind to us.

FOUNDED   1 895

AMERICAN BOWLING CONGRESS

By Frank K. Baker, Executive Secretary

No organization in the history of bowling has contributed as much to the game's growth and solidarity as the American Bowling Congress. ABC is the greatest promotional organiza­tion in the long history of the ancient sport of tenpins.

Since its founding in 1895, the Congress has spent millions of dollars to help promote, improve and service the game. Its annual budget is one and three-quarter million dollars, and its members spend more than that in the operation of their local associations, in addition to doing a lot of priceless, voluntary work for the game.

The American Bowling Congress is not only the world's largest sports organization, but is probably the only one whose every member benefits directly from his membership . . . not just once or twice a year, but each time he bowls . . . and often when he's not bowling.

ABC members bowl in all of the United States, in Saudi Arabia, Germany, Canada, Africa, and the Canal Zone—to pinpoint only a few spots on the globe. More than four million men can point proudly to their ABC membership cards and say, "I belong."

Every one of the ABC members has a direct interest in the Congress when he bowls in one of the ninety-one thousand leagues which make up the Congress. The lanes he bowls on must meet rigid ABC specifications or they are not certified. Each league follows rules laid down by the Congress, that were approved by the vote of hundreds of delegates at the annual convention.

Bowling grows rapidly each year. Keeping step with this expansion—and often one step ahead—is the business of the American Bowling Congress.

THE WOMEN S  INTERNATIONAL  BOWLING  CONGRESS,  INC.

By Alberta E. Crowe, President

The Women's International Bowling Congress, Inc. is an organization composed of female members bowling at least once a week in sanctioned WIBC leagues all over the nation, and comprising a membership of over one and one-half mil­lion members—well on our way to two million.

Our organization was founded in 1916, when a group of forty women became interested in the game of American ten­pins and decided to set up standard rules and regulations. The main aim and purpose of the WIBC is to attempt to regu­late, standardize and promote bowling among women.

The Congress is constantly on the alert to be of service to its members. We recognize proficiency in bowling and award medals and emblems for high scores, and other bowling skills; offer books of Rules and Regulations for leagues; issue mem­bership cards; sanction certificates for leagues, cities, states and sanctioned tournaments; provide literature, such as a "Bowling Manual"; own and publish our own magazine, "The Woman Bowler," and have our own News Service which issues monthly news bulletins.

We conduct an annual championship tournament, now rec­ognized as one of the greatest events in women's sports. Our first championship tournament attracted eight teams, but in 1961 the event attracted more than three thousand to the Fort Wayne meet. Our 1962 WIBC Tournament will be held in Phoenix, Arizona.

A companion event of the WIBC tourney is our Queens Tournament-—an individual match-game classic held at the time of our national event. The first Queens Tournament was introduced during the Fort Wayne meet, and attracted one hundred and twenty-two entrants.

The WIBC is recognized as holding complete jurisdiction over women's bowling. By becoming a sanctioned bowler, match games, leagues, tournaments, and championships are all governed by standard rules and regulations, and every entrant bowls under the same conditions throughout the nation.

AMERICAN JUNIOR BOWLING CONGRESS By Homer G. Klene, Executive Vice-President

The year 1961 marks the fifteenth anniversary of the organ­ization of the American Junior Bowling Congress. It was in 1946 that Milton J. Raymer, founder of the American High School Bowling Congress, recognized that if junior bowling was to continue to grow, he must not only devote full time to its operation, but must enlist the support of the principal companies and organizations serving the bowling industry.

Although successful in gaining the personal support of many of the leaders in the bowling family, it was felt that this activity should not be undertaken on an individual sponsor­ship basis, but rather under the sponsorship of the National Bowling Council, an organization which had been formed three years earlier (1943) by representatives of the various bowling organizations, including bowlers, bowling proprie­tors and bowling equipment manufacturers. Thus the AJBC was started, and over the intervening years has become the major activity of the National Bowling Council.

In volume of membership, the AJBC has grown steadily from an organization of more than thirty-one thousand members during the 1951-1952 season to one with over three hundred and twenty thousand members at the end of the 1959—1960 season. At our present rate of growth, we confi­dently expect to reach the four hundred and fifty thousand mark by the end of 1961.

The rapid growth of the AJBC has been the motivating factor in several changes instituted by the Council within the past year. These changes involve:

1. The creation of a field staff to promote junior bowling and to train instructors in the techniques suitable for use in mass instruction of youngsters.
   
2. The   employment   of   a   full-time   operations'   officer whose duties will be to direct the affairs of the National Bowl­ing Council and to supervise the operations and program of the American Junior Bowling Congress.
   
3. The bringing together of the two organizations under the same roof at Chicago, where the problems incident to supervision could be reduced to a minimum.
   
   The aim of the American Junior Bowling Congress is to provide boys and girls, eighteen years of age and under, with a well-rounded bowling program of league and tournament play, under controlled environmental conditions which en­courage good conduct and sportsmanship and one in which youngsters may participate in a free awards program similar to those provided by our big brother and sister organizations, the ABC and WIBC. The AJBC program includes the furnish­ing of league materials, the training of youngsters to be both good bowlers and good citizens, and the observance of the proper rules and regulations required by the game.

THE BOWLING PROPRIETORS' ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA By Howard Seehausen, Executive Director

The Bowling Proprietors' Association of America, which represents more than five and a half thousand member estab­lishments comprising over ninety thousand lanes—better than 90% of the certified commercial lanes now in operation—is a trade association formed to promote the healthy growth of the industry throughout the world.

Its purposes are to protect the interests and investments of its members; build better intra-industry and public relations; disseminate useful information to its member establishments; encourage improvements in playing conditions and equip­ment; coordinate activities of its affiliated associations; assist in the formation of new ones, and secure publicity beneficial to the bowling game in newspapers and other public-informa­tion media.

It conducts the most ambitious tournament program of any of the organizations connected with the sport, pouring considerable amounts of money into the prize funds of these national championships, none of which are self-supporting.

Among the tournaments sponsored by the BPAA are the National Individual Match Game Championships (the All-Star) for men and women; the National Doubles Champion­ships for men and women; the National Team Champion­ships for men and women; the National Team and Singles Handicap Championships for men and women; the Duckpin All-Star for men and women, and the new National Individual Junior Match Game Championships for boys and girls.

These "show case" events are held in different parts of the country each year and focus the attention of the entire nation on the bowling game through extensive press, radio and television coverage, thus, giving added impetus to develop­ing interest and activity in areas where these championship tournaments are held.

THE NATIONAL BOWLING COUNCIL By Joseph F. Paulus, President

If Alexander Dumas, author of the well-known novel, "The Three Musketeers," were living today, he might well name his principal characters, "Manufacturers," "Proprietors," and "Bowlers." For these three groups which make up the organ­izations represented on The National Bowling Council live up to the famous Musketeer motto, "All for one, and one for all."

Since its inception some eighteen years ago, the Council has kept pace with the growth of the industry without the internal frictions which often take place, due largely to the recognition that the welfare of all members of the bowling family is more important than the desire of any individual member of the Council. This is quite amazing in view of the fact that the Council is without legislative, executive or judi­cial powers. Since its strength lies in its ability to persuade those whom it seeks to influence in the best interests of the game, the Council constantly acts as a sounding board and accords to all members of the fraternity the opportunity to voice their opinion on any given subject affecting them.

A balance of power among the membership is achieved by giving single votes to The Women's International Bowling Congress, the National Duckpin Bowling Congress, The Bruns­wick Corporation, the AMF Pinspotters Division, and the Billiard and Bowling Institute of America, as well as double votes to the American Bowling Congress and The Bowling Proprietors' Association of America. These, then, are the present integers holding membership in the Council. There is a seat open at the present time for a representative of the Small Ball Games, besides Duckpins, since the death two years ago of Mr. Ray Hardy, which we hope will be filled before long.

The Council came into being in 1943 following a success­ful effort by a special industry committee formed to oppose a 20% Federal Excise Tax on the game. The success of this initial venture proved that manufacturer, proprietor and bowler could sit down and jointly work out the problems that faced them. The Council is fortunate to have retained among its membership four individuals who participated in its forma­tion: Jeanette Knepprath, Alberta Crowe, John Canelli and A. L. Ebersole.

The National Bowling Council over the years has continued to serve the best interest of bowling by being its watchdog for tax problems, which continuously crop up all over the coun­try, threatening to increase the cost of the game to the bowler. Since 1943 The National Bowling Council, through its Secre­tary and Counsel, and assisted by its membership, has han­dled more than five hundred state and local tax cases, calling for the assessment of taxes on the game and license fees on lanes. These proposals would have had a serious effect on the welfare of the sport and its participants, but for the action taken by the Council.

Combatting adverse tax legislation is but one of the many activities and accomplishments of the NBC. Let's take a look at some of the others. The Bowlers' Victory Legion, which is the industry's way of providing needed assistance to those less fortunate, is under the direction of the Council. Through the funds made possible by this program, bowlers are helping to rehabilitate our country's wounded servicemen and women who are being returned to Veterans Administration hospitals.

Promotional kits—materials to help stimulate the growth of industrial bowling—have been distributed annually since 1948 to almost four thousand industrial firms across the na­tion, as well as to the many new bowling establishments open­ing their doors each year.

The promotion book, "To Keep 'Em Rolling, Keep Pro­moting," was first published in 1950 at a cost of $21,000. It has been kept up to date through periodic revision, the last revision having been completed in 1958.

Two highly successful motion pictures have been produced by the Council. The first one, entitled, "America Bowls," was produced in 1951 at a cost of $18,000. Again, in 1955, the second film, entitled, "Young America Bowls," was produced, at the same cost. Both of these films are available to the bowl­ing family for outright purchase or loan.

Through the publication of the Bowling Lane Maintenance Standards Manual, the Council seeks to educate bowling-establishment personnel about the latest methods and ma­terials for the care and maintenance of lanes. First printed in 1951, this manual has been revised in 1954, 1956 and 1957. Over forty thousand copies have been distributed to the in­dustry to date.

In recent years, the operation of the American Junior Bowling Congress has been the chief activity of the Council. As part of its effort to stimulate greater interest among ele­mentary and secondary schools, the Council, in 1955, em­barked upon a five year cooperative "In-School" bowling program with the National Education Association. The aim of the program was to establish bowling as a regular part of the physical education curriculum of schools across the na­tion. With the completion of this five year cooperative program, the NBC will have spent over $30,000.

The year 1957 saw the production of a series of six "Slow Bowling" cartoons, drawn by Walt Ditzen, in an effort to speed up the game.

Keeping pace with the growth of the bowling game, the Council in 1960 created the office of Executive Vice President, which officer is also the chief administrative officer of the AJBC. At the same time, the headquarters of the Council were transferred to Chicago, where it now operates in con­junction with the AJBC. The Washington office, maintained under the direction of the Secretary, handles the Bowlers' Victory Legion as well as tax and legislative work.

The Council's present plans include the issuance of a descriptive folder which tells the story of the NBC. A series of color slides, now in preparation, will also help to tell the NBC story to groups visually. In addition, the Slow Bowling Committee plans to produce a new series of cartoons with emphasis on the problems of slow bowling being treated from the standpoint of etiquette. Also under consideration is the re-making of the film, "America Bowls." This project awaits the availability of funds before its work can be started.

The work of the Council continues to be channeled through its various working committees. These committees deal with taxes, new projects, AJBC operation, public relations and pro­motion, finances, slow bowling, and the "In-School" bowling program. From time to time special committees are appointed to handle the problems that do not come under the jurisdiction of the standing committees.

The policy of the Council is to schedule meetings three times a year, in February, July and November, in widely separated sections of the country, in order to better dissemi­nate information on its aims and operation. The latest Coun­cil meeting, held in Memphis, Tennessee in February, 1961, is the thirty-fifth different city to host the Council since its inception.

Are You Ready To Move Onto The Next Lesson? Click Here...