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Bowling is one of the oldest and most popular indoor sports. More Americans compete in bowling than in any other sport. Every year in the United States, about 39 million persons roll balls down gleaming wooden lanes to try to knock down the 10 pins. Bowling is becoming increasingly popular in other countries as well, especially in Canada, Japan, and the Latin-American nations. In addition to tenpin bowling, many people enjoy other forms of the sport, including boccie, candlepins, duckpins, fivepins, lawn bowling, and ninepins.

Until 1950s, bowling was considered to be a sport for bowlers only. But today, major bowling tournaments attract thousands of spectators. In addition, bowling tournaments rank among the most popular sports shows on television.

People have competed in various forms of bowling for thousands of years. The earliest evidence of the sport dates back to ancient Egypt. Archaeologists discovered equipment for a game resembling bowling that had been buried with an Egyptian child about 5200 B.C. The ancient Polynesians played a game that involved rolling small balls at round, flat disks about 4 inches in diameter. They rolled the balls 60 feet, the distance used in bowling today.

Modern forms of bowling can be traced back to the Middle Ages. In Germany, village dances and celebration of baptisms included bowling. The Germans rolled or threw stones at nine wooden clubs. Bowling appeared in England as early as 1100’s. The game became so popular that English people began to consider it more important than archery. But archery had such a vital role in the defense of England that Parliament outlawed bowling for a time.

Bowling became increasingly popular in the United States during 1800s. But gambling on the sport became so widespread that bowling came to be considered a social evil. In 1841, the Connecticut legislature outlawed “bowling at nine pins.” Bowlers evaded the ban by adding a pin – and thus started the 10-pin game.