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TIIE OMATTA SUNDAY BEE: FEBRUARY 2. 1903.
Omaha Bowlers Cut Some
TTT7 historian of the future
1 A1 ' porular mmn
VV I ,h AmrrU,n p-ople. they will
r-t-um in. net lhat Onuht
a t of bowllr.g. a game
played with heavy bAlls mnA
wooden plna, on an "alley" maintained by
associations and certain calru:ators of
chance, who depended on the popularity
of the game when they Invested km
urns In tha equipment necessary.
Historians have already recorded that
Athena waa tha city of tha old world In
which athletic gamea wre tha most popu
lar, soma 1,000 years ago. whrn the Olym
pic Pythian, N'cmeu and Isthmian game
nounsnea under good Solon of rod.
But It has bn left for Americana to per-
feet all tha old world games, and hlstor-
Una of the future must record that "As tha
pan-Hetlenlo games were the chief visible
evidence of peace between communities of
aouthern Europe, so bowling and base hall
wera tha visible evidence of good feeling
between the wonderful cities of America,
and a demonstration of the energetic, per
sistent and animated young manhood of
the twentieth century."
Almost a hundred yean after the first
bowling tournament In America, Omaha
heard of the game, but that has not hin
dered Omahane from assisting to make
the game what It ts today, from holding
aome records Which have not been equaled
In the United States, and from having
tha largest league In the world. While
Omaha marches under the pennant of the
"Western Base Ball league In tha summer.
Us bowlers have been equally awake and
have carried off honors equal or more to
the credit of the athletes of the city than
those won on tha "diamond."
As far as known the first tournament
of the old German game of bowling was
held In the KaatskiU mountains, when
Kln- George still was the recognized ruler
of the American colonies. One day the
foolish B, V. Winkle, he of the oily dlspo
altion, took an extended trip up the Hud
son river, and though he did not Intend to
witness the first tournament of the Amer
ican Bowling congress, he chanced to look
down Into a deep mountain glen, wild,
lonely and jagged, and scarcely lighted
by the reflected rays of the setting sun.
But Mr. Winkle waa attracted by one of
the competitors for the prizes offered that
year, and he entered the amphitheater. The
bowling alleys of 1760 or thereabouts were
not of the polished maple of today, but In
tha center of the outdoor "bowling alleys"
tha players were playing at ninepins, and
rolling balls over an alley which had one
narrow plank, less than eighteen Inches
in width, tamped Into a roadbed of rock
and sand.
According to the romantic record, the
players were silent and maintained tha
gravest fjtcaa. Xt waa tha most melancholy
Dtak.
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company of sportsmen wnlh ever cam to
gether tn America, according to R. V.
Winkle, who la the only one who la known
to Kave attended. Thte was nothing to
Interrupt the tll!ns but the noise of tha
balls, which, when they were rolled, echoed
along the mountain like the rumbling peala
of thuniVr.
At Mr. Winkle waa the first to taka an
Interest In bowling, after Ita Introduction
to tha colonies, so Herman Beaelen, an
Omaha cigar manufacturer, wai the finrt
to take an Interest In the game tn Omaha,
and twenty-right years ago rolled the first
game which he played In the city. He Is
playing yet, two or three times a day, and
In 8t. Louis last year won second money
In tha single event at the national meet
of the American Bowling congress, bowling
against the best In the country and winning
distinction as well as a cash prise which
made It worth his time to go to the con-
gress. Though Mr. Beselln Is U years of
age, he went to the alleys of the Commer
cial league when requested to tell some
thing about the same, and' after reciting
the history of the game In Omaha, took up
the composition ball with which he knocks
down the sticks, and played two games,
scoring 213 and 233, Just to show that he
was In practice.
"When I first played In Omaha It was
at the German" picnics some thirty yeara
ago," aald Mr. Beselln. "The game was
quite different then and organized bowling
Is but four or five years old In Omaha. But
the old game waa a good one, and we had
soma skilled players. The alleys were
narrow and short, something like the alley
In the Kaataklll mountains, I should judge.
They had a plank down the center about
twenty Inches In width and cinders pounded
down on ach side. The balls were small
ni wo onlr ha' nlne Plns- ne ot them
wa" known as the king pin. and waa al-
'ways set up In the center.
I waa fresh from Rock Island and
Davenport, where bowling waa a popular
game, and I had alro played the game as
a youngster In Germany. Across the water
I understand, the game has not Improved
much. It takes Americans to Improve
tho games. In Germany the students and
the bauerrr or wealthy farmers, play the
game. When they get the habit, they don't
do much of anything else. Saturday nlghta
the mechanic come In and have a round
at the game, but bowling ts the game of
the better classes tn Germany and la played
very skillfully my some of the students
and farmers.
"And to the benefits of the present game,
I consider bowling the best exercise in the
world, and any man who works Indoors
can keep himself In good condition by play
ing three gamea eaoh day. It exercises
and develop the muscles of the arms,
baok and legs, and I have found It a great
strength giver. The American regulation
3. Rogers.
Solomon,
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Coughwa,
Wiley.
OOLA-M'KJtNHAfe
Foley.
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Johnson.
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Beselln.
balls are heavy, and to play the game pro
perly a man or woman must be athletic
There Is no place for awkward people on
a modern bowling alley, but playing the
game will make most any constant player
graceful as well' as strong. With strength,
a successful bowler must have a 'good eye,'
that is good Judgment, as the ball must be
placed and slid along the alley with tha
precision of a gunner aiming at a target.
"To aet all the Dins on the alloy I aim
to enter the bunch slightly to the right of
the front pin. which must be hit on the
side. If the ball is aimed carefully and
strikes the first pin in Just the right place,
every pin will fall. Tiire Is such a thing
as a perfect shot whlcn will tumble the
pins every time." To hit the pins square
In the face, the ball goes through, leaving
a pin standing on each side, which can be
rarely knocked down In the other shot. In
the modern game but, two shots are al
lowed. In the old German game we had
three shots."
To demonstarte Mr. Beselen picked up
the heavy balls, and taking careful aim
"slid" tha first ball over the alley. He
struck the front pin Just off the center
on the right side. Every pin went down.
This was repeated by the veteran several
times, and four times In succession he
swept the boards clean, demonstrating that
having, the "eye" and knowing Just where
to hit the first pin, has something to do
with the game. Then he demonstrated the
effect of sending the ball straight for the
front pin, leaving two standing on op
posite sides, and then made a "splash" or
two by landing Into the pins from various
directions, snd knocking down all or many
of the pins, as they tumbled over each
other to get off the alley.
It waa during the early days of bowling
In Omaha that some puritanical legislatures
passed the laws against playing nine pins.
Tne law makers forgot that athletic
games were, In ancient days, religious
festivals, given speical sanction by the gods
and frequently named after them, and they
declared the innocent aome of nine pins
to be an unholy gambling devise, by which
men lost their worldly goods In this life
and endangered chances of life In the here-
after. It was considered as much of a
gambling game to roll balls at pins as to
open jackpots with cards or place the coins
On red and Mack spots to the whir-whir -r-r
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Traynoa,
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Francisco.
of an Ivory ball In a bowl, and nine plna
got a set back from which the game
scarcely recovered.
When bowling became popular again dur
ing the "eighties" It was under the, name
of ten pins, the law being strict against
playing the sinful game of nine pins. The
"king pin" disappeared and when the next
set of pins was set up, the number In the
bunch was ten. This evaded the law, and
the athletes looked around for heavier
balls. The small balls disappeared and are
seldom used on the Omaha alleys. The
favorite bail at present Is made of a
composition and weighs twelve to sixteen
pounds. One set of alleys has thirty of
these balls, which cost $15 each.
On the old alleys at the Vienna hotel.
which have been In operation for over
twenty years, some big Improvements have
becn made, but' the old alleys are still
Popa'ar with many players. Borne gret
F"nes between Individual players have been
Played on the old alleys, and they are said
to have made the present luxurious places
possible by keeping an undying Interest hv
the game, when It was close to doath
many times.
Bowling was at its height In Omaha In
1904, though Lentz A Williams opened alleys
In 1S9, which stimulated Interest In the
games and probably led up to the organ
isation of the present leagues, said to be
the strongest In the United States.
rora isa to im DOWIIng parties were'
quite popular In Omaha, and there were a
large number of women players. One en
terprising owner offered a two-pound box
of candy to every woman who made- a
score of more than 175. The women called
the bet Mrs. J. 8. Hunter and Mrs. Dick
GrOtte became proficient In the science of
knocking down all the pins every time,
and they carried away enough candy for
the holiday trade In country towns, and
the manager was compelled to amend his
offer by making It require a score of 200
or better. Still the women climbed tha
rungs on the score card and a number of
them kept the stock of confectionery look
ing weak, and finally the offer was with
drawn. The highest score ever made by
an Omaha woman was made by Mrs. F. A.
KnaRp, who mada ZiL. &lra L & ILiatw
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C. l'rliueau.
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VOL UO TO CUiCIKNATl.
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Bruggeman. Bengele.
OMAHA TEAM THAT "WON TUB ikUi fSTZB AX EIOCX CUT.
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GJerde,
fret s"v"
6TORZ BUJB
Cprague,
TJenma
holds the record of 256 and the best three
successive' gamea are recorded to the
credit of Miss Elizabeth Kruger, who made
the score of 6M. Miss KrUKers exhibition
wb s remarkable, as It waa made on new
alleys.
When bowling leagues were organised In
Omaha many of them lasted only a few
months and then dlsanoesred. but the
Commercial league Is credited wlth'artopt-
Ing an Ironclad constitution and bylaws,
which saved the day for organized bowling
and made Omaha known over the United
States as the strongest city In the counlry
for bowling on the new plan. The Com
mercial league of Omaha has ten teams,
and no other league In the country has over
eight. The oldest league In the city la
known as the Omaha league and datei ita
existence from 19(1. The one feature of tha !
Commercial league, to which It owes Its
succeps. Is said to be the fact that no
player who Is a member of one league can
participate In any league game of an ther
league. By enforcing this, It is claimed,
the leagues and teams have been kept to-
gether and the sport made worth while for
all enthusiasts. v
Some of the records held by Omaha have
never been reached In all the games played
In the United States. Harry D. Reed
bowled three successive gsmes In Omaha
February 15, 16, and made the remarkable
score of M5.
The Omaha team of five men bowld
three games at Omaha May . 19"4, with a
score of 1,200, while Allw-rt Krug at tli3
national meet of the American Bowling con
gress held In Buffalo In 1J2 held the high
est average for three games, 220H- Mr.
Krug also made a score of 247, equal to the
highest Individual score made at the con
gress. With six men at the Western Bowling
congress held in Denver, and all from the
Comnierclul league, Omaha won 8 c n-1
place In the doubles, fourth In Individuals
and tweirth In the contests of five-men
teams.
Something of the growing popularity of
the game may lo realized from the records
of the American Bowling congress. At the
firKt meet of tne congress, held In Chicago,
only 11 j players entered and the cash prises
amounted to S1.5&. That was In Wl. When
tha oougraaa itt uluemi, la WuWvUle,
Uti.fci'.s.
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UcOgue,
Oochian.
Weber.
HIBBONS.
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Huntington.
METZ UROTHERo.
Weymuller.
Richie.
9(4 players had participated and the cash
prizes paid amounted to 112,418. Many have
asked what the game does for the men who
play It. Old players claim It la the best
of exercise for any one, and men and
women In all walks of life Indulge In the
game In Omaha at present, but It Is es
. peclally a game which will keep athletes
"in training" during the winter season.
According to authorities on sports, Garry
Hermann of the base ball commission, who'
has just been elected president of the
American Bowling congress, Is on record
as saying that bowling Is the game which
will kerp base hall players In trim during
the winter months and put them on the
diamond every spring with new and wed
dn eloped muscles, not In any great need
of six weeks of "warming up." Some
"fans" credit the great success of the Chi
cago White Sox to the fact that the man
ager is said to keep all playing tenpins
during the winter months.
More than fionoo Is Invested In the alleys
of Omaha and among those which are
famous fur fast games are the three sets
of the Metropolitan alleys, on which the
Commercial league plays Its match games.
These alleys were used by the ational con
gress when the meet was held In Mil
waukee and were promptly bought by
Omahans, who brought them to Omaha for
the use of the teams of the city.
Just now the Omaha players are pre
paring for the national congress which
meets in Cincinnati, February . Their
teams returned from Bloux City a short
time ago, where they "trimmed" everything
In slKht at the tri-state tourney, and they
feel confident of success In Cincinnati,
never having gone to a tournament In their
history without carrying off a large share
of the honor and much of the prise money.
A number of prizes are offered locally
for the various teams of the leagues. In
the Commercial league the "Life Malts"
held the championship In 1906 and the "Fal
staffs" In 1907: In the Omaha Bowling
1. -sue the Cudahya won the 190C champion
ship and the "Slors Blues" hold the record
for 19U7; the Metropolitan ltugue. being In
Its first year, no championship has been
gained by any of the eight teams In the
league.
The ten Warns in the Commercial league,
which is said to be the largest In the United
States, are:
JETTKR S GOLD TOPS.
Mahoney. Captain Collins
Grotto H. I'rtinau
i.i,cell C. I'riineau
Foley
FAL8TAFFS.
Jay, Captain Klank
Berger Chatelaln
Beselln 1-a Vlgne
WALTER Q. CLAkKE CO.
Wali-n. Cat turn Nelson .
Button Cogswell
Hrimun McKrlvey
OMAHA B1CVCLE CO.
rloord. Captain Hinrlcks
Keyt (Uhrcalii
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the Sport
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Zimmerman.
juiderson.
Blakeney.
Neale.
Hoster.
ECLIPSE.
bword.
Hull
Drlnkwater
DAILY NEWS.
Matties, Captain Urilfitli
ititu 1 mi lemon
.fulcar Martin
BRODEGAAUL B CROWNS.
Voss, Captain llartkof
Carman Fatter berg
Kolier l.inunxjlit
COLE M'KEKNA COMPANY.
Traynor, Captain Burke
Honine Vsughan
Kusli CouKiiian
1 humas .
INDEPENDENTS.
Hough. Captain Detman
Richards Uoebe
guinn 8iiull
BVKNE A HAMMER OAK BRAND.
Rempke, Captain Norene
(ierke Ctiangstrom
West Dudley
Uigdon
POSTOFFICE.
Baehr, Captain Spetman
LehinHn O Urii-n
Stapenhorst Havens
Camp
The teams of the Omaha league, the old
est In the city, are as follows:
METZ BRG3.
Huntington, Captain Brunke
Neale Denniun
Hprague Klakt-ney
GATE CITY.
GJerde, Captain Ooff
Jones rtciigtson
Chandler Lui as
8TORZ BLUES.
Frltcher, Captain Anderson
Wetier Francisco
Cochian Moore
ON I Mi IDS.
Tracy, Captain Sheldon
McCague Welty
Francisco Magill
iltatun
REED BROB.
H. D. Reed, Captain Griffitu
A. C. Heed Hunter
J. C. Reed Reynolds
Ureenieaf
INDIANS.
Zimmerman, Captain Henaele
Johnson French
Hartley font ad
BEN OS.
Frush. Captain Changstrom
Lundlne Gardner
Hln ricks
OMAHAS.
Marble, Captain Ohnesorg
Megeath Maurer
Larson Htt
Teams of the new Metropolitan league,
now making their first year's record, are:
BUNGALOS.
Remington, Captain K allies
U wyrme Edmunds ,
TIGERri.
Solomon, Captain Dick
Btafford
bESELIN S MIXERS.
R. A. Schneider, Wilson
Captain Cole.
F. W. Schneider
ECLIPSE.
Haster. Captain Sward
Vrniullrr Ritchie
ORTMANS STARS.
t it in an. Captain Moran
Laird Griffith
CUBS.
Gustafson. Captain Lof
Rosecrans Jerpe
GREEN RIVERS.
Adklns. Captain Blaitup
McDcrinott
CHJCAOO LIQUOR HOUSE.
Borghoff, Captain Gernardt
Adams