Baltimore was the birthplace of duckpin bowling.
To make use of some old damaged pins, Frank Vansant, manager of Diamond Alleys, cut them down to a smaller size. He used a small ball ? because the pins were smaller ? and created a less strenuous game for the summer months.
The first game was bowled in 1903.
A spectator of this first game, Wilbert C. Robinson (later the famous manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers), declared that the pins “flew like ducks” when they were struck. The term “duckpins” was immediately adopted for this new game.
The rules of duckpin bowling are slightly different than the rules for tenpins. Players roll three bowling balls, instead of two.
The pins are arranged in the conventional manner. Now that you know the rules, bowling anyone?
Provided by the Baltimore Museum of Industry. Fore more information, visit www.thebmi.org.
