Historical dictionary of bowling / John Grasso and Eric R. Hartman.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Loggats, kayles, quilles, skittles, half-bowl and ninepins were all early forms of games in which the goal was to knock down small standing objects from a distance by rolling or throwing another object at them. Archaeologists have found items from Egypt around 5200 B.C. that included small stone balls and narrow pins that were possibly used for a game. Additional research has disclosed that Polynesians played a similar game, using small elliptical balls and round flat stone disks, and, like modern-day bowling, a sixty-foot throwing distance.



The Historical Dictionary of Bowling contains a chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 500 cross-referenced entries on both male and female bowlers, amateur and professional, bowling coaches, writers and other contributors to the sport of bowling; descriptions and results of major tournaments and terminology of the sport. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the sport of Bowling.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

This is the 16th offering in Scarecrow's "Historical Dictionaries of Sports" series. Historian Grasso has written five earlier works in the series, covering basketball (CH, Jun'11, 48-5452), boxing (CH, Jun'14, 51-5331), football (CH, Dec'13, 51-1805), tennis (CH, Mar'12, 49-3634), and wrestling (CH, Sep'14, 52-0003). For his sixth contribution, on bowling, he is joined by "bowling connoisseur" Hartman. In keeping with the series format, the dictionary has a list of acronyms and abbreviations, a chronology (1819 to 2013), a brief history of bowling, and a bibliography. The main dictionary portion contains more than 400 entries. Biographical entries on notable bowlers represent the bulk of the content. Although most entries are no more than one page long, they are surprisingly detailed and informative. Other subjects covered include important bowling tournaments, organizations, concepts, and terminology (e.g., Scorpion Oil Pattern, Greek Church, and Dinner Bucket), along with numerous game variations, such as Scotch Doubles and Rubberband Duckpin Bowling. Of the 22 appendixes, most list various award and tournament winners. Given the general lack of information resources on bowling (other than instructional books), this dictionary will benefit sports-related collections. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and above; general readers. --Robert P. Nash, University of Nebraska at Omaha