The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1894-12-20
THE BOWLERS.
Spreading Interest in the
Rugged Game.
ust the Right Sort OF Exercise tor
Good Health.
Presence of the Fair Sex Lends a
Charm 10 the Sport.

Bowling as a sport and as a means OF
taking good exercise is more popular than
ever this winter; and deservedly so, Tor IL
is a most fascinating kind Of hard work,
and that is Just what any kind ofexercise,
in order to be beneficial, should be. Oh
course, one can take it easy and go
at IL in shiftless sort
Of way giving the ball just enough mo-
mentum to send 1t down the alley; but
any good bowler Will explain that that
method will never make high scores, and
the man who goes into il for all 1t Is
worth, after rolling four or five good
strings, unless he is well used to that sort
of thing, is more or less used up.
Bowling is a sport INDUCED in by all
classes OF society. The very best clubs, from
the Four Hundred point OF view, have
their alleys fitted up IN club houses now
a-days, just as they do their billiard
rooms. Then, to 20 TO the other ex-
tremity, there are plenty of places
frequented by all sorts of characters,
where one can indulge IN a game pro-
vided one puys enough of the "ardent" "
to satisfy the requirements of the estab-
lishment.
In this section the formation OF the
Rhode Island Amateur Bowling League
has given the sport q boom and at the
same time has done considerable 10 place
il on level with other club contests.
This league Is composed of twelve clubs,
dived into two divisions of six each for
the sake of simplifying the schedule.
These divisions will each have prize for
the winner and at the close OF the series
of games the winners of each division Will
play of for championship honors.
Individual prizes are offered for the big
gest record ON a single string and for he
best general average. In the first division
are the Providence Athletic Association,
Pawtucket Kangaroos, Elmwood Blues,
Westminsters, Y. AZ. z. A., and the
Veterans.
The Athletic Association, OF course, will
use the alleys in its own building, while
the Elmwood Blues will make their head
quarters at the bowling alleys OF the
Elmwood Club. The Westminsters
and Veterans will use as their
home nficys the new Music Hail bewliag
Recommendations, as will the teams play
Ing In the second division.
The second division is composed of the
Tigers, team from Pawtucket, the Elm
wood Greys. the Edgewood Casinos, the
Narragansetts, Bank Clerks and Rhode
Island Wheelmen.
A word about the new alleys in Music
Hall is In order at this time. They are
fitted up in good style, have the beet OF
accommodation and undoubtedly offer
the best attractions to good bowlers ofany
place In the city. So that with all these
various signs of life and activity there is
little doubt that bowling will be the
principal feature Of this winters athletic
sports, as far, that is, as the general pub
lie indulges individually.
There are q good many points about it
10 make it attractive, as there must be
about any popular fad, and one ofthe
principal of these, it's cosmopolitan
character, has already been touched upon.
The. occasional, and in fact quite
frequent, presence of the fair sex in the
alley lends charm to many of the bowl
ing places which even tho associations of
some of the other bowling resorts cannot
dispel. 1t Is fun to watch the first at
tempts OF anyone at sending
the big wooden sphere down
the line for the pyramid
without question, the most amusing. OF
course there are good bowicrs among tho
women who fancy the sport, but they are
somewhat OF a rarity. The usual style Of
the first attempt on the part of the young
: lady IL something like this: She stands
oquarely on the line, grasps the
ball with both hands, then bends as far
as she dares and tries to drop the ball and
ct the same time give it a push up the
alley. The bail is usually compli-
mentary enough to show an unwilligness
to leave her presence, and does so slowly
and with apparent reluctance, and the
pins at the farther end wink their eyes at
each other and congratulate themselves
On their few minutes vacation.
or course, in order to have bowling
carried out properly in all its different
lines there must be the bowling fiend.
The genus "fiend" Is we'll known in every
department. But common as he is IL
is quite impossible for the anthro-
pologist to classify him, inasmuch
as he Is always breaking out in some shape
or other in some unheard OF place, and at
some unthought of time. In bowl
ing he Is more or less OF harmless nuis-
ence. There are two or three kinds OF
him in this case, but here is
one of the most prevalent. Z He
can't bowl himself, not a
bit OF 1t; but to hear him talk outside the
alley you wonld think he seldom scored
Less than 299 out OF possible 300 and you
are forthwith imbued with the idea
that some change ought to
be made In the system Of scoring in order
to enable him to get up higher. Then
you go into the bowling room with
him. He is op most intimate terms,
apparently, with all the good roll
! ers In the place. accosts them all
fsmiIiarly, by their first names. and struts
about as II he was the proprietor OF the
establishment. II you want to see him
bowl he isn't feeling in the right mood
for IL, or he is out OF practice. or he
x made score of 297 last niqht
and yamed his wrist in giving the bali the
correct turn on the last strike, OF some
thing else. III he does attempt IL be is
sure TO have some excellent reason why he
10 doing so poorly. and IL is every time
positively the worst he ever did since be
began.
Good bowlers will GO on bowling and
the enthusiasts will continue TO enjoy
their sport In spite Of him all through the
winter months.
SO, here's good luck and merry Christ