The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1894-03-01
THE BOWLING CRAZE
Many Advantages of the
Game Over Other
PastimeS.
THE NATIONAL WINTER RECREATION
Old Men and Young, and Ladies
Too, May Participate In It
A BOwler's Luck.
THE NATIONAL WINTER RECREATION.

The general puDnc may not realize IL, puo
bowling has become more thoroughly a
national winter game than baseball ever
was or will be in the summer. OF course,
unlike baseball, bowling did not originate on
this side of the Atlantic, but like many
other things it has remained for the New
World to enlarge upon it and perfect it. The
progress of bowling in popular favor here
abouts has been steady, but unattended with
anything like the ''craze" which so often
marks the introduction of any new sport.
True, there lave been times when in its
popularity the fad stage seemed to be inn
minent, but this period has not as yet
actually arrived, nor is there now
n reason to suppose it will. A "craze'
does more to hurt the healthful
progress of any sport Or pastime than any
thing else can. If one overdoes anything he
is certain to become weary of it, and Is pretty
likely to go to the other extreme eventually,
and leave it severely alone. Thus roller
skating, tennis, etc, have dropped into
innocuous desuetude, the former totally,
while the latter is slowly recovering from
several years of indifference on the part OF
its erstime devotees. Bicycling bids fair to
go much in the same way as the two
pastimes just named. In the city
Of washington, D. c., bicycling
was pursued with frantic zeal a few years
agos Now the wheel is used for busines
purposes almost exclusively, and there are
those who believe the experience of Washing
ton IN this regard will be that of the entire
country sooner or later. The bicycle has
doubtless come to stay, but the craze"
period is waning beyond a doubt. Track
and field athletics were, only three years ago,
pursued ardently by hundreds OF young men
~tereabouts. Youths still run, jump and
throw the hammer, but with nothing Like the
recent enthusiasm, nor in a quarter part as
great numbers.
ALWAYS POPULAR.
As to the bowling, the conditions of the
pastime are in many respects peculiar TO IL
self, and seem to insure its permanence In
popular favor. The era of tournaments may
wane, or even pass away entirely, although
this last is hardly probable, but there VIII be
bowlers by the hundreds n games galore.
One peculiar advantage which the sport has
over many others is that it is comparatively
inexpensive. 1t requires no apparatus for
the Individual. unless a man has a ball OF his
own. which will cost ain 50 or 81, and will
last as many years. Less than 5 per cent. OF
the bowlers of this city have lignum
vitae spheres. Then, one need not
dress to suit the game. He needs
neither trunks, jersey, or sweater,
nor rubber soled shoes, although a very rev
make use of the latter. Further, an even
ing on the alleys seldom cost more than
twenty-five cents on the average, and nifty
cents may almost be said to be the maximum
limit. SO much for the expense. There is
no sport as pursued today that is SO econom-
ical, and perhaps this accounts for the fact
that SO many young married men give up
wheeling, boating, ETC., and take TO the
alleys. The sport is q~uieter, and possibly
they consider it more in keeping with the
dignity of their estate as heads OF families,
but there is little doubt but what the cheap
ness of it is an all important inducement.
FUN FOR THE FAMILY.
Another more or less unique feature of
the sport is that fathers and sons, uncles and
nephews can enjoy it together. The older
people do not nave to sit quietly and look on,
as they do usually when their hopeful wheel,
row, run or jump, having the melancholy
upon them. There is none of that,
or comparatively little of it, in bowling.
A man in the prime of life or in
comparative old age can bowl II he wants
to. He can not say he is too old. Ii he is
in passable health he stands just as good a
chance of making as high an average as
most of the youngsters; There are ciuns
this, season have been made by men over
fifty years Of age. There are in this city
dozens of alleys where scores OF people put
in a couple of hours of innocent and health
full sport six nights out of the seven. The
ages of those busy with the balls and pins
will run all the way from sixteen to sixty.
Surely there is no game in which the ele-
ment of physical exercise enters so promi-
nently in which the diversity in ages is SO
great.
The amount of exercise to be gotten out
of the game depends entirely upon the in
dividual. A young man, full OF life, say
an acknowledged athlete, can, If he wishes,
get all the exercise he wants or needs from
two hours play, just as well as the man OF
seventy. In the case of the athlete a great
amount of vim is put into the bowling OF
each ball, while the older man naturally
bowls deliberately and with less exertlon.
Another way to economic strength and
mind is to use a small-sized ball.
NO SHARP PRACTICE.
One of the things which commends bowl
ing is its manifest fairness and a total alb
sence for sharp practice SO far as the ac-
tual bowling is concerned. The pins are a
long distance away from the bowler and i'll
full sight of everyone. The execution done
by the ball is equally apparent and makes
discussion or argument impossible II the
bowlers nave their eyes about them. One
gets what one makes in bowling. Besides,
the game is easy to understand, and with
but little preliminary practice a man can