The record-union., 1899-04-18

mention. A strong argument in favor
of the side ball is the fact that 1t Is
rolled by the great majority of the best
players. I do not approve of the curve
ball. for. while occasionally it's adher-
ents roll phenomenal scores, nevertne-
less it is dangerous ball to- use In roll
ing for spares, and one which IS dlsas
trous to a player if he happens to be
the least out of form. BY the curve
ball mean a ball in the delivery OF
which it rolls down the side of the ailey
for perhaps two-thirds of the distance
and then suddenly curves in toward the
head pin.
TO RUN OR NOT TO RUN.
s'To run or not to run is the question
which often confronts the bowler but
as more than 90 per cent. of bowlers
do take q run there seems to be little
doubt as to the answer. Women would
probably do the same if they dressed
properly for bowling.
Dress is a matter which should be
| left entirely to the good Judgment and
taste of the bowler. There is no spe-
cial form of dress which will facilitate
| playing, but it is a matter of course
| that an absolute feeling of comfort in
| the matter of dress is essential to sue
cess. The man who bowls in a Tuxedo
coat may attract attention, but the
! chances are against his winning a prize
A man accomplishes better results by
Trolling up his shirtsleeves, and the
practice is looked upon as perfectly
proper, even when there are women in
the party.
AS to shoes, at the present time, when
all alleys are kept polished to greater
or less extent, and cleansed with some
patent preparation almost daily, the
runway, or approach to the foul line,
must necessarily become more or less
smooth and slippery, and l know Of
nothing which will interfere more COM
pletely with the successful delivery of
ball by a bowler than to slip while
approaching the foul line. In order to
avoid this slipping most bowlers wear
either rubber or buckskin soled shoes
Either style will enable a player to
keep a firm foothold and prevent slip
ping.
while boWlers ask questions as to
dress, form of delivery, weight of ball,
and frequently easy ones like How
may bridges be avoided?' they are usu-
ally content to leave one of the most
| important parts of the game to a small
| boy, and never pay any attention to
| the way in which the pins are set up.
Misplaced pins make the game doubly
| difficult and destroy all calculations.
| One of the hardest ordeals through
which a bowler has to pass is to strike
the pins apparently in perfect form
with the ball. and yet to have one pin
remain standing, or at times two pins
on the back row, such as Nos. Z and
9 or and TO- commonly called the
strike bridges AS a bowler stands
ready to deliver his ball. and looks at
the pins, he cam almost always discover
whether the pins are off spot to either
one side or the other, and will call upon
| the pinboy to correct the spotting; but
one of the most fatal defects In the set
ting up of pins is for the boy to put the
pin above or below the spot, SO that,
/ while they look perfect to the player,
they will nevertheless be so arranged
as almost certainly to prevent a strike.
l have in mind a competition in which
l once took part, and where the mem
bers of the team with which was roll
| ing were having very poor results, no
matter how the pins We're struck, and
1 determined to do a little detective
work on my own account, and, unno-
ticed by the pinboys. got down near
their place, watched the setting of the
pins and saw them deliberately place
| the 'front.' pins forward and some of the
others back of the proper spots, al
though in a manner not discernible to
the bowler. Keep your eye on the pin
boys
HOW MANY GAMES IN AN EVEN
ING?
On the subject of the number of
| games considered an evenings work
Mr.. Clute said:
This isl a difficult question to answer,
and depends entirely upon the player.
| have known men who would roll fif-
teen or twenty games in an evening
without apparent fatigue, and 1 have
! known three games to tire out the
player. l merely give this example to
show that the proper number of games
depends largely upon the condition of
! the player For an ordinarily robust
man, who is familiar with the game,
and in more or less constant practice I
think about seven games an evening
would be beneficial and in no way
| harmful, provided the seven games
might be completed at or about mid
night. for 1 doubt if any athletic sport
is particularly beneficial when carried
on to such an extent that it deprives
a. man of needed sleep.
THE proper weight of ball is about
! sixteen pounds for men, and eight to
twelve pounds for women. OF course
novices should use a smaller ball
Although the original game was
| played with a solid ball resting fiat
upon the hand, the thumb and finger
holes have come into general use, and
there are probably not a dozen wa.-
known bowlers in New York who use
the old-time ball, which has no holes
"A big score is the goal toward which
| bowlers' bend their energies, but the top
figure is not often attained Three
hundred has been made to my personal
knowledge only twice on regulation al
| leys Remember that / am speaking
only of my own information on the sub
ject, and do not intend to state a fact
absolutely 1t was made by George
Wadleigh, now or formerly of the Jer-
| sey City Club of Jersey City, and by
| W. B. Fisher in the last season in a
team competition, Mr. Fisher being a
| member of the Metropolitan Bowling
Club of this city. New York Tribune.