Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1917-03-04
A. B. G. PIN EVENT
WILL START TODAY
Seven Hundred and Fourteen
Teams Seek Prize Money at
Grand Rapids Tourney.
POLITICAL POT Is BOILING

Grand Rapids, Mich, March 81
Eighty leading business men OF
Grand Rapids faced new pins on
brand new alleys in the Coliseum
building in this city shortly after 8
o'clock tonight, their appearance
marking the opening of the seven
teenth annual tournament OF the
American Bowling congress. Brief
speeches by George Curry, president
Of the Grand Rapids Bowling Asso-
citation Tournament company, and by
officials of the national body were
made and then the business men were
allowed to attack the ten-pin army.
Conditions for a successful bowling
meet were never brighter, according
to the men in charge OF the affair.
While the tournament is second in
size to those which have gone before,
the difference is only per cent in the
prize money, a fractional falling of
that will not be noticed by those who
get slices of the melon that is to be
cut a month hence. -.
A count of the entries for this
tournament shows that there are 7l4
fves, 1854 doubles and 5000 singles.
The losses from the previous high
water marks are heaviest in the hve-
man combinations, where there are
forty-two fewer clubs represented.
There are thirty-two fewer doubles
and seventy-nine fewer singles, but
the total loss in prize money is only
$l,l76.
To compensate for the loss in size
the meet shows the greatest number
81 cities represented in the history oil
the competition for the national titles,
There are forty more visiting teams
than rolled at Toledo's 1916 meet and
nearly every one of the travelling
combinations is figured as a possible
bidder for the title and capital prize
The eighty home clubs that are miss.
ing are usually figured as compli.
mentary entries.
The four champions, whose crowns
are about to topple, il the usual Gus
tom OF congress tournaments is fol
lowed are Commodore Barrys of Chi
cago, who upset all American Bowling
congress form by repeating their vic,
tory of 1915 with a team score oil
zoos at Toledo; Henry Marine and
Sykes Thomas Of Chicago, who wor
the doubles with 1879; Sam Schlimar
OF Toronto, who won the singles
championship after tying at OBS in the
regular competition with Frank Shaw
OF Chicago and Ben Huesman OF Gin.
cinnati and Sykes Thomas, who added
TO his doubles laurels by taking the
all-events honors with total Of 1919
Records Are Large.
Records set since the American
Bowling congress started its tourna'
ments sixteen years ago are as fol
lows:
Eiye-man teams: Flor de Knispels
St. Paul, 5000, made at Toledo In
1918.
Doubles: Al and Tony Schwoegelcr
Madison, Wis, 1904, made at Pitts
burgh in 1909.
Singles; Wallace H. Pierce Of Pueb
10, Colo, I'll, made at Peoria in 1915
All-events: Ed Hermann of Gin
cinnati, 1872, made at Toledo in 1918
The political pot of the congress
will boil next week with the mar
fight centered on the choice of tn,
next tournamen. city. The two mos
prominent candidates thus far are
Peoria and Cincinnati. Peoria held |
tournament in 1915 that proved sue
cessful in every way, while 1t is tel
years since Cincinnati entertained tn,
bowlers.
Buffalo is a third party o the con
test, and John Smith, vice presiden
OF the congress, has lined up all o
the eastern delegates for that city
Pittsburgh and western New Yorl
show considerable strength this yea
in voting power.