Evening star., 1946-02-17

basement days of bowling Where the
game once was content, perforce or 9TH
erwise, to take what's left today
buildings are erected to house it, and
other businesses are eager to acquire
the spare space.
Some hold that prohibition was a
boon to bowling. 1t helped divorce the
game from the bar and opened wide
the door to the church folk, or rather,
to the family. In Washington are Is
church leagues composed of 1874 teams
representing nine denominations, yet
the Capital is not an exception in this
respect. Authorities on the subject say
that third of the nations organized
bowlers are women and that mems and
women's church leagues are among the
most numerous.
Industrial Leagues
Head the List
But heading the list are the industrial
leagues. 1t would require a newspaper
column to publish the names of the
leading business enterprises which are
affiliated with the Industrial Recreation
Association. They include all of the
great industrial interests of the Nation.
The magazine Aim, devoted to indus
trial sports and recreation, reported the
results of a survey. 1t said: The IRA
has just completed tabulating some
program data on its members. AS to
be expected, bowling leads all other
types of recreation, with SO per cent of
the members reporting this activity on
their calendars. In second place is soft
ball; SO per cent Of every 100 companies
have it. Golf is next with "a per cent,
followed by basket ball, IS per cent;
horseshoes, 81 per cent; table tennis, 81
per cent; baseball, 48 per cent; rifle and
pistol shooting, 80 per cent; badminton,
30 per cent; volley ball, 20 per cent;
roller skating, % per cent; tennis, 27
per cent and dart games, Is per cent"
Washington Leagues
Lead in Size
Washington follows the pattern. Vir-
tually every Government unit and siz-
able commercial enterprise here has it's
bowling league or leagues. They total
about 500, averaging Is teams, with the
Catholic League, 60-team circuit, one
Of the largest in the country. The Cath
olic League, presided over for many
years by George F. Harbin, professor of
mathematics at Georgetown University,
has contained as many as "a teams.
Washington's leagues have the highest
average number of teams in the country.
Mr.. Ebersole explains why:
mo other city has as many large es-
tablishments as Washington. In most
major cities plant with % or 30 drives
Is outstanding. Here we have 10 with
80 or more. Generally, the sizes of
leagues are limited by the capacities of
establishments. The Lucky Strike with
58 lanes. Chevy Chase Ice Palace with
ST, the Arcadia with 81 and Convention
Hall with so would be sensational bowl
ing enterprises in any other city in the
country"
Convention Hall can boast of the larg-
est bowling layout in the world without
pillar or post. Bowlers from throughout
the land have looked with awe upon
the city block-long stretch of maple
strips.
Tenpin Tournaments Are
COast.to-C Coast Events
Here are some statistics that reveal
the magnitude of the game:
The American Bowling Congress Is
reputed to be the largest single-sport
organization in the world, with more
than 100000 members.
The Women's International Bowling
Congress, which covers the United
States and Canada, is said to be the
runnerup with more than 325,o00.a
No sports event In history has ap-
proximated the entry In some of the