page_title: Candlepin bowling
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Candlepin bowling / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Assembled clippings from U. S. Patent 2,757,000, "Bowling pin-setting mechanism", including Figure 2, altered by uploader to highlight candlepins in blue.
context_page_description: Candlepin bowling is a variation of bowling that is played primarily in the Canadian Maritime provinces and the New England states of the United States. It is played with a handheld-sized ball and tall, narrow pins that resemble candles, hence the name.
context_section_description: The International Candlepin Bowling Association (ICBA) website states that candlepin bowling was first played in 1880 in Worcester, Massachusetts, thought to have been developed by Justin White, owner of a billiards and bowling hall. A 1987 Sports Illustrated article stated the game was invented in 1881 in that town by one John J. Monsey, a billiards player, who is recognized for standardizing the game. In particular, in 1906 Monsey created the National Duckpin and Candlepin Congress, which regulated ball size, pin shape and size, and lane surface characteristics, facilitating formation of leagues and other competitions.
  Originally, pins were inch-thick dowels, resembling candles, thought to give rise to the name, candlepins. An 1888 newspaper article referred to 2-inch thick pins. Both were thinner than modern candlepins which are specified to be ​2 ¹⁵⁄₁₆ inches (74.6 mm) thick. In the late 1960s plastic candlepins began to replace wood candlepins, a change that some thought required a change in game strategy.
  In 1947, lawyers Howard Dowd and Lionel Barrow overcame the need for human pinsetters by inventing the first automatic candlepin pinsetter, called the "Bowl-Mor", the two inventors receiving a patent that issued in 1956.
  Station WCVB (TV-5) aired candlepin bowling's first televised show from 1958 through 1996, and in 1964 The Boston Globe launched its own annual candlepin tournament. In 1965 the World Candlepin Bowling Council (WCPC) began its Hall of Fame, inducting WCVB commentator Don Gillis in 1987. In 1973 station WHDH (TV-7) began airing Candlepins for Cash, allowing contestants to earn a jackpot by rolling a strike.
  In 1986 the International Candlepin Bowling Association (ICBA) was formed.
  The highest sanctioned candlepin score is 245, achieved in 1984 (Ralph Semb, Erving, MA) and again on May 13, 2011 (Chris Sargent,  Haverhill, MA).
caption: A drawing from a 1956 patent issued to the inventors of the first automated candlepin pinsetter. (Blue shading not in original.)[4]
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