It seems that the idea of rolling a round object in order to knock over a group of standing objects, occurred to man as one of the first ways to play a game. In the, grave of an Egyptian child, more than 7,000 years old, implements have been found which were used in playing a game very similar to modern tenpins!

There is even evidence that during the Stone Age there was some sort of bowling game in which large pebbles and rocks were rolled at pointed stones which served as pins.

As far as written records are concerned, they indicate that bowling may have originated in the monasteries of Europe about 700 years ago as part of a religious ritual. The peasants of those days usually carried a club, even when visiting a church. It is said that the priests, in order to dramatize a point, told the people that the clubs could stand for the devil, or evil. The club was stood in a corner, and the peasant rolled a large stone or ball at it. If he hit the ball he was praised, if he failed he was told to lead a better life.

The priests became intrigued with the idea of hitting the club, which was called a “kegle.” (This explains why bowlers are called “keglers.”) They tried it themselves, and a game was born. Later on the nobility and landed gentry took it up. By the middle ages, bowling was a universal and very popular game in Germany.

As the game spread to England, the people became equally excited about the new game. By the time of Henry VIII, the game was so established that in 1530 the king ordered bowling alleys added to his residence!

The early Dutch settlers brought the game of ninepins to America and played on Bowling Green in New York.