"CANDLEPIN 101"
A little history lesson for our friends.

 

    The first candlepin on the left is a replica of what J.P. White found in his new aquired bowling & billiard establishment, the Pearl Street Alleys, back in 1879. The untapered pin (#1) was 1" round by 10" long and was set on spots 10 inches apart. You might think this would have been easy but not a chance when 3 inch diameter balls (#9) were used.
   J.P. White found that bowlers weren't happy with the difficult task of knocking down pins the size of broomsticks. Not wanting to lose his investment in the bowling business, White decided to create a new pin that would give a variety of interesting different leaves on the pin deck. In 1880 history was made with the invention of the CANDLEPIN (pin #2) measuring 2 inches by 12 inches and being tapered to 1 inch at the ends. White made a standard 4 inch ball to be used with new candle-shaped pin and bowlers instantly loved his new game.
   Pins 3 & 4 are real pins used in the early 1900's. They are similar to the pins of todays game, measuring close to 3 inches diameter around the middle and 15 1/2 inches tall. They were set on 11 inch spots and used with 4 1/2 inch balls. At that time in the game there were many people producing pins, and though quite similar, none were exactly the same. A man by the name of Jack Monsey, an employee of
   J.P. White, eventually became one of the biggest forces in development of standards for the game. Many of those standards are still used today.
   In 1928 pins (#5) were painted white to improve their rather dull looking appearance. It was a great improvement for most who bowled in dark basements.
   The 50's brought about the greatest changes to the development of the candlepins as we know them today. First were the addition of plastic caps in 1952 ( the 6th pin) to protect the ends from splintering. The 7th pin, also a wooden pin, was entirely plastic coated to help protect extend the life expectancy of the maple underneath.
   In 1960, high impact plastic technology saved many proprietors in the candlepin industry from going out of business. The higher cost of these pins (#8) was greatly offset by the long lifespan of 15 + years.

 
Other bits of interest to share

 

The pin with the tag on it and the covered ends (# 3) comes from Jack Monsey's private collection of bowling artifacts and was a gift to Bob Parrella by the late Lillian "Babe" Monsey, the last surviving member of the Monsey family.

 
 
 
 

The green & white ball (#10) above the Ebonite box is the first candlepin ball manufactured by the E.Parrella Co. in the early 50's
 
 

This ball (#11) on the top shelf is made of Lignum Vitae,  the hardest wood in commercial use. Until the advent of high quality plastics and rubber compounds, lignum vitae was the material of choice for such items that must absorb great stress such as chisel handles, mallets, pulley sheaves, machine bushings, propeller shafts and BOWLING BALLS!  The ball which dates back to 1910 given to Mr.Parrella by former Bowlmor President, Oscar Silverman.
 
 

HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED THIS LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY ON THE GAME.
(Special thanks to Bob Parrella for showing us his great collection)

we'll have a few more HISTORY 101 lessons to show in the future

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They sure don't make em' like they used to!

 

Pictured here are ten of my son's 60 year old retired friends that worked at the Recreation Lanes in Leominster, MA many years ago. The old wooden Brunswick pins were found in a warehouse  in their original case. They were never hit and today stand quietly on the trophy shelves in my son's room.
   The first generation brunswick pins had no plastic ends. Our friend Chris Anton, the proprieter of Big 20 Lanes, in Scarborough, ME  told us that it was common to see these pins stand up all different heights back in the 1950's. The ends of the pins were shaved often to keep them straight.
 
 

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Did anyone ever have a chance to visit the New England Sports Museum in the early 1990's, when it was located at the Cambridgeside Mall in Boston, MA?         There was a great Candlepin Bowling exhibit including a working pinsetter, displays of memorabilia from the greats of the game and a list of the Hall of Fame members on the giant pillars.
   When the purple ball on the wall was pushed by the bottom right corner of the picture, the machine would reset. While that was happening, a ball would run through the wire track from the ball return area up to the ceiling and roll around a twisted track overhead before coming back down and hitting the pins.  Too bad the display is no longer around.

     We found this news paper clipping on the wall at Scott Moore's Needham Bowlaway during a recent visit. I guess there were some real good women bowlers way back when. Seems like the guys were afraid of them!  No one wanted them to stick around!