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ST. LOUIS: THE INTL. BOWLING HALL OF HAME |  | April 8, 2007 - I had a couple of free hours before the big final game of the hockey tournament. Feeling downtown call my name, I headed out and wandered the streets, until I came face to face with the International
Bowling Hall of Fame and Museum.
I figured I should go in to pick up a funny little t-shirt at the very least. Once I stepped out of the cold, I was greeted warmly by an old black man who sauntered around behind the counter, creeping Moses. |
Down to about an hour to spare, I scanned over the merchandise, which didn't disappoint, and I struck up a conversation my man just how long it takes to go through the museum. With determination and pride, the old man transformed into a preacher, raising his voice and said, "Well, it's full of 5,000 years of bowling history." He smugly closed his mouth, took a breath, and quietly continued, "...so it just matters how long you want to spend looking at it. Each ticket comes with four free frames of bowling downstairs."
| Before all the allusions running through my head could be processed, I threw down seven fifty and gleefully left the gift shop for the main displays. Also included in the ticket price: four free frames of bowling. |
"Three thousand years of beautiful tradition, from Moses to Sandy Koufax.." - Walter, Big Lebowski |
When I turned the corner from the gift shop to the museum, I was greeted by a life sized mannequin of a Neanderthal dressed in a fur holding a rock. There was a display sign that asked the obvious question, "THE BEGINNING OF BOWLING?". With that, the small museum unfolded through a combination of poster, display signs, and life sized dioramas of Renaissance bowlers in cloisters, poor Irish immigrants setting pins and a cavalcade of bowling pins, shirts, patches, buttons, and trophies.
Once I got to the Hall of Fame itself - a long room with display cases filled with more memorabilia and both walls lined with plaques bearing the likenesses of everyone inducted into the Hall of Fame. I got lost in the Dan Clowes like depictions of the bowlers. I started snapping pictures until an announcement came over the loudspeaker: there were only 15 minutes left before the bowling lanes closed downstairs.
I passed by a bowling pin car, with a bowler from a bowling trophy mounted on the hood, on the way to pick up some shoes. With my spanking new pair of size 13s, I found an open lane, bowled a game, befriended the family of serious bowlers next to me. They had met in St. Louis from Milwaukee, Colorado and St. Louis. They were fiercely competitive, and even had a cousin who bowled a registered 300 game. They proudly told me I could find his name upstairs.
After finishing off a sloppy game of bowling, I made my way back through the museum, wishing I had another couple of hours to soak up the full effect of 5,000 years of bowling history. I thanked the man behind the counter, and told him next time I was in St. Louis, he would be seeing me again.
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BOWLED OVER
The game I bowled was rather disappointing, but I now proudly wear a button stating, "I bowled a game at the Bowling Hall of Fame". Things started off promising, missing a couple spares and ending up with an 8 and a 9. I finally made a mark in the third frame, but kept tossing everything over to the right, and blemishing what could have been a good game with some deplorable rolls. I salvaged a strike and another spare to end my game at a less than sterling 74. |
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PETE WEBER
Growing up, between Warner Brothers cartoons and Three Stooges marathons, there was Saturday afternoons watching professional bowling. I
never quite understood why one bowler would seemingly be two frames behind and still be winning, despite being down 15 pins or so, but bowling is a leap of faith. One of the bowlers who stood out because he always won and he had a habit of pumping his fist and being overly confident: Pete Weber. So I was overjoyed to come across his plaque in the Hall of Fame. They also had his shirt, some trophies, and a display with memorabilia from his Dad, Dick, as well.
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the beginning of bowling? |
Barbarians! | 
I can't explain this |
in the cloister | 
bowling for dollars makes it seem like we've come so far. | 
the pinsetter | 
Bowl Them Over! | 
half of the
Hall of Fame |
the agony of victory? |
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