William V. Thompson Explained

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William V. Thompson
Image Upright:0.5
Birth Date:25 April 1865
Birth Place:Princeton, Illinois
Nationality:American
Years Active:1891–1921
Known For:Champion tenpin bowler
Notable Works:Rules for tenpin bowling

William V. Thompson (April 25, 1865 – September 30, 1938) was an American professional and champion tenpin bowler. He was the proprietor of Plaza Bowling Alley in the Chicago Plaza Hotel, the first official regulation ten-pin bowling alley. He formed a bowling club from champion bowlers and challenged other organizations across the nation. Thompson was influential in forming of the ultimate sanctioned regulations rules of the game and an advocate of the original American Bowling Congress. He was general manager of the department at Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company that made the bowling equipment for the alleys.

Biography

Thompson was born in Princeton, Illinois on April 4, 1865. While in his teens he was part of the high-school sprinters. Thompson was on the Princeton Tigers football team in his early twenties. His first career job was as a railroad man in his early twenties. Around 1911 he picked up an interest in ten-pin bowling, a new game at the time.[1]

Thompson decided in his mid-twenties to become a professional bowler.He became an expert champion bowler of Chicago in the late nineteenth and early twentieth-century.[2] [3] [4] [5] Thompson had his own team called the Chicago Colts.[1] [6] [7] [8] He was in charge of the champion bowlers of Chicago at this time and set up tournaments with other organizations around the United States.[9] [10] [11] In 1889 Thompson owned a bowling alley in the basement of the Plaza Hotel located in north Chicago at Clark Street.[12] [13] In 1891 he started to upgrade his slate alleys to a larger size and wood construction. His design was adopted in 1892 as the standard regulation type and size for future alleys of ten-pin bowling.[14] The Plaza Bowling Alley was the first official regulation bowling alley and others followed in its footsteps.[1] [15]

Thompson was nicknamed "W.V." in the bowling circles throughout the United States.[1] He formed a bowling club in 1894 at the Plaza Hotel from the champion bowlers of the Plaza Bowling Alley. His club challenged other clubs across the nation that had regulation bowling alleys that were developing at the time.[16] Arrangements for cash prizes and trophies for these contests were through the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company.[17] [18] [19]

Accolades

Thompson was labeled by many as the "Father of Bowling" for his efforts to get the new game of ten-pin bowling to standardized rules that all would follow for fair contests.[20] [21] [22] [23] Many details concerning rules and regulations had to be worked out for contests and tournaments (i.e. pin size, pin positioning, ball specifications, lane dimensions, foul line, penalties).[18] Thompson helped formulate these and promoted the new game more than any other person during this time in its early stages of development.[24] [25] [26] [27] [28] Thompson, however, preferred not to be called the "Father of Bowling" so was given the title "Dean of Bowling" instead for his involvement in promoting the game to tournament standards.[29]

Thompson was the manager of the manufacturing department at Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company that made the majority of the equipment for the game.[30] [31] [32] [33] [34] He worked directly under and was closely associated with Brunswick's president Moses Bensinger. He managed Brunswick's All-Star bowling team on promotional tours around the United States.[35] [36] [37] [38] Thompson was sent by Bensinger as a counselor to England, France and Germany to help launch the new game to Europeans and introduce Brunswick's bowling products.[1] He showed them the American hook for making strikes.[1]

Clubs and associations

Thompson was a major contributor to the forming of the ultimate sanctioned rules and regulations of tenpin bowling that became the by-laws of American Bowling Congress (ABC).[29] He was known in the Eastern United States as the protector of the ABC and its bylaws for regulation tenpin bowling.[39] He became the vice-president of the ABC in 1900 and continued for the next five years.[40] [41] The by-laws governing the rule on the regulations of the balls, pins, and alleys were updated several times through his efforts.[42] From time to time various bowling associations that Thompson worked with eventually joined the ABC and followed their by-laws.[43] [44] [45] [46]

Thompson assisted in setting up a world's bowling championship tournament at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904.[47] By 1909 he was well known in the bowling field worldwide.[48]

Thompson was associated with the Illinois Bowling Association in the early 1900s.[49] He was also associated with the New York Rotary Club at that time and helped organize contests for most of the Rotary Clubs throughout the United States.[50] Thompson often bowled with Mrs. Gertrude Hull, the woman national champion of America then in the early 1900s.[51] [52] [53] [54] [55] [56]

Sources

Notes and References

  1. News: Davis . J. R. . December 24, 1911 . W. V. Thompson, Leader in Bowler World . Anaconda Standard . Anaconda, Montana . .
  2. News: . Champion Bowler . Nebraska State Journal . Lincoln, Nebraska. April 20, 1899 . .
  3. News: . Delay Official Announcement For Arrival of Late Entries . Brooklyn Daily Eagle . Brooklyn, New York . May 11, 1909 . .
  4. News: . William V. Thompson . Pittsburgh Daily Post . Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania . March 19, 1909 . .
  5. News: . The Champion Bowler . Times-Democrat. New Orleans, Louisiana . February 17, 1901 . .
  6. News: . Greatest Bowling Tournament of the World will begin in Louisville Saturday with 20,000 bowlers in attendance . . Louisville, Kentucky . March 11, 1906 . .
  7. News: . Personal and Otherwise. Pittsburgh Press . Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania . May 5, 1907 . .
  8. News: . Six Bowling Congresses . Omaha Daily Bee . Omaha, Nebraska . February 16, 1908 . .
  9. News: . National Bowling Congress . Indianapolis Journal . Indianapolis, Indiana . February 21, 1902 . .
  10. News: . Booming in Louisville . Indianapolis Journal . Indianapolis, Indiana . January 9, 1903 . .
  11. News: . Bowlers of Cincinnati . Indianapolis Journal . Indianapolis, Indiana . January 30, 1903 . .
  12. News: . Opinions of the Experts / Chicago Bowling Tournament Highly Praised . . Chicago, Illinois . January 13, 1901 . .
  13. News: . Wants a Bowling Tournament with St. Paul . Chicago Tribune . Chicago, Illinois . March 3, 1895 . .
  14. News: . Why Bowling is Popular . Chicago Tribune . Chicago, Illinois . February 1, 1903 . .
  15. Web site: Chicago Recreation Survey . . 1938 . November 24, 2016 . The first regulation bowling alley in the city of Chicago was installed in 1891 in the Plaza Hotel, situated at Clark Street and North Avenue..
  16. News: . Plaza Bowling Club's Challenge . The Inter Ocean . Chicago, Illinois . September 9, 1894 . .
  17. News: . Bowling for prizes . Wheeling Daily . Wheeling, West Virginia . January 11, 1898 . .
  18. News: . Inter-City Bowling . The Inter Ocean . Chicago, Illinois . March 10, 1895 . .
  19. News: . A Bit of a Hitch . . Saint Paul, Minnesota . March 25, 1895 . .
  20. News: . Select A.C.B.A. Leaders With P.T. Moran at Helm. Washington Post . Washington, D.C. . November 11, 1915 . .
  21. News: . Bowlers Honor Grant . Washington Post . Washington, D.C. . December 5, 1915 . .
  22. News: . Duckpin Scores are Low . Washington Post . Washington, D.C. . April 4, 1916 . .
  23. News: . A.C.B.A. is to meet at Ebbitt Tomorrow . Washington Post . Washington, D.C.. December 3, 1915 . .
  24. News: . Sporting News . Pittsburgh Press . Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania . December 6, 1898 . .
  25. News: . All Star Bowlers . Decatur Herald . Decatur, Illinois . November 15, 1898 . .
  26. News: . Chicago has Good Teams . Inter Ocean . Chicago, Illinois . March 3, 1907 . .
  27. News: . Brunswicks Crowd a League Record . Inter Ocean . Chicago, Illinois. December 20, 1913 . .
  28. News: . Brunswick Players Roll a Four-Figure Total. Chicago Tribune . Chicago, Illinois . March 19, 1902 . .
  29. News: . "Dean of Bowling" now a New Yorker . . Brooklyn, New York . October 9, 1915 . .
  30. News: . Booklet Issued by Company A Factor . Washington Herald . Washington, D.C.. November 16, 1915. .
  31. News: . Thompson's Great Work . Indianapolis News . Indianapolis, Indiana . January 15, 1900. .
  32. News: . Thompson is Optimistic . Indianapolis News . Indianapolis, Indiana . January 10, 1903 . .
  33. News: . Champion Woman Bowler to Compete . Oregon Daily Journal . Portland, Oregon . March 8, 1904 . .
  34. News: . Bowlers will Flock to City . Detroit Free Press . Detroit, Michigan . December 25, 1909 . .
  35. News: . All Stars are Coming . Baltimore Sun . Baltimore, Maryland . November 14, 1899 . .
  36. News: . Champion Woman Bowler . Indianapolis . Indianapolis, Indiana . February 26, 1900. .
  37. News: . National Interest in Coming Tournament . Indianapolis Journal . Indianapolis, Indiana . February 1, 1904 . .
  38. News: . Tournament Gossip . Cincinnati Enquirer . Cincinnati, Ohio . February 9, 1908 . .
  39. News: . Tri-City Tenpin Match Presents Best Bowlers of cities Represented . Washington Times . Washington, D.C. . January 22, 1916 . .
  40. News: . With the Bowlers . Saint Paul Globe . Saint Paul, Minnesota . January 11, 1901 . .
  41. News: . For Bowling Congress . Baltimore Sun . Baltimore, Maryland . December 18, 1905 . .
  42. News: . Crisis Exists in Alley Game. Chicago Tribune . Chicago, Illinois . February 1, 1903 . .
  43. News: . Bookwater Chosen . Saint Paul Globe . Saint Paul, Minnesota . January 24, 1902 . .
  44. News: . Interest in Tournament . Indianapolis Journal . Indianapolis, Indiana . August 20, 1902 . .
  45. News: . Chicago leads Bowling World . Chicago, Tribune . Chicago, Illinois. February 1, 1903 . .
  46. News: . Buffalo after A.B.C. Tourney . Detroit Free Press . Detroit, Michigan . June 10, 1909 . .
  47. News: . Bowling at World's Fair . Indianapolis Journal. Indianapolis, Indiana . March 6, 1904 . .
  48. News: . Famous Bowling Star . Pittsburgh Daily Post . Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania . February 23, 1909 . .
  49. Book: The World Almanac and Book of Facts . Press Publishing Company (The New York World) . 1911 . 373.
  50. Book: Proceedings: Eighth Annual Convention of the International Association of Rotary Clubs . Rotary International. 1917. 248.
  51. News: . Champion Woman Bowler to Compete . Oregon Daily Journal . Portland, Oregon . March 8, 1904 . .
  52. News: . Mrs Hull Rolls a Match . Pittsburgh Daily Post. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania . February 24, 1909 . .
  53. News: . Women Will Bowl . Democrat and Chronicle. Rochchester, New York . February 2, 1904 . .
  54. News: . Pertinent Advice for Women Bowlers . Wilkes-Barre Times Leader . Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania . November 25, 1904 . .
  55. News: . Mrs Hull to play in East . Inter Ocean . Chicago, Illinois . February 29, 1904 . .
  56. News: . Three Straight for New York . Brooklyn Daily Eagle . Brooklyn, New York . October 13, 1908. .

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