What is Duckpin Bowling?

    A Duckpin Bowling Game is just another variation of the regular Ten Pin Bowling game we are all familiar with. It was invented in Baltimore, Maryland back in the early 1900's in a bowling, billiards and pool hall which was owned by John McGraw and William Robinson who were two baseball Hall of Famers from the Baltimore Orioles team.This sport is still very popular in Ireland, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Indiana, and Washington D.C. Duckpins was also a favorite game of the famous baseball player, Babe Ruth.

Duckpins

    The pins are 10" high and about 2/3 the size of the pins used in regular Ten Pin Bowling, and the ball has no holes and is only 4 3/4" in diameter and weighs between two and four pounds.
    
    Similar to Candlepin Bowling (mentioned in last weeks Blog Post), you get three tries to knock down all ten pins. If you get all the pins down on the first try, it is called a "Strike" which is marked by the letter "Y". You add whatever you get down on the next two balls with that strike like in Ten Pin Bowling.  In the image below, you can see that there were strikes in the 4th, 7th, and 8th frame.
​    If you knock down all ten pins using two tries, it is called a "Spare". A spare is marked by a slash like in regular bowling " / ". You can see that there was a spare in the 5th frame down below. The slash can be marked in the small box or in the large box as shown. On a spare, you add what you knock down on the next ball. If you get down all ten pins after the three allowed tries, you will just get a total of 10 points for that frame.
​     A 300 is the highest possible score you can get in Duckpins and the current record is held by Pete Signore from Connecticut when he bowled a 279 in 1992.

    There us a reset button near the ball return which you need to press after the three tries to reset the pins.There is also a pedal to step on the floor to clear any deadwood (pins that have fallen but remain on the pindeck) because deadwood cannot be used to help knock down other pins. 
    

White reset button and floor pedal

    Based on the above paragraph, see if you can understand how the game was scored below.

 

​    Another version of the Duckpin Bowling was invented by William Wuerthele in Pittsburgh, Pa to increase the action and the scoring of the game. He placed a hard band made from rubber around each pin, and so the "American Duckpin Congress" was formed in the 1920's to govern the game. Later in 1945, the name was changed to the "American Rubber Band Duckpin Bowling Congress" and is affiliated with the "National Duckpin Bowling Congress".    If you type in Duckpin Bowling into Google, they will give you names of places where you can give this sport a try. I tried it once and it was pretty challenging indeed. If you are ever visiting Ireland, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Indiana, or Washington D.C, please give it a try. Who knows, maybe you could tie or break the current record! 

Duckpins with Hard Rubber Bands

Comparison of Pins & Balls in the Various Bowling Games

​Join me here next week when I'll be discussing "What Can I Practice in Bowling?-Part 2

​Good Luck and High Scoring!!