Duckpin bowling is a variation of Ten-pin bowling and is popular along the eastern coast of the United States, from Maryland through southern New England, and in Quebec.

The origin of the sport is a subject of some debate. According to popular legend, Duckpin bowling began in Baltimore, Maryland around 1900, at a bowling alley owned by future baseball Hall of Famers John McGraw and Wilbert Robinson. However, according to Appendix B of a 2005 baseball book by Howard W. Rosenberg (Cap Anson 3: Muggsy John McGraw and the Tricksters: Baseball's Fun Age of Rule Bending), an article from May 1894 in the Lowell (Mass.) Sun confirms the existence of duckpins as of 1894. Rosenberg traced the story of crediting the origins of duckpins to McGraw and Robinson as far back as Shirley Povich of the Washington Post in the late 1930s. In any event, the name supposedly comes from a remark by McGraw during the first game played with pins cut down from old standard pins. McGraw, an avid duck hunter, said that the flying pins looked like "a flock of flying ducks"; a sportswriter turned the remark into the word "duckpins," and the name stuck.

Back in 1985, an obscure 130-plus page publication called Duckpins: The Tenth Frame cited a finding by Bob Tkacz, of Newington, Conn., in Lowell newspapers; Tkacz found articles showing that a duckpin tournament was being held in May 1894 in Lowell. The 1985 publication is not readily available in any U.S. library, which explains why Tkacz's finding was easy to miss as the earliest known "in print" rebuttal of the Baltimore origin myth. By the way, subsequent to the publication of Rosenberg's book, the Boston Globe became searchable as a full-text historical database, and articles can now be found in the Globe earlier than May 1894 showing the existence of the sport around Boston. According to Rosenberg, the earliest Globe reference to duckpins was apparently on January 2, 1893. Robinson, by virtue of having been born in Massachusetts, is plausibly the person responsible for introducing the sport to Baltimore; Rosenberg's book methodically accounted for Baltimore newspaper reporting in late 1899, when the sport seemingly was first played in Baltimore (at the McGraw-Robinson alleys, of course). Baltimore Sun next-day reporting seems to credit those alleys for introducing the sport to Baltimore the night before.

The rules of Duckpin bowling, or "Duckpins", are very similar to those of Ten-pin bowling. The major differences are:

• The pins are shorter and squatter. The original Duckpins were simply Ten-pins cut down to size. Regulation Duckpins are 9 13/32 inches tall, with a maximum diameter of 4 1/8 inches, and a minimum diameter of 1 3/8 inches at the base.
• The balls are smaller, and do not have any finger holes. The balls are meant to be held entirely in one hand, similarly to a Bocce ball. Regulation Duckpin balls have a maximum diameter of 5 inches, and a maximum weight of 3 pounds, 12 ounces.
• Much like in Candlepin bowling, bowlers are allowed three shots per frame, rather than two. If all ten pins are knocked down on the third ball of the frame, the bowler is awarded 10 points for the frame, and does not get any 'bonus' on the next ball. (Note that unlike Candlepin bowling, fallen pins are cleared after each shot, which corresponds to Ten-pin bowling.)

Duckpin bowling is a sport popular with all ages. While the size and weight of the balls make it a more feasible game for children and seniors, they also increase the difficulty of the game, making it a challenge for all players. While "perfect" games of Ten-pin bowling (i.e., a score of 300) are bowled on a regular basis, no officially sanctioned Duckpin score of 300 has ever been recorded. The configuration and size of the pins and ball can result in drastically different results for multiple rolls that seem nearly identical.

External links

• Duckpin Bowling info
• National Duckpin Bowling Congress
• Robin's Duckpin Page

Bowling