Jan 3, 2014

Duckpin bowling was once a sport synonymous with the city of Baltimore. In its heyday during the 1960s, more than 1,200 lanes could be found throughout the region. Now the Patterson Bowling Center in East Baltimore is one of just a few facilities in the area keeping the sport alive.

: The Patterson Bowling Center, which has 12 duckpin bowling lanes — six on each floor — has been in operation since 1927. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Charles McElhose Sr. makes adjustments to a bowling pin sweeper arm at Patterson Bowling Center, the home of duckpin bowling. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Bowling shoes are stored in square compartments at the Patterson Bowling Center. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Charles McElhose Sr., pictured, and his wife, Theresa, bought the Patterson Bowling Center in 1995. They installed electronic scoring in 2000. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Charles McElhose Sr., owner of the Patterson Bowling Center along with his wife, Theresa, compares keeping a 1955 bowling machine in operation to driving a 1955 car to work every day. “The chances of a breakdown would be pretty frequent,” he says. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: J.B., one of the pinsetters and mechanics, adjusts a Sherman machine to reset a bowling lane. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Parts used to keep the Sherman pin-setting machines running over the years are stored in the back of the Patterson Bowling Center, the home of duckpin bowling. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Charles McElhose Sr. says keeping the 1955 duckpin bowling machines up and running takes about 40 hours per week of mechanical labor. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Charles McElhose Sr., owner of the Patterson Bowling Center along with his wife, Theresa, holds an “arm” to help load the pins. He bought it from a defunct bowling alley in Thurmont. Because the Sherman bowling machines have not been made for decades, McElhose gets mechanical parts by buying parts from closing duckpin businesses, or by having new parts fabricated. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: It takes both man and machine to keep bowling machines running at Patterson Bowling Center, the home of duckpin bowling center. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Before the Sherman pinsetter machine was invented by Ken Sherman, “pinboys” were used to reset the the pins. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Richard Kulacki, 73, who plays in the John Booth Senior League, wipes off a duckpin bowling ball to ensure a better grasp at the Patterson Bowling Center. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Richard Kulacki, 73, and Dorothy Meier, 88, who play in the John Booth Senior League, size up a shot at the Patterson Bowling Center. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Angeline Heath, 69, from Locust Point, bowls in a senior league at the Patterson Bowling Center. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Duckpin bowling uses balls that are smaller and pins that are shorter than the size used in traditional 10-pin bowling. Patterson Bowling Center, the home of duckpin bowling, has been in existence since 1927. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Julianne Kowalewski, 75, left, congratulates teammate Angeline Heath, 69, on her game. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Richard Kulacki, 73, who bowls with the John Booth Senior League, reaches for a duckpin bowling ball. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Bill Albrent, 87, shares a laugh with Angeline Heath, 69, at the Patterson Bowling Center,. They play duckpin bowling in the John Booth Senior League. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Duckpin bowling uses balls that are smaller and pins that are shorter than the size used in traditional 10-pin bowling. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Joan Butka, who bowls in the John Booth Senior League, keeps her duckpin bowling scores in her bowling record book. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

Keeping the old Sherman pin-setting machines running at Patterson Bowling Center is a lot like keeping a 1955 car on the road, says Charles McElhose, Sr., co-owner of the duckpin bowling enterprise along with his wife, Theresa.

And just like old cars, “They don’t make the parts anymore,” he says. Since the machines haven’t been manufactured for decades, McElhose has parts fabricated and buys machinery from defunct bowling businesses to keep the pin-setting apparatus up and running. He is investigating 3-D printing as his next resource.

Billed on its website as “the oldest operating duckpin bowling alley in the nation,” Patterson Bowling Center has been around since 1927. The McElhoses bought the business in 1995 from Bernie Ruzin, son of Martin Ruzin, who started the bowling alley in 1927. Until 1955, the business used “pin boys” to set up the pins. Duckpin bowling uses smaller balls and shorter pins than the traditional 10-pin bowling.

The sport’s height of popularity was in the 1960s, “with more than 1,200 lanes and numerous bowling centers,” according to a 1993 article by Baltimore Sun reporter Jacques Kelly. Charles McElhose attributes the decline of the sport to the internet and a plethora of TV channels. “Over the years, the internet allowed people to sit at home and play games on the computer and talk to friends. … Back in the ’60s, there were only three [TV] channels.”

McElhose first played duckpin bowling in 1969 with his family when he was 14. “I liked the fact that it was a lighter ball that even a youngster could handle,” he says. His most exciting duckpin bowling day came 24 years later, in 1993, when he shot a “222 game.”

McElhose and Theresa, his high school sweetheart and wife of 40 years, each play in two leagues. The McElhoses like both the international and the local community atmosphere of the bowling alley. People of all ages play the game.

“We meet people from all over the world — from Africa, from Russia, from Switzerland,” says Theresa McElhose, adding that some come to Baltimore for conferences, and others are Johns Hopkins international students.

For Charles McElhose, “seeing the community come in and enjoy the game of duckpins the way I enjoy it is satisfying.”

Duckpin bowling at the Patterson Bowling Center

Leave a Reply Cancel