The Women’s International Bowling Congress was founded in 1916 in St. Louis to regulate, support and promote the nascent sport of women’s bowling. The women who ran the WIBC in the early days were pioneers in a pioneer sport, playing an important role in the growing acceptance of women’s sports.

Bowlers had a good Christmas at the Capitol Bowling Alley! Participants in a holiday tournament in 1916 might have received medals like these. There were a number of bowling alleys by that name in the United States, so it is unclear which distributed the medals.

Catherine Menne was a bowling pioneer. She was among the founders and served as the first president of the Women’s National Bowling Association (later renamed the Women’s International Bowling Congress or WIBC) in 1916. The organization was monumental, being the first official tenpin association for women. At the time of the founding, Menne had been […]

Women wore their love for the Women’s International Bowling Congress (WIBC) around their necks with these starburst pendants. Founded in 1916, the WIBC was formed as an independent entity. That separation did not last forever though, as the WIBC merged with the American Bowling Congress (ABC), the Young American Bowling Alliance (YABA) and USA Bowling […]

Bowling steadily grew in popularity through the early 1900s, and the 16th annual international tournament of the American Bowling Congress broke records for numbers of entries and number of cities represented. Host city Toledo contemplated extending the tournament by several days after receiving such an overwhelming response — 756 five-man teams alone!