Summary Information
Polish American Bowling Association Records
1927-1962
- Polish American Bowling Association
Milwaukee Mss 79
1.0 c.f. (3 archives boxes)
UW-Milwaukee Libraries, Archives / Milwaukee Area Research Ctr. (Map)
Records of a Milwaukee-based bowling association for Americans of Polish ancestry founded in 1928 by John A. Schultz and others. Included are articles of incorporation, a constitution and by-laws, correspondence, minutes, newsclippings, contracts and other legal documents, address lists, photographs, and records of the annual tournaments. The popularity of bowling among members of Milwaukee's (and Chicago's) Polish community is illustrated by the numerous entries in the tournaments. During the 1950s, this popularity declined and the tournaments were discontinued after 1962.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mil00079 ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
The Polish American Bowling Association was incorporated in January 1928 by John A. Schultz, John J. Kotlarek, Roman D. Pankowski, and John J. Ludka, to form a national bowling organization open to all Americans of Polish ancestry. Schultz, who owned the Forest Home Arcade in Milwaukee, was the driving force behind the Association and its annual tournaments, which were held every other year in his bowling alley, beginning in 1928. PABA tournaments were sanctioned by the American Bowling Congress, and were quite popular and well-attended during the 1930s and 1940s, particularly after a women's division was added in 1942. Despite the Association's claims to a national following, the tournaments were basically rivalries between Milwaukee and Chicago bowlers, with a Chicago bowling alley generally the host establishment for the tournament in alternating years. Many of the teams were sponsored by local factories and taverns in both Chicago and Milwaukee.
Entries in PABA tournaments declined during the late 1940s, partly due to low scores during matches at the small, aging Forest Home Arcade. Chicago bowlers, encouraged by Dziennik Chicagoski sports writer Ted Tryba, urged a change in the PABA constitution to allow the tournament to be held elsewhere, a move which occurred during the early 1950s. Nevertheless, interest in the tournaments continued to wane. Despite an attempt by Schultz's son, Tom, to revive the PABA from 1957 to 1963, the last tournament was held in 1962. The Forest Home Arcade was sold by the Schultz family in 1979.
Scope and Content Note
The records of the Polish American Bowling Association illustrate the great popularity that bowling enjoyed among members of Milwaukee's Polish community. This popularity is underscored by the fact that the PABA was only one of several ethnic, social, and fraternal organizations to hold annual tournaments during this period.
The collection includes PABA articles of incorporation, constitution and by-laws, with documents from the period of constitutional revision; contracts with bowling alleys hosting tournaments and other legal papers; and a fragmentary file of minutes of board of directors' meetings. There are three folders of correspondence, mainly pertaining to arrangements for tournaments and entries; participants' and address lists; a few photographs of bowlers and teams; newsclippings, primarily from the Milwaukee Polish newspapers and the Dziennik Chicagoski; and rules and regulations of the American Bowling Congress. Tournament records consist of entry blanks, schedules, prize and winners' lists, and some financial records.
Related Material
The records were maintained by PABA founder, John Schultz. For additional information, see the small collection of Schultz's personal papers.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Presented by Estelle Schultz of Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1980. Accession Number: M80-542
Processed by Menzi Behrnd-Klodt, March 1982.
Contents List
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Box
1
Folder
1
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American Bowling Congress Rules, 1951, 1960
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Box
3
Folder
1
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Articles of Incorporation, 1928
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Box
3
Folder
1
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Constitution and By-Laws, 1953
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Box
3
Folder
2
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Contracts and Legal Papers, 1930-1944, 1948
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Box
1
Folder
2-4
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Correspondence, 1928-1962, undated
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Box
3
Folder
3
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Minutes, 1928-1958
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Box
1
Folder
5
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Miscellaneous, 1929-1951, undated
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Box
3
Folder
4
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Newsclippings, 1928-1950, 1955, undated
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Box
1
Folder
6
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Participants and Address Lists, 1949, 1955, 1960, undated
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Box
1
Folder
7
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Photographs, 1927, 1949, undated
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Tournament Records
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Box
1
Folder
8
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1928-1929, 1941-1945
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Box
2
Folder
1-14
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1947-1954, 1957-1958, 1960, 1962
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Box
3
Folder
5
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Prize Lists, 1928-1948
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