Lawn Bowling USA

A Short History of Bowls

From ancient ball games to greens across America, in plain words, with sources.

Where it happened

Tap a pin for the year and jump to its timeline entry. Glasgow marks William Mitchell's home city; Buffalo and Glasgow pins are city-level.

Timeline

  1. Ancient times

    Old roots

    Bowls belongs to the family of ball-rolling games such as bocce. Ancient Greeks threw stones and balls for distance, and the idea of rolling a ball as close to a target as possible is recorded in ancient Rome.

    Source: Wikipedia: Bowls
  2. c. 1299

    Southampton Old Bowling Green

    Bowls was being played in England by the 13th century. The Southampton Old Bowling Green is claimed to be the oldest surviving bowling green in the world, first used for bowls in 1299. It is still played on today.

    Source: Wikipedia: Southampton Old Bowling Green
  3. 1588 (legend)

    Drake on Plymouth Hoe — a legend

    Legend, not proven. The story says Sir Francis Drake finished his game of bowls on Plymouth Hoe before sailing against the Spanish Armada in 1588. Historic England notes the claim first appeared in print in 1624 and there is no authenticated record from the time.

    Source: Historic England: The Hoe
  4. 1849

    Scotland writes the rules

    In 1849 Scottish bowling clubs formed a group to agree common rules. Glasgow cotton merchant William Wallace Mitchell was its secretary, and his Manual of Bowls Playing (published 1864) became the basis of the rules of the modern game.

    Source: Wikipedia: Bowls
  5. 1800s

    Across the British Empire

    Bowls spread with British settlers around the world. For example, the Victorian Bowling Association formed in Australia in 1880, and a British team toured Canada in 1906. Bowls has been in every Commonwealth Games (first held as the British Empire Games in 1930) except 1966.

    Source: Wikipedia: Bowls · Wikipedia: Lawn bowls at the Commonwealth Games
  6. 1733

    Bowling Green, New York

    Settlers brought bowls to America; it is thought to have been played in Massachusetts and Connecticut by the mid-1600s. In 1733 New York's Common Council leased land near the old Dutch fort for a park with a bowling green. One account says a green near the Battery lasted until 1820; the park still bears the name today.

    Source: Wikipedia: Bowling Green (New York City) · NYC Parks: Bowling Green history · Wikipedia: Bowls USA
  7. 1915

    American Lawn Bowling Association

    Lawn bowls clubs were active in the U.S. well before 1915. On July 27, 1915, clubs created the American Lawn Bowling Association (ALBA) in Buffalo, New York, to organize the game nationally.

    Source: Wikipedia: Bowls USA
  8. 2001 – 2012

    From ALBA to Bowls USA

    On January 1, 2001, ALBA merged with the American Women's Lawn Bowls Association to form the United States Lawn Bowls Association. It changed its name to Bowls USA in 2012 and is the U.S. member of World Bowls.

    Source: Wikipedia: Bowls USA · Bowls USA
  9. 2001

    World Bowls

    World Bowls, the sport's world governing body, was founded in 2001 by merging earlier international bowls boards. It runs world championships and writes the Laws of the Sport.

    Source: Wikipedia: World Bowls · World Bowls
  10. 1924 – 1925

    Colorado: Washington Park, Denver

    The Washington Park Lawn Bowling Club was founded in Denver in 1924. Its clubhouse, a former tuberculosis hut, was installed in 1925. The club celebrated 100 years in 2024 and still offers free lessons. See it in our Featured Club.

    Source: Washington Park Lawn Bowling Club · Denverite (2025)

Sources

All sources checked 2026-10-28. Where sources disagree we say so: Denver Public Library says the Washington Park green was first created in 1920, while the club and Denverite give 1924 for the club's founding.

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