TNBA HISTORY FACTS
(ALSO KNOWN AS THEY SAY THAT) Do you know the Black folks founded and expanded the National Bowling Association?

Leon Kates, former National Bowling Association Historian, has displays photographs of Black bowlers bowling in events of the American Bowling Congress (ABC) in the 1800's; prior to ABC's racial restrictive clause.

Charlie Mae McIntosh was NBA's first full-time secretary/treasure 1955-1966. She was also the Toledo Senate President for more than 10 years.

Louise Fulton won the Princeton open Tournament in 1964. It was her only professional event. She was the first Black woman to win on the pro tour.

Sadie Dixon won Pennsylvania State Championships five times. She is said to be the first Black woman signed by the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA).

Stacey Timmer, a former youth bowler in the Directions Unlimited Youth Bowling Program (Grand Rapids Senate), with five 800 or better series in a single season, is currently the women's world record holder for the most 800 series bowled in a single season.

Charles Bedell, in 1959, was the first NBA member to receive an application to join the PBA. Because he did not have a sponsor he sent the application to J. Wilbur Sim's sponsor in Chicago; thus, Sims became the first Black NBA member to join the PBA.

"ISAAC" is the Institute for the Study of the African American Child. Professor and Founding Director, Janice E. Hale, PhD, Wayne State University is, along with NBCDI (The National Black Child Development Institute), at the apex of the educational development of Black children. Ruth L. Payne, outstanding developer of NBA's Junior Program among other things, organized a student coaches program. Her vision of expanding and connecting the educational development of Black children and a high level of youth bowling achievement is compatible with "ISAAC" and NBCDI.

Don Scott, one of the first TNBA Bowlers to join the PBA in 1960, taught thousands of new bowlers in the south and mid-west; while a member of the AMF Staff, he co-authored a booklet on How to Bowl that was sponsored by Coca-Cola and AMF; and engaged in money matches around the world, in such places as the Jiang Jiang Club in Shanghai, China, the Laurentian Lanes in Montreal Canada, the Ivory Lanes in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, bowling centers in Tokyo, Japan and in Manila, Philippines.

Bowling began more than 6,000 years ago in Africa, as a religious ceremonial game.

Ted Paige, Pittsburgh entrepreneur, served as ambassador for AMF. He promoted bowling through his column in the Pittsburgh Courier Newspaper. He trained Black people how to manage and operate bowling establishments. He opened multiple bowling centers, organized bowling leagues and helped bowlers financially. He was a bowling coach and instructor. Among his numerous awards and recognition, he is a member of the Pennsylvania State Sports Hall of Frame and the Negro Baseball Hall of Fame.

TNBA member Tom DeChalus was the first and only Black President of the ABC. When ABC, WIBC AND YABA merged into one organization, the USBC, he was not included as a leader nor office with USBC.

Sydney V. Celestine, in 1951, was a lending advocate with the committee that helped to remove the Caucasian only clause from the constitution of the ABC.

Eric DeFreitas, a 1981 inductee into the National Bowling Association Hall of Fame, was a member of the C.I.O. Committee for Fair Play in Bowling during the discrimination fight against the American Bowling Congress [ABC] and the Women's International Bowling Congress [WIBC] Caucasian only clauses. He was a co-organizer with Father Charles Caro of the C.Y.O. Eric DeFreitas, among other notable contributions to bowling, was the first Black man named to the AMF Staff of Champions (1959). He served as a coach of the New York City United States Youth Games Bowling Team for four years.

William (Bill) Rhodman, for whom TNBA Rhodman Tournaments are named, was a member of the first all Black Team - the Allen Supermarket Team (Detroit) -- to bowl in a National ABC Tournament.

Margaret B. Uncles was the first woman to roll a 300 game in TNBA.

Louis A. Ballad: 3rd NBA King worked underground to create bowling charity tournaments to help fund research designed to find a cure for sickle cell anemia at a time when racism in genetic research was only funding researched information attempting to find a cure for phenylketonuria. He was the director of the first Schaeffer Tournament that placed a Black professional bowler on the Professional Bowlers Tour. He was the first Director of the NBA's Rhodman Tournament.

August 20, 1939, founded in Detroit, Michigan at the Frogs Club, what has become known as the National Bowling Association, Inc. and is now often called TNBA, is the oldest continuous bowling organization in the United States of America that is comprised of men, women and children under the nomenclature of a single entity.

According to TNBA Founder, Mr. Leroy Brown, there were organized Black bowlers in Racine, Wisconsin before the formation of the Chicago Bowling Senate "and quite possible before Detroit."

David Payne, grandson of Mrs. Ruth L. Payne (Queen City Senate), was the Silver Medal Winner of the 110 Meter Hurdles in the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Chevaness Green, a graduate of Alabama A&M, was member of the NCAA Women's Bowling Team from Alabama A&M that lost in the championship round in 2007. Chevaness is a former Queen City Bowler. She is the nice of Queen City Senate NBA Member Tim Williams.

NOT SINCE 2006 HAS THE NCAA SELECT COMMITTEE INVITED ALABAMA A&M TO PARTICIPATE IN THE NCAA WOMEN'S BOWLING TEAM CHAMPIONSIP. "ALL THE TEAMS AREE SELECTED AT-LARGE." THUS, FOR THE THIRD STRAIGHT YEAR ALABAMA A&M HAS REMAINED "JUST OUTSIDE" THE CHAMPIONSHIP INVITATIONAL LIST. No Southwest Athletic Conference (SWAC) Team was selected this year.