GHBS Greater Houston Bowling Senate GHBS

Our National Office was located at 1806 Madison Avenue, Suite 407-08 Toledo,
Ohio 43624. The telephone number was (419) 242-3612
Former President: Wynston Brown, Cleveland, Ohio served from 1939-1941
DeHart Hubbard, Cleveland, Ohio served from 1956-1958
NNBA = National Negro Bowling Association
NNBA = Negro National Bowling Association
Sunday August 31, 1939 (even though August 31, 1939 was on a Thursday) was
said to be the date of the founding of TNBA
Sunday August 20, 1939 was the official date of the formal founding and the
first Annual Convention of TNBA. "A minority view holds that the first convention
was not until 1941."
The May 5-6, 1939 bowling tournament and organizational meeting in Cleveland,
Ohio is where the decision was made to establish the national organization that
was founded in Detroit, Michigan in August of that year.
Former National President, DeHart Hubbard, is the same person, from Cincinnati
    (before he moved to Cleveland), that was a United States Olympian in 1924. He
    was the first Black U.S. Olympian to win a gold medal. He won his championship
    in an Olympics attended by athletes from 42 countries.
The NBA National Tournament was held in May but the Annual Convention was in
July.
We could only say "at colored hotels and Convention was held only in a colored
YMCA."
J. Elmer Reed, the first Black person inducted into the ABC Hall of Fame, had two
    rules for bowling in the United Recreation Center in Cleveland - (1) NBA
    membership and (2) NAACP membership. United Rec was known as the house J.
    Elmer built. It opened September 2, 1941
William Pierson and Rodger Price were entrepreneurs who observed the conditions
    African Americans were bowling under. They financed and built the United
    Recreation Center. The center was the first Black owned bowling establishment in
    Cleveland.
NBA DEVELOPMENT went from an idea to the creation of a foundation for the
    specific purpose of accumulating funds with which to acquire a NBA Headquarters
    Building and to employ necessary personnel and to ensure a sound financial basic
    for our bowling organization.
NBA HUNMANITIES included the NBA's substantial contributions yearly to the
    United Negro College Fund and The New March of Dimes. The NBA held match
    game tournaments and competition among Top Stars with National Recognition as
    fundraising activities for NBA HUMANITIES.
TNBA has a life membership in the National Association for the Advancement of
    Colored People [NAACP] "to further strengthen its protection of the rights and
    welfare of its (TNBA) members." It was the NBA position in matters of Civil
    Rights Protection to deplore and combat "any known cases of segregation
    or discrimination against it members."
An 11 page booklet, "The Story of TNBA" was distributed during the administration
of President, George E. Hambrick; Vice President, Levan Gordon; and Secretary-
Treasurer, Helyn L. Cooper.
Fuller B. Gordy, son of Berry Gordy, Sr. was the first Black Michigan Bowler
awarded membership in the PBA as a professional bowler.
"The Berry Gordy Constructors" was one of the first teams sponsored in Negro
    League Bowling. The team consisted of Berry Gordy, Sr. and his four sons. Berry
    Gordy, Sr. and his wife Bertha are the parents of Motown Record Corporation
    (Berry Gordy, Jr.) . Mr. and Mrs. Gordy, Sr. were special guest during NBA Week
    1967 in Detroit
In 1967 James D. Alston (former TNBA National Director of Tournaments) was
President of the Buffalo Senate.
There used to be three National Vice President Positions in the NBA. In 1967 Don
Parnell was 3rd Vice President, Anna Calderado was 2nd Vice President and
Owen O. Washington was Vice President.
in the NBA Juniors did not pay for membership with the NBA.
The Grand Rapids Senate Constitution required its local adult senate to pay the
Central Regional Junior Tournament (CRJT) Entry Fee for each local NBA Junior
participating in the CRJT.
The NBA Official Program and Yearbook cost 50 cents
Black folks were also owners of Black sport teams outside of the Negro Baseball
Leagues, including ownership of the Harlem Rens Basketball Team (which existed
before the Harlem Globetrotters as Abe Saperstein).
Sea Ferguson battled to overcome numerous obstacles to Black ownership of a
    bowler center. In March 1942 a new bowling center was dedicated. It was Fun
    Bowl, in Indianapolis, Indiana. Ferguson was "the 3rd" Black person to build a new
    bowling establishment."
Lois A. Wilson was NBA Chairperson of NBA's Ways & Means Committee.
"Planning to come to Cleveland... ...Live at Cleveland's finest THE MAJESTIC
HOTEL --- M.A. CHEEKS, Manager"
Dr. Margaret T. Burroughs has the NBA Chicago Teachers League named in
    her honor. Dr. Burroughs, in 1939, was one of the founders of the Chicago
    Southside Community Art Center, the first institution of its kind in the
    USA. She is the founding director of the first African American History and
    Cultural Museum in the USA [DuSable]. It is currently located at 740 E. 56th
    Place in Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Burroughs way "we have got to maintain our
    own institutions."
In 1980 Joan McDuffie was the first woman elected as National President of TNBA.
In 1951 Bill Rhodman and his son Robert became the first African American Team
to bowl in a ABC sponsored Father and Son Tournament.
The Allen Supermarket Team that was the first all Black team was the team
to bowl in an ABC Tournament was the team of Len Griffin, Maurice Kilgore,
William Rhodman, C.W. Williams and George Williams.
Lafayette Allen, Jr. was an NBA Bowler and the Bowling Editor for the Michigan
    Chronicle Newspaper. Later he became a columnist for Detroit's Bowling Digest.
    He fought all of his life for equality in bowling. He sponsored many
    individuals, hundreds of teams and even leagues.
NTBL is the National Traveling Bowling League. It began in 1945 in Cleveland, Ohio.
John Ross was the originator of the NTBL Yearbook. NTBL's logo was a John Ross
creation.
Alonzo (Al) Paytes, a former Chicago Bowling a Senate (CBS) President, former
    National TNBA President, served on the NBA Development Foundation Board
    (including being a former chairman of the board), was also a past president of
    NTBL. He said he was most proud of the fact that the NBA National Conventions
    (in 1976 and in 1977) were held in Atlanta, GA and Detroit, MI, respectively. It
    was 1976 that Atlanta had its first African American Mayor (the Honorable,
    Maryland Jackson). It was 1977 that Detroit had its first African American Mayor
    (the honorable, Colman Young). For Jackson and Young, each serving his first
     term as mayor and Paytes was serving his term as President of the NBA.
A TNBA BROTHER AND SISTER COMBINATION WHO ATTAINED A HIGLY
    RECOGNIZED STATURE IN THEIR DISPLAY OF LOVE FOR TNBA AS AN
    INDEPENDENTLY AUTONOMOUS GOVERNING BODY: Alonzo Paytes - NBA
    National President 1975 - 1977
Joan McDuffie - NBA National President 1980 - 1994
Historically, the three B's have been a battleground for ownership and control of
    economics in the Black Community, a sentiment repeatedly stated by NNBA
    Founder, Mr. Leroy Brown. The three B's were: baseball, basketball and bowling.
    The Chicago White Sox baseball great Minnie Minoso live with Mr. Brown in
    Chicago at 52nd and Michigan and later at 8018 S. Indiana. Mr. Brown said many
    of the bowling establishments purported to be Black owned "fronts with
    owners." 'Triangle Bowl in Chicago was one establishment that was
    actually owned by a Black Man, Doctor, Ernie Singleton."
Leroy Brown's advice about promotion: "... got to have an organization to
promote; a foundation, not just certain people one place; promote
bowling everywhere, not just localized; and not one city at a time.