In last week's column I wrote about my mother's bowling exploits in the 1940s. Though she bowled in a tenpin league, others at the season ending banquet bowled using duckpins. My curiosity aroused, I decided to seek more information on this decidedly different form of bowling.

Among the differences I found was the fact that duckpin bowling is not a thing of the past. In fact, the sport is going strong and has a national organization as well as a professional league. It is popular in the eastern part of the United States. The game also is played in Argentina and the Philippines. There is an obvious connection there if you consider All right, I've got nothing.

The sport of duckpins involves using pins that are roughly two-thirds the size of regular bowling pins. The ball, which is slightly bigger than a softball, weighs between 2-4 pounds. Scoring is different and the game is considered more difficult than tenpin bowling.

The game can be traced to Diamond Alleys in Baltimore. The lanes were owned by two members of the Baltimore Orioles baseball club, Uncle Wilbert Robinson and John McGraw. Yes, the same John McGraw who managed the New York Giants in the early 1900s.

During the summer patrons of Diamond Alleys played some odd bowling games using a six-inch ball. One was called cocked hat and used just the 1, 7 and 10 pins. Another game was called five back and utilized the 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10 pins. As these games were taking place someone wondered if it would be possible to use smaller pins to match the smaller ball. A local woodturner cut down some old tenpins and a new sport was born.

Duck hunting was a hobby for Robinson and McGraw. When they saw the smaller pins scatter during a game, they remarked that the pins flew like a "flock of flying ducks." A sportswriter told the story of the new game and used the term duckpins. The name stuck.

The biggest difference between duckpins and tenpins is the scoring. In duckpins the bowler gets three shots per frame instead of two. If you knock down all 10 pins with the first ball it is considered a strike and worth 10 plus the count on your next two shots. Take two shots to get all the pins down and you get a spare, which also counts 10 plus the count on your next shot. If you get all 10 down in three shots it is worth 10, but otherwise it is like an open frame in tenpin bowling.

Since the pins are spotted just like tenpins and the ball is smaller, the game is definitely more difficult than the more common form. Any score over 100 is considered good and top averages run from 140-150. Need further proof of the sport's difficulty? How about the fact that a perfect game has never been bowled.

It's true. The highest score in duckpins ever recorded was a 279 by Pete Signore Jr. of Newington, Conn., in 1992. The highest series is 655 thrown by Jeff Pyles of Wheaton, Md., in 1978. Pyles also owns the highest average for a season as he bowled at a 164.47 pace in 1982-83.

I viewed the official site of the National Duckpin Bowling Congress and found the national tournament was held this year in Shenandoah, Va. The game is indeed alive and doing well.

One other item caught my attention on the Web site. It showed a picture of a former big name athlete from Baltimore getting ready to bowl. Duckpins attracted none other than Babe Ruth.

The Tri-County high school bowling leagues are underway. High two-game series for the girls - Samantha Wiley 392, Jessica Wiley 365, Danielle Estep 329 and Danielle Coleman 308. Boys scores included Tyler Hersey 432, Travis Hersch 420, Alex Cornell 392, Alex Conger 353 and Tony Klepper 347.

Imperial-Majorette League action found Scott Kirian shooting 616, Harry Smith 609, Steve Steinmetz Jr. 591, Deb Nominee 542, Linda Brookes 498 and Martha Heyman 479. In the Twilight League, Dave Ryder shot 707, T.J. Morrow 680, Kevin Young 624, Tom Tiell 619, Jim Slosser 610, Teresa Slosser 485, Jamie Davis 455 and Donna Slosser 434. In the Rocket League, John Klingshirn had 644, Mark Phillips 629, Gary Golden 626, Dave Depinet 606 and Jack Kramer 591.

Gary Golden fired a hefty 745 to pace the Sunday Night Rock N Roll League. Mick Thallman was right behind with 738 as was Tim Bollenbacher at 724. Ray Lamley shot 609, Chris Rhodes 608, Tim Sturgill 607 and Beth Jones 591. In the Sportsman League Ron Yentzer shot 688, Ben Hoyda 678, Chris Johnson 616, Andy Anderson 616, Ken Butturff Jr. 614, Mike Baird 609, Phil Neikirk 606, Paul Gosche 603, Mike Ditslear 601 and Mike Kimmet 601.

In the Senior League at the K of C Lanes, Herb Sendelbach shot 576, Mike Reser 567, Doug Snyder 525, George Houck 511, John Englehart 505, Andy Ritzler 503 and John Arend 501. Marilyn Gangluff had 463, Deb Hoerig 441, Julie Fortner 436 and Theresa Carp 432 in the Lady Knights League.

Al Stephenson is The A-T bowling columnist.

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