{{Short description|Scoring system for ten-pin bowling}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2023}} {{good article}} [[File:Automatic Scorer1.jpg|thumb|upright=1.105|Pair of automatic scorers on desk in front of lane pair]] [[File:Ato 2005-11-18-score1.jpg|thumb|upright=1.105|Detail of automatic scorer from an overhead display]]
An '''automatic scorer''' is the computerized scoring system to keep track of [[Ten-pin bowling#Traditional scoring|scoring in ten-pin bowling]]. It was introduced en masse in [[bowling alley]]s in the 1970s and combined with mechanical [[pinsetter]]s to detect overturned pins.
By eliminating the need for manual score-keeping, these systems have introduced new bowlers into the game who otherwise would not participate because they had to count the score themselves, as many do not understand the mathematical formula involved in bowler scoring. At first, people were skeptical about whether a computer could keep an accurate score. In the twenty-first century, automatic scorers are used in most bowling centers around the world. The three manufacturers of these specialty computers have been [[Brunswick Bowling & Billiards|Brunswick Bowling]], [[AMF Bowling]] (later [[QubicaAMF]]), and [[RCA Corporation|RCA]].
== History == [[File:Scorer computer 1972.jpg|thumb|upright=0.705|Inside 1970s computer console apparatus]] Automatic equipment is considered a cornerstone of the modern bowling center. The traditional bowling center of the early 20th century was advanced in automation when the [[pinsetter]] person ("pin boy"), who set back up by hand the bowled down pins,<ref name=PinsetterDetection/> was replaced by a machine that automatically replaced the pins in their proper play positions. This machine came out in the 1950s.<ref name="Pinsetter">{{cite news |date=November 9, 1967 |title=Bowling Scoring Now Automatic |page=31 |newspaper=[[Herald & Review]] | agency=[[The New York Times]] |location=Decatur, Illinois |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118325422/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]] {{open access}}}}</ref> A detection system was developed from the pinsetter mechanism in the 1960s that could tell which pins had been knocked down, and that information could be transferred to a digital computer.<ref name="PinsetterDetection">{{cite news |last=Corona |first=Al |date=November 11, 1967 |title=Electronic Scorer Ready |page=31 |work=[[The San Francisco Examiner]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55273335/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]] {{open access}}}}</ref><ref name="DownTheAlley">{{cite news |author=Craker |first=Gil |date=November 16, 1967 |title=Opinion Divided on Automatic Scorer |page=19 |work=[[Herald & Review]] |location=Decatur, Illinois |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55273814/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]] {{open access}}}}</ref>
Automatic electronic scoring was first conceived by Robert Reynolds, who was described by a newspaper story at the time as "a West Coast electronics calculator expert."<ref name="RobertReynolds">{{cite news |date=November 9, 1967 |title=Brunswick Markets Automatic Scorer |page=42 |work=[[Democrat and Chronicle]] |location=Rochester, New York |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55210290/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]] {{open access}}}}</ref> He worked with the technical staff of [[Brunswick Bowling & Billiards|Brunswick Bowling]] to develop it.<ref name=RobertReynolds/> The goal was realized in the late 1960s when a specialized computer was designed for the purpose of automatic scorekeeping for bowling.<ref name="FWST11_9_1967">{{cite news |date=November 9, 1967 |title=Company Notes |page=27 |work=[[Fort Worth Star-Telegram]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/59167755/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]] {{open access}}}}</ref> The field test for the automatic scorer took place at Village Lanes bowling center, Chicago in 1967.<ref name="ScoringMachine">{{cite news |author=Pezzano |first=Chuck |date=November 10, 1967 |title=Scoring Machine Wins Approval of Reporter |page=56 |work=[[The Record (North Jersey)|The Record]] |location=Hackensack, New Jersey |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55746317/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]] {{open access}}}}</ref><ref name="VillageLanes">{{cite news |author=Craker |first=Gil |date=November 16, 1967 |title=Unit Now Being Field Tested |page=19 |work=[[Herald & Review]] |location=Decatur, Illinois |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55203954/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]] {{open access}}}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Spears |first=Larry D. |date=June 11, 1970 |title=New Bowling Aid: Automatic Scorer |page=18 |newspaper=[[Waterloo Daily Courier]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119988651/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]] {{open access}}}}</ref> The scoring machine received approval for official use by the [[American Bowling Congress]] in August of that year.<ref name="ABC_approved">{{cite news |author=Rogers |first=Thomas |date=November 9, 1967 |title=Bowling eyes big $ score |page=43 |work=[[The News Journal|The Morning News]] |location=Wilmington, Delaware |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55211166/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]] {{open access}}}}</ref> They were first used in [[United States Bowling Congress|national official league gaming]] on October 10, 1967.<ref name=Anzovin>{{cite book|author2-first=Steven | author2-last=Anzovin | author1-first=Joseph Nathan | author1-last=Kane |author3-first=Janet | author3-last=Podell |edition=5th, revised |title=Famous First Facts |isbn=0824209303 | url= https://archive.org/details/famousfirstfacts00kane_0 |url-access=registration|date=1997|page=547|location=New York|publisher=The [[H. W. Wilson Company]] }} Item 7230.</ref> In November, Brunswick announced that they were accepting orders for the new digital computer, which cost around $3,000 per bowling lane.<ref name="Cost$3000Lane">{{cite news |date=November 13, 1967 |title=Automatic scorer comes for bowlers / At almost $3,000 per lane |page=10 |work=[[The Southern Illinoisan]] |location=Carbondale, Illinois |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55212314/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]] {{open access}}}}</ref> Bowling centers that installed these new automatic scoring devices in the 1970s charged a ten cents extra per line of scoring for the convenience.<ref name="CostDime">{{cite news |date=November 9, 1967 |title=Bowling gets Auto-Scorer |page=29 |work=[[Wisconsin State Journal]] |location=Madison, Wisconsin |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55213545/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]] {{open access}}}}</ref>
== Description == [[File:PC logic board -1.jpg|thumb|upright=1.105|1970s circuit board schematic diagram showing electronic input system for tally]]
Each Automatic Scorer computer unit kept score for four lanes. It had two bowler identification panels serving two lanes each.<ref name=Pinsetter/> The bowler pushed it into his named position when his turn came up so the computer knew who was bowling and score accordingly. After the bowler rolled the bowling ball down the lane and knocked down pins, the pinsetter detected which pins were down and relayed this information back to the computer for scoring. The result was then printed on a scoresheet and projected overhead onto a large screen for all to see.<ref name="ScoringMethods">{{cite news |author=Harfst |first=Dave |date=November 9, 1967 |title=New Bowling Service: Computerized Scoring |page=53 |work=[[Lansing State Journal]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118325595/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]] {{open access}}}}</ref>
The Automatic Scorer digital computer was mathematically accurate, however the detection system at the pinsetter mechanism sometimes reported the wrong number of pins knocked down.<!-- don't have precise cite for this, although it's the obvious likely point of failure --> The computer could be corrected manually for any errors in the system;<ref name=IPT2_27_1972/> similarly, human errors, such as neglecting to move the bowler identification mechanism, could be corrected for by manual action.<ref name=TT6_18_1977/> The scorer could take into account bowlers' handicaps and could adjust for late-arriving bowlers.<ref name=DownTheAlley/> The automatic scorer is directly connected to the foul detection unit.<!-- don't have precise cite for this, although it's the obvious way it would be implemented --> As a result, foul line violations are automatically scored.<ref name=DownTheAlley/>
Brunswick had put ten years of research and development into the Automatic Scorer, and by 1972 there were over 500 of these computers installed in bowling centers around the world.<ref name="IPT2_27_1972">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=February 27, 1972 |title=Bowling enters the electronic age |page=125 |work=[[Press-Telegram]] |location=Long Beach, California |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/59165201/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]] {{open access}}}}</ref> [[AMF Bowling]], competitor to Brunswick, entered into the automatic scorer computer field during the 1970s and their systems were installed into their brand of bowling centers.<ref name=D&C12_12_1982/><ref name="NJ4_14_1978">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=April 14, 1978 |title=AMF computer systems technician |page=32 |work=[[Mansfield News Journal]] |location=Mansfield, Ohio |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/59296406/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]] {{open access}}}}</ref> By 1974, RCA was also making these computers for automatic scoring.<ref name="WSJ9_1_1974">{{cite news |author=Dommershausen |first=Joe |date=September 1, 1974 |title=City and area bowlers start rolling this week |page=26 |work=[[Wisconsin State Journal]] |location=Madison, Wisconsin |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/59326070/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]] {{open access}}}}</ref><ref name="DN11_2_1975">{{cite news |author=Kramer |first=Carol |date=November 2, 1975 |title=Super bowling in New York |pages=381, 388 |work=[[New York Daily News]] |location=New York |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/59325908/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]] {{open access}}}}</ref><ref name="BCE4_5_1974">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=April 5, 1974 |title=M-66 Bowl |page=18 |work=[[Battle Creek Enquirer]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/59326180/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]] {{open access}}}}</ref>
== Reception and further developments == The purposes of the computerized scoring were to avoid errors by human scorers and to prevent cheating.<ref name="D&C12_12_1982">{{cite news |author=Craig |first=Lissa |date=December 12, 1982 |title=No more pencils for keeping score, computer does it |page=103 |work=[[Democrat and Chronicle]] |location=Rochester, New York |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/59265571/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]] {{open access}}}}</ref> It had the side benefit of speeding up the progress of the game and introducing new bowlers to the game. Score-keeping for bowling is based on a formula that many new to bowling were not familiar with and thought difficult to learn.<ref name="TLC8_7_1977">{{cite news |author=Schilling |first=Don |date=August 7, 1977 |title=Bowling |page=19 |work=[[The Leaf-Chronicle]] |location=Clarksville, Tennessee |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/59266580/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]] {{open access}}}}</ref> These casual bowlers unfamiliar with the formula thought the scores given by the computers were confusing.<ref name="ConfusedBowling">{{cite web |author=Goodger |first=Jef |date=November 4, 2019 |title=Bowling Scoring |url=https://www.liveabout.com/bowling-scoring-420895 |access-date=October 13, 2020 |publisher=LiveAbout}}</ref><ref name=ScoreBowling>{{cite web |url=https://www.thebowlinguniverse.com/blogs/guides-and-tips/how-to-keep-score-in-bowling|author= |title=How to Score Bowling |access-date=October 13, 2020|publisher=The Bowling Universe|date=February 12, 2017|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924103119/https://www.thebowlinguniverse.com/blogs/guides-and-tips/how-to-keep-score-in-bowling|archive-date=September 24, 2020}}</ref> Some bowlers were not comfortable with automatic scorers when they were introduced in the 1970s, so kept score using the traditional method on paper score sheets.<ref name="TKCS3_7_1970">{{cite news |author=Boardman |first=Sid |date=March 7, 1970 |title=Scoring has Automatic Twist |page=7 |work=[[The Kansas City Star]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60378453/ |quote=Scoring sounds simple to those that know how. |via=[[Newspapers.com]] {{open access}}}}</ref>
The introduction of this device increased the popularity of the sport.<ref name="TT6_18_1977">{{cite news |last=Davenport |first=Terry |date=June 18, 1977 |title=New Scoring Machines right up their alley |page=13 |work=[[San Mateo County Times|San Mateo Times]] |location=San Mateo, California |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60383347/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]] {{open access}}}}</ref> Automatic scorers came to be considered a normal part of modern bowling installations worldwide, with owners and managers saying that bowlers expect such equipment to be present in bowling establishments and that business increased following their introduction.<ref name="HighTech_Bowling">{{cite web |author=Bass |first=Sharon L. |date=August 21, 1988 |title=Some Alleys Can Now Do Everything but Bowl |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/08/21/nyregion/some-alleys-can-now-do-everything-but-bowl.html |access-date=October 11, 2020 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> Brunswick introduced a color television style automatic scorer in 1983.<ref name="TRIA7_9_1988">{{cite news |last=Muskegon |first=Mich |date=July 9, 1988 |title=Please don't mention 'alleys' at Brunswick |page=25 |work=[[The Rock Island Argus]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60897202/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]] {{open access}}}}</ref> Bowling center owners could use these style automatic scorers for advertising, management, videos, and live television.<ref name="TJN7_9_1988">{{cite news |last=Sayre |first=Alan |date=July 9, 1988 |title=Brunswick |page=11 |work=[[The Journal News]] |location=White Plains, New York |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/61086516/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]] {{open access}}}}</ref><ref name=Qubica>{{cite web |url= https://www.qubicaamf.com/brochure/qubicaamf-bowling-scoring-entertainment-management-system-brochure|title= QubicaAMF /Scoring, Entertainment and Central Management System |access-date=October 14, 2020|publisher=AMF|date=2020 }}</ref>
By the 2010s, these types of [[electronic visual display]]s could show [[Avatar (computing)|bowler avatars]] and [[social media]] connections to publicize the bowlers' scores.<ref name="Pulsating">{{cite web |date=July 20, 2018 |title=Pulsating / Bowling center installs new scoring system |url=http://www.therepublic.com/2018/07/21/pulsating__bowling_center_installs_new_scoring_system/ |access-date=October 11, 2020 |newspaper=[[The Republic (Columbus, Indiana)|The Republic]] |location=Columbus, Indiana}}</ref> Some are capable of being extended entertainment systems of games for children and adults.<ref name="EntertainSys">{{cite web |author=Kleinknecht |first=Brian |date=2020 |title=Sunn Valley Lanes Installs QubicaAMF's BES-X Entertainment System |work=Sun Valley Lanes and Games |url=https://sunvalleylanes.com/sun-valley-lanes-installs-qubicaamfs-bes-x-entertainment-system/ |access-date=October 14, 2020 |archive-date=October 16, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201016003828/https://sunvalleylanes.com/sun-valley-lanes-installs-qubicaamfs-bes-x-entertainment-system/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Some scoring systems support variations on traditional bowling, such as different kinds of bingo games where certain pins have to be knocked down at certain times or practice regimes where certain [[Spare (bowling)|spares]] have to be accomplished.<ref>{{cite book |author=Wiedman |first=Doug |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=evF6DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA236 |title=Bowling: Steps to Success |date=2015 |publisher=Human Kinetics |edition=2nd |location=Champaign, Illinois |pages=199–200, 234–236|isbn=9781492585534 }}</ref>
<!--TODO needs secondary sources indicating these techniques are actually in widespread use The automatic scoring bowling computers of the 21st century detect electronically if a [[bowling pin]] has been knocked down. This is done with fluorescent coatings on the outer surface of the wooden pins. This is an [[ionomer]] cladding material put on a preselected area of the bowling pin, usually in the neck portion. It consists of a particular type of coating that emits a high level of light when hit with ultraviolet light. Another coating is put on the pin that emits a moon-glow and thereby amplifies the first coating's light by the contrast. This then makes it detectable by an electronic sensor if the pin is still standing. That detected pin or knocked down pin is a signal sent back to the automatic scorer computer for the tally and keeps score for the bowler.<ref name=Justia_PinStyle>{{cite web |url= https://patents.justia.com/search?q=bowling+pin+ |title=Fluorescent bowling pins |access-date=October 11, 2020|publisher=Justia|date=2020|quote= A bowling pin for use with an automatic scorer includes a wood core and an ionomer cladding having an outer surface which surrounds the standing portion of the pin. }}</ref><ref name=FBP>{{cite web |url= https://www.freepatentsonline.com/5649869.html |title=Fluorescent bowling pins |access-date=October 15, 2020|publisher=FreePatentsOnline.com|date=October 15, 2020 }}</ref> -->By this point, [[QubicaAMF Worldwide]], an outgrowth of AMF, was one of the leading providers of bowling scoring equipment.<ref name="cmd-quibca">{{cite news |date=August 31, 2017 |title=New state-of-the-art bowling scoring system installed at Stars & Strikes Bowling Center |page=7B |newspaper=Command Post |publisher=[[Scott Air Force Base]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119562917/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]] {{open access}}}}</ref>
==Footnotes== {{reflist}}
[[Category:Ten-pin bowling]] [[Category:Sports equipment]] [[Category:Automation]] [[Category:20th-century inventions]] [[Category:American inventions]]