BOWLING MUSEUM TO BE HONORED BY IBMA

Too often, the entities that catalog and perpetuate the history of an industry, company or sport are underappreciated — until they’re gone.

Over the years, the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame — which opened as the National Bowling Hall of Fame and Museum in 1984 — has operated under the watchful eyes of several curators, from Bruce Pluckhahn and Ed Marcou during its early years in St. Louis to Kari Smith at its present location at the International Bowling Campus in Arlington, Texas.

Throughout its history, it has served the sport’s premier historical archive and home to bowling’s major halls of fame. Through its extensive collection of artifacts, documents and interactive exhibits, the museum provides a vital link to the past, inspiring the bowling community and ensuring that the stories of bowling and bowling’s legends are recorded and shared for future generations.

For that role and all that goes into it, the museum has been selected as the 2025 recipient of the Alberta E. Crowe Meritorious Service Award, presented by the International Bowling Media Association.

Among many other things, the museum provides:

• Educational tours of the museum’s 18,000 square feet of exhibition space.

• Research assistance for budding and professional historians.

• Special exhibitions at the Arlington museum and a satellite museum at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, as well as the USBC Open Championships and Women’s Championships.

• An online resource called the Virtual Vault that shares images and information on hundreds of the museum’s bowling artifacts.

• An online print shop enabling people to purchase a variety of historical reproductions of items in the museum’s collection.

• A “Hometown Heroics” database displayed in Arlington and Reno, celebrating the exceptional accomplishments of local bowlers.

• A “Signature Series Pin Program” featuring autographed pins of select Hall of Famers that are designed and produced in limited batches for interested collectors.

The museum also presents two of its own awards annually. The Striking Contribution Award is given in recognition of an individual, institution or organization who has recently made a significant contribution to the hall of fame, while the Legacy of Excellence Award is given to an individual, institution or organization who has demonstrated a lifetime of dedication to the hall of fame.

Now, at long last, the (bowling) shoe will be on the other foot, and the museum will be on the receiving end of an important industry award. The presentation will take place on May 7 during the USBC Convention in Las Vegas.