Bowling Trivia Part 2

bowlingball.com, Originally Posted: 4/5/2014; Updated: 11/17/2022

In a new series of articles, we are going to provide Bowling Trivia Part 2 while adding some interesting background information you may not already know.
Here is some more bowling trivia relating to an embarrassing split any of us might leave for everyone around to see. This article content is provided courtesy of public access information from “Dr. Jake’s Bowling History” online site:
“Is there any other leave that will deflate confidence so quickly? Leaving the 5-7-10 is a major embarrassment. There, for everyone to see, is evidence of the weak delivery, the impotent shot.
Other leaves may tell a similar tale of defect and deflection–the 8-10, or the 2-4-5-7-8.
But somehow, the 5-7-10 is worse, and not just because it is so much more difficult to convert. Part of the reason might be that it is so symmetrical-looking, with one pin on each corner and one smack in the middle. Where did the ball go, anyway?
For members of the male gender, leaving the split can be considered downright unmacho.
There was a guy who reportedly one night in the 10th frame of the second game in league left the 5-7-10 split. He immediately hit the sweeper-button and took the seven-count for the frame.
Then he changed his shoes and left, without bothering to take his bowling ball. That was the last any of the league bowlers allegedly ever saw of him.
Nobody knows who first discovered the 5-7-10. Early bowlers did not bother to remember what they had to shoot at when they were forced to roll a second ball.
Nor did they mock each other for making a sissy shot. Great-grandpa had enough trouble knocking over any pins, without worrying about what a particular leave said about his skill.”
The 5-7-10 split is till an odd leave albeit the new bowling balls and easy lane conditions in most centers around the country make it a difficult leave compared to the days of rubber balls, non-void pins with no Surlyn coating and when relatively dead flat gutters were prevalent in bowling centers everywhere.

It is fun to tease our fellow bowlers if something unusual happens during competition. Any bowler is vulnerable to doing something on the lanes which provokes some teasing or ridicule.
Leaving the “Lily” split (the 5-7-10) is certainly among those unusual occurrences which will prompt immediate reactions from fellow bowlers.
Please keep your eye out for our next article with bowling trivia. Feel free to place your comments in our community blogs if you have left this split or have seen anyone who has?
This is, of course, meant in good fun and not to cause anyone any discomfort or embarrassment. It is, however, important to have a laugh at ourselves from time to time.