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55-460: Brunswick Bowling & Billiards was the business segment of Brunswick Corporation that historically encompassed three divisions. Billiards , which was the company's original product line, expanded to include other table games such as table tennis , air hockey , and foosball . Brunswick began manufacturing Bowling equipment and products in the 1880s. The bowling equipment line was sold to BlueArc Capital Management in 2015, which continues to use

110-695: A business development company in Charlotte, North Carolina. On November 15, 2019, Brunswick acquired Ebonite International and all of its bowling product brands. The division's products for bowling centers include capital equipment, such as Sync, a scoring and management system, Spark, an immersive interactive bowling experience, automatic pinsetters , bowling pins , "house" bowling balls, ball returns, lane surfaces , and bowling center furniture, as well as aftermarket products such as pinsetter parts, lane conditioning machines, and conditioners and cleaners for lane machines. The company's current pinsetter model

165-564: A global leader in marine electronics and sensors for $ 1.05 billion, adding to Brunswick the industry leading Navico brands of Lowrance, Simrad, B&G, and C-MAP. American Bowling Congress The USBC is the national governing body for ten-pin bowling in the United States. It has approximately 3,000 local associations across the US serving over 2 million members. Among its duties and responsibilities to these members are: Historically,

220-509: A great deal of new business. The company's billiard products were popular in the United Service Organizations (USO) centers. More than 13,000 billiards tables were installed at military bases by 1945. In 1972 Brunswick Billiards began the design and manufacture air hockey tables. In 2008 the company introduced a line of game room furniture. Brunswick Billiards dabbled in retail at two times in its history. In 1947

275-534: A lane before a bowling ball was thrown at them. The company had toyed with the idea of an automatic pinsetter since 1911, when inventor Ernest Hedenskoog joined the company. Many of his patents provided the basis for the automatic pinsetter later introduced. It was not until the American Machine and Foundry Company (AMF) introduced the first fully automatic pinsetter in 1952 that Brunswick scrambled to get its own machine to market. In 1954 Brunswick formed

330-730: A period of rapid expansion, many privately owned centers found it difficult to pay the bills, and Brunswick took physical possession of 131 of these centers as payment for bowling equipment. In 1966, still suffering from the decline, Brunswick closed many European bowling centers. In 2007 the company opened its first Brunswick Zone XL centers, large, smoke-free facilities aimed at families, bowling leagues , parties, corporate meetings and group events, offering bowling, laser tag , bumper cars , video game arcades, Brunswick billiards tables, large screen TVs, and spacious meeting rooms. During 2013 Brunswick Bowling divested its seven remaining European bowling centers. In July 2014 as part of its exit from

385-447: A successful Chicago meatpacker . The popularity of billiards grew quickly, and by the late 1860s, the U.S. billiards market was dominated by Brunswick's firm and two others. In 1873 Brunswick merged with one of his competitors, Julius Balke's Cincinnati -based Great Western Billiard Manufactory, to form J.M. Brunswick & Balke Company. In 1884, the company merged with the other competitor, New York -based Phelan & Collender, to form

440-466: A tournament, and are awarded as a cash prize in the form of a scholarship with no GPA or formal scholarly work necessary to claim the money once in college. This in turn has caused the MHSAA to rule high school athletes "ineligible" due to "accepting cash, checks, or any other form of award over $ 25 in value." This rule is highly debated and has questionable means of enforcement. To receive such scholarships,

495-556: A wholly owned subsidiary of Esterline Technologies Corporation ). Brunswick then merged Navman, based in Auckland, New Zealand, with Northstar to make Northstar/Navman a supplier to the Brunswick Boat Groups. Brunswick also acquired Mx-Marine. When George Buckley, CEO at the time, left to join 3M in 2006, new leadership decided to sell Northstar, Navman and Mx-Marine. Navico now owns those three brands in addition to

550-550: Is in the GS Series, but many A Series models remain in active service. Similarly, many centers still use Brunswick AS-80, AS-90, 2000, Classic, Frameworx, Vector, and Vector Plus scoring systems . Brunswick lane surfaces include the Anvilane and Pro Lane brands. The division's consumer products include its bowling balls , as well as, through licensing arrangements, bowling shoes, bags and accessories. Products are marketed under

605-590: Is in the northern Chicago suburb of Mettawa, Illinois . Brunswick was founded by John Moses Brunswick who came to the United States from Switzerland at the age of 15. The J. M. Brunswick Manufacturing Company opened for business on September 15, 1845, in Cincinnati, Ohio . Originally J. M. Brunswick intended his company to be mainly in the business of making carriages , but soon after opening his machine shop, he became fascinated with billiards and decided that making billiard tables would be more lucrative, as

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660-593: The 2017 event for an unprecedented fourth Masters title. The most recent champion, crowned on April 2, 2023, is American Anthony Simonsen of Las Vegas, Nevada . The USBC Queens, one of four major tournaments on the Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA) Tour, is conducted by the USBC. The 2019 event was won by Ukrainian -born Dasha Kovalova, who bowled collegiately at Wichita State University . The USBC Intercollegiate Team Championships (ITC),

715-572: The Mercury Marine brand name . In 2001, Brunswick acquired Hatteras Yachts from Genmar Industries for approximately $ 80 million in cash. Brunswick sold its Hatteras/Cabo brand in 2013 to Versa Capital Management. In 2004, Brunswick acquired Lowe Boats . The same year, the company also purchased Northstar Technologies, a leading marine electronics provider based in Acton, Massachusetts, from Canadian Marconi Corporation (now CMC Electronics ,

770-456: The U.S. military . After the war, Brunswick introduced a line of school furniture . In 1949, the Brunswick "Model A" Mechanical Pinsetter fully automated unit premiered, for the purpose of handling bowling pins for ten-pin bowling , in competition with American Machine and Foundry (AMF). Previously, Brunswick had made two models of semi-automated, manually operated "spotting tables" for

825-537: The 1880s as taverns began to install bowling lanes . John Brunswick's son-in-law Moses Bensinger , who was then directing Brunswick's day-to-day operations, actively promoted bowling as a participatory sport and was instrumental in organizing the American Bowling Congress in 1895. In 1906 Bensinger opened a large manufacturing plant in Muskegon, Michigan . The plant became the cornerstone of

880-471: The 1970s, Brunswick introduced the automatic scorer , which electronically tallied the score instead of the bowler doing it by hand. The Brunswick Corporation patented a machine gun using a delayed blowback operation via a fluted chamber as part of the weapon's operation. Another platform was the Rifleman's Assault Weapon , an unusual grenade launcher that used a spherical rocket propelled grenade. In

935-674: The 1980s, Brunswick became a major maker of yachts and pleasure boats , under brands including Bayliner , Boston Whaler , Maxum , Sea Ray , and Trophy. During the Gulf War , Brunswick supplied the military with camouflage nets. They also made radomes for the Patriot missile . In 1997, Brunswick purchased the Roadmaster bicycle division, one of the last U.S. manufacturers of low-cost, mass-market bicycles. However, it became apparent that continued U.S. manufacture of such products

990-490: The 2007–08 season. In the 2009–10 season, USBC changed the name of its presenting sponsorship to BOWL.com, the organization's website, which was re-launched on August 3, 2009. USBC did not renew its sponsorship for the 2010–11 season. In 2007, USBC acquired the rights to the U.S. Women's Open from the Bowling Proprietors' Association of America (BPAA). The event, which had been on a three-year hiatus following

1045-822: The Bowlero or AMF names. Brunswick Corporation Brunswick Corporation , formerly known as the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company , is an American corporation that has been developing, manufacturing and marketing a wide variety of products since 1845. Brunswick has more than 13,000 employees operating in 24 countries. Brunswick owns major boating brands, including Sea Ray, Boston Whaler, Bayliner, Mercury Marine, Attwood, Lund, Crestliner, Mastervolt, MotorGuide, Harris Pontoons, Freedom Boat Club, Princecraft, Heyday, Lowe, Uttern, Quicksilver and CZone, among many others. In 2021, Brunswick reported sales of US$ 5.8 billion. Brunswick's global headquarters

1100-492: The Brunswick and DV8 brand names, and on November 15, 2019, it acquired Ebonite International and all of its bowling product brands. In August 2018, Brunswick Corporation acquired Power Products – Global Marine & Mobile business, which includes the global marine, specialty vehicle, mobile, industrial power, and transportation aftermarket products businesses of Power Products, for $ 910 million in cash from San Francisco-based private equity firm Genstar Capital. Also in 2018,

1155-412: The Brunswick bowling center division was the second largest operator of bowling centers in the United States, with 88 centers in the US and Canada. Brunswick centers offered bowling and, depending on size and location, in-house restaurants, taverns , outdoor patios, billiards, video and redemption games, laser tag , pro shops , and meeting and party rooms. In 1965, facing a decline in business after

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1210-506: The Brunswick name among other brands. Brunswick began to directly operate Bowling centers in the mid 1960s. In 2014, the bowling centers were sold to Bowlero Corporation , which phased out the Brunswick name by 2020. The billiard operations were placed in the fitness equipment division, which was spun-off into Life Fitness in 2019. In 2022, the Brunswick Billiards line was sold to Escalade Sports . The billiards division

1265-643: The Brunswick, DV8, Radical, Ebonite, Columbia 300 , Hammer , and Track brands. Products are manufactured or sourced mainly from facilities located in Michigan and Wisconsin in the United States, as well as in Hungary and Mexico . Bowling products are sold through a direct sales force or distributors in the United States and through distributors in non-U.S. markets. Before its acquisition by Bowlmor AMF (now known as Bowlero Corporation ) in October 2014,

1320-574: The Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company. (The company name was changed to Brunswick Corporation in 1960.) The company grew quickly and added new product lines to its business in the 1880s. Brunswick began selling functional and decorative wooden backs for bars. Prohibition prompted a drastic change in the products offered by the company. And while the Depression was a difficult period for Brunswick, World War II brought

1375-512: The Brunswick-Murray Pinsetter Corporation with Murray Corporation of America , a manufacturer of components for autos and aircraft. By the time Brunswick's “Model A” pinsetters were in full production in 1955, Brunswick had bought out Murray. Brunswick's policy of selling pinsetters on credit, suburban expansion, and an aggressive advertising campaign all combined to make bowling centers enormously popular in

1430-462: The Champions". The taped telecast was broadcast May 10 and 11 on CBS , marking the first time bowling had been broadcast on regular network television since June 26, 1999. The event featured eight male and eight female bowlers representing youth, college, senior, amateur and professional bowlers who had won recent USBC titles. It was won by Lynda Barnes . The event returned to CBS in 2009, when it

1485-508: The Eagle, Lowrance, B&G, and Simrad lines. Brunswick has established regional headquarters in Verviers , Belgium; Monterrey , Mexico; Dandenong , Australia; and Dubai , UAE, to better serve its customers by designing, engineering, manufacturing and distributing products based on local needs, using local talent. On July 17, 2014, Brunswick announced plans to leave the bowling business by

1540-637: The Fitness segment. The sale of the bowling center business to Bowlmor AMF (Bowlero) was completed in September 2014. Brunswick completed its exit from the bowling business in May 2015 with the sale of its bowling equipment and products division to BlueArc Capital Management, a private investment firm. BlueArc completed the acquisition with investments from Gladstone Investment Corporation, and Capitala Finance Corp. BlueArc continues to produce bowling balls under

1595-574: The Muskegon plant. In 1967 Brunswick introduced the automatic scorer . In 1984, Brunswick acquired the Schmid Company of Scherzenbach, Switzerland , and with it the rights to manufacture and sell its GS pinsetter. The GS is Brunswick's current pinsetter series. The mechanical portion of the pinsetter was originally manufactured in the Brunswick plant located in Stockach , Germany . In 1999

1650-519: The PBA holds each season, is conducted by the USBC as a part of the PBA Tour . The 2013, 2014 and 2015 events were all won by Australian Jason Belmonte , who became the only player in history to win this tournament in three consecutive years. Belmonte's streak was broken in 2016 by American 19-year-old Anthony Simonsen , who made history as the youngest-ever winner of a PBA major tournament. Belmonte won

1705-436: The United States". In 1874, the Brunswick company merged with competitor Great Western Billiard Manufactory owned by Julius Balke to become the J. M. Brunswick & Balke Company . It was incorporated in 1879 with a capital stock of $ 275,000, the same year it merged with another competitor, H. W. Collender Company of New York City (founded by Hugh W. Collender), to acquire Collender's patented billiard cushions. In 1884,

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1760-500: The United States, Freedom Boat Club . Also in 2019, Brunswick announced a new business structure, Advanced Systems Group (ASG) and named Brett Dibkey as President. ASG is composed of 11 Power Products brands combined with the Attwood Group of businesses including Attwood, Garelick, MotorGuide, and Whale – as well as NAUTIC-ON. On October 4, 2021, Brunswick Corporation announced that it has completed its acquisition of Navico,

1815-513: The better tables then in use in the United States were imported from England . Brunswick billiard tables were a commercial success, and the business expanded and opened the first of what would become many branch offices in Chicago, Illinois , in 1848. It was later renamed J. M. Brunswick & Brother by 1860, after a family member came on board, and the company's slogan at this time was: "The oldest and most extensive billiard table manufacturers in

1870-432: The board nominating committee. USBC rule changes occur at the national convention, and take effect for leagues starting after August 1 of each year. Rule changes are published in a new printed guide every two years. Updated rulebooks are available online at bowl.com . The SMART program (Scholarship Management and Accounting Report for Tenpins) was established in 1994 in order to manage and store bowling scholarships until

1925-676: The bowling business by the end of 2014, retaining its heritage billiards business as part of the fitness segment. In 2018, the company announced it would be spinning-off its fitness equipment business, including its Brunswick Billiards division, as Life Fitness Holdings in 2019. In May 2019, Brunswick announced its intention to sell Life Fitness Holdings to KPS Capital Partners . The sale was completed in June 2019. In 2022, Life Fitness agreed to sell its Brunswick Billiards business unit to Escalade Sports for $ 32 million. Brunswick began production of wooden lanes, bowling balls , and bowling pins in

1980-427: The bowling business, Brunswick announced that it had agreed to sell the bowling center business, which brought in $ 187 million in revenue in the prior year, to its much larger competitor Bowlmor AMF (now known as Bowlero Corporation ) for $ 270 million. The sale of the bowling center division to Bowlmor AMF was completed in September 2014. By January 2020, all remaining Brunswick Zone locations were rebranded with either

2035-416: The company announced it would be separating the fitness business as Life Fitness Holdings in 2019. In May 2019, Brunswick announced the sale of Brunswick Billiards , Life Fitness , Cybex , Hammer Strength, Indoor Cycling Group, and SCIFIT for $ 490 million to KPS Capital Partners . The sale was completed in June 2019. In May 2019, Brunswick announced it would be purchasing the largest marine franchisor in

2090-632: The company opened "Cue and Cushion" establishments, family-friendly billiards establishments that include a lounge and soda fountain . In 2003 the company opened its first “Home & Billiards Store” in the Chicago area, and went on to open one other store in Boston and two in Denver . All of these establishments were later closed, and the company returned to selling its products exclusively through dealers. Brunswick announced in July 2014 its intention to leave

2145-583: The disbanding of the PWBA in 2003, was telecast for five weeks on ESPN in September–October 2007. ESPN again held multi-week broadcasts of the event in 2008, while ESPN2 did the same in 2009. In 2010, USBC reverted to a more traditional format and a one-day stepladder-style TV finals, airing live on ESPN2. That event was held in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, with Kelly Kulick winning. Kulick became

2200-493: The early 20th century, Brunswick expanded the product line to include such diverse products as toilet seats, automobile tires , and phonographs . In the late 1910s, they introduced a quickly popular line of disc phonograph records , under the name Brunswick Records . In 1930, Brunswick sold the control of the record company to Warner Brothers and came out with a line of refrigerators . During World War II , Brunswick-Balke-Collender made small target-drone aircraft for

2255-599: The end of 2014. The company disclosed that it had agreed to sell its bowling center business , which brought in $ 187 million in revenue in the prior year, to competitor Bowlmor AMF (now known as Bowlero Corporation ) for $ 270 million. It also disclosed that it had retained Lazard to find a buyer for its bowling equipment and products business. The company said it was making these changes to focus on its “core” Marine and Fitness businesses, which provided 92% of company net revenues in 2013. It would retain its heritage billiards business and report billiards financial results as part of

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2310-509: The firm's manufacturing, producing such products as the revolutionary $ 20 Mineralite (hard rubber) bowling ball, and grew to over one million square feet by the 1940s. During World War II , United Service Organizations (USO) centers and military bases eagerly purchased bowling equipment, leading to more than 3,000 bowling lanes being installed at military bases by 1945. At the time, Brunswick manufactured “spotting tables” which were manually operated to place bowling pins in their proper places on

2365-676: The first bowler ever to win the USBC Queens and US Women's Open in the same year. USBC announced in May 2010 that it would not conduct the US Women's Open in 2011, as the BPAA had agreed to resume its association with the tournament. The TV finals took place June 30, 2011, at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, where Leanne Hulsenberg was crowned champion. In May 2008, USBC conducted a special made-for-TV event called "Bowling's Clash of

2420-545: The formation of the USBC, the national governing body for bowling was USA Bowling, which oversaw the participation of Team USA in international events. These four organizations merged to form USBC on January 1, 2005. The USBC Hall of Fame was formed in 2005 by the merger of the ABC Hall of Fame (established 1941) and WIBC Hall of Fame (established 1953). As of 2022, there are 446 Hall of Fame members in five categories: * Category introduced in 2011, with Jeff Richgels as

2475-653: The inaugural member. Recognizes those who have had noteworthy performances in one of the USBC national tournaments. The USBC Hall of Fame has its home at the International Bowling Museum on the International Bowling Campus in Arlington, Texas (along with the International Bowling Hall of Fame ). The induction ceremony is held annually in the spring. The USBC Masters, one of four major tournaments

2530-520: The late 1950s. By the mid-1960s, however, overexpansion led to a period of decline. Brunswick had begun assembling bowling equipment in Dublin in 1959, but it closed its Italian factory in 1966 and the Dublin facility in 1972. Then, in 1973, it entered into a manufacturing joint venture with Fuji Kikai-Hiroshima. In 2005 Brunswick moved its bowling ball production to Reynosa , Mexico , and in 2006 it closed

2585-564: The mechanical manufacturing was relocated to Hungary . Brunswick completed its exit from the bowling business in May 2015 with the sale of the bowling equipment and products division to BlueArc Capital Management, a private investment firm based in Atlanta, Georgia. BlueArc completed the acquisition with investments from Gladstone Investment Corporation, a publicly traded business development company in McLean, Virginia, and Capitala Finance Corp.,

2640-696: The membership of the ABC was all male (white males only in 1916–1950), but beginning in 1993 women were permitted to join. In 1916 the Women's International Bowling Congress (WIBC) was formed by a group of 40 women, and up until 2004 served as a partner organization of the ABC. The Young American Bowling Alliance (YABA) was established in 1982, after previously existing as the American Junior Bowling Congress founded in 1958, to serve youth bowlers from pre-school through collegiate level. Prior to

2695-594: The national championship of collegiate bowling, is conducted by USBC and has been televised on a tape-delay basis since 2002. For the first time, in 2012, USBC also televised the Intercollegiate Singles Championships as part of a four-week series on CBS Sports Network. Both events were televised in high definition for the first time in 2012. USBC was the presenting sponsor of the PBA Women's Series for three seasons, beginning with

2750-483: The partners formed the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company (or B.B.C. Company for short ) with capital of $ 1.5 million. The company expanded into making a number of other products. Large ornate neo-classical style bars for saloons were a popular product. Bowling balls, pins, and equipment led a growing line of sporting equipment. It popularized bowling balls of manufactured materials, vulcanized rubber at first; earlier bowling balls had been solid wood . In

2805-492: The tenpin sport, that the "Model A" unit replaced. The 1950s also saw the introduction of a line of golfing equipment to compete with AMF in the leisure-products and sporting-goods markets. The Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company officially changed its name to the Brunswick Corporation on April 10, 1960. The following year the company reported sales of $ 422 million. Brunswick acquired Mercury Marine in 1961. In

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2860-514: The youth bowler requests the use of the scholarships for college. The bowling scholarships can be from winning tournaments to filling out scholarship application forms. Recently the validity of the term "scholarship" for the SMART program has been questioned by the MHSAA (Michigan High School Athletic Association). The association questions where the education requirements are in earning the "scholarships". Most bowling scholarships earned are from winning

2915-602: Was established in 1845 and was Brunswick Corporation's original business. Brunswick Billiards designs and/or markets billiards table, table tennis tables, air hockey tables, and other gaming tables, as well as billiard balls, cues, game room furniture, and related accessories, under the Brunswick and Contender brands. Consumer billiards equipment is predominantly sold in the United States and distributed primarily through dealers. John Brunswick built his first billiards table in 1845 at his woodworking shop in Cincinnati, Ohio, for

2970-429: Was not viable in the presence of surging low-priced imports from overseas producers, primarily China . In 1999, Brunswick sold its Roadmaster bicycle division and brand to Pacific Cycle . As of the early 21st century, the Brunswick Corporation still manufactured sporting and fitness equipment ( Life Fitness , Hammer Strength, Parabody) in addition to boats ( Sea Ray , Bayliner , Maxum , etc.) and marine engines under

3025-512: Was won by Chris Barnes , Lynda's husband. In 2009, USBC began showing championship competition live free on its website, BOWL.com. In 2011, USBC moved this coverage to its YouTube channel, YouTube.com/BowlTV. BowlTV's coverage was primarily anchored by Lucas Wiseman before he left the organization in December 2015. In 2018 controversy emerged over Executive Director Chad Murphy for bullying employees and committee members and manipulating

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