SPORTS
What I Did on My Summer Vacation FIRST STOP: Detroit Athletic Club The Detroit Athletic Club (DAC) sits in centerfield, roughly 250 meters from home plate at Comerica Park. A Glencoe affiliated club (see page 17), it’s the crown jewel of Detroit’s private clubs. All this finery aside, we’re here to descend the stairs to see the eight-lane Bowling Abbey.
Some lucky sailor must have had four strikes in a row.
I John Pearson Bowling Director 403-287-4145 jpearson@glencoe.org
hope all of you had a nice summer and are ready to get back into the swing of things here at the Club! My summer in Michigan was enjoyable. It’s always good to visit family. I’ve told many of you it’s nice to get out on the water, too, and that’s probably what I miss most about being in Calgary. There’s a third reason, though, that I enjoy going back to Detroit: Bowling!
While the quality of the equipment is world-class, looking around at the furnishings makes it clear that you’re here to bowl, and bowl they do. Of the approximately 3,500 members, more than 1,000 play in the leagues at the DAC! A few years ago, I was fortunate to run into then-Club President, Tom Fabbri, who said, “it’s a culture thing.” New members feel they have to bowl to truly be a member at the Club. On the side wall of the Abbey is a mural of old-time bowling lanes. Bowling Manager, Tom Reaume, explains that it’s a painting of the alleys at the original building and that bowling has been a part of the DAC since its founding in 1887. As a reference, the national governing body for bowling in the US, the United States Bowling Congress, was not founded until 1895. The DAC is a special place and it’s always my first bowling stop when I return home.
Busman’s holiday? Glutton for punishment? Just plain crazy? None of the above. As Vincent Vega said (about Europe) in Pulp Fiction, “…it’s the little differences.” Indeed, the little differences in Detroit add up to give it a bowling culture, making the sport part of the fabric of society. It’s truly the Bowling Capital of the World! While I don’t miss much time on the water, there are always several stops I make when I’m back home. Consider this a travelogue unlike any Yelp or Expedia review you’ve seen. Keep in mind (for reference) that Greater Detroit has a population roughly three times the size of Calgary (4.2 Million). In Calgary, we have three bowling centres and 70 ten-pin lanes (there is no five-pin in the US). Detroit boasts eighty centres, with 2,130 lanes. There are roughly 300 league bowlers in Calgary, while in Detroit, there are over 75,000. One place we are even with Detroit is bowling lanes at private clubs. The Glencoe and Calgary Winter Club have twenty lanes, as do the three private clubs with bowling in Detroit (Country Club of Detroit, Detroit Athletic Club & Grosse Pointe Yacht Club). 40 glencoe.org
The view from the Stadium Club restaurant at Detroit Athletic Club.
SECOND STOP: Garden Bowl, Detroit The holy grail of bowling centres, Garden Bowl is the longest continually operating bowling center in the world. It opened in 1913. While there are older lanes in bars and private residences, this is the oldest bowling center. When entering Garden Bowl, there’s no doubt this place has seen its day. Noted more for recreational bowling and a high hipster quotient, Garden Bowl staff are the creators of “RockN-Bowl,” with a resident DJ to keep the beat going through the night. They’ve recently installed new lanes that cover the more
