William V. Thompson
| William V. Thompson | |
|---|---|
Thompson in 1909
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| Born |
April 25, 1865 Princeton, Illinois |
| Died | September 30, 1938 (aged 73) |
| Nationality | American |
| Years active | 1891–1921 |
| Known for | Champion tenpin bowler |
| Notable work | Rules for tenpin bowling |
| Spouse(s) | Margaret M. Thompson |
| Children | 2 |
William V. Thompson (April 25, 1865 – September 30, 1938) was an American professional and champion tenpin bowler. He was the proprietor of Plaza Bowling Alley in the Chicago Plaza Hotel, the first official regulation ten-pin bowling alley. He formed a bowling club from champion bowlers and challenged other organizations across the nation. Thompson was influential in forming of the ultimate sanctioned regulations rules of the game and an advocate of the original American Bowling Congress. He was general manager of the department at Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company that made the bowling equipment for the alleys.
Thompson was born in Princeton, Illinois on April 4, 1865. While in his teens he was part of the high school sprinters. Thompson was on the Princeton Tigers football team in his early twenties. His first career job was as a railroad man in his early twenties. Around 1911 he picked up an interest in ten-pin bowling, a new game at the time.
Thompson decided in his mid-twenties to become a professional bowler. He became an expert champion bowler of Chicago in the late nineteenth and early twentieth-century. Thompson had his own team called the Chicago Colts. He was in charge of the champion bowlers of Chicago at this time and set up tournaments with other organizations around the United States.
In 1889 Thompson owned a bowling alley in the basement of the Plaza Hotel located in north Chicago at Clark Street. In 1891 he started to upgraded his slate alleys to a larger size and wood construction. His design was adopted in 1892 as the standard regulation type and size for future alleys of ten-pin bowling. The Plaza Bowling Alley was the first official regulation bowling alley and others followed in its footsteps. Chicago had 230 certified regulation bowling alleys by 1910, many of which Thompson personally inspired.
Thompson was nicknamed "W.V." in the bowling circles throughout the United States. He formed a bowling club in 1894 at the Plaza Hotel from the champion bowlers of the Plaza Bowling Alley. His club challenged other clubs across the nation that had regulation bowling alleys that were developing at the time. Arrangements for cash prizes and trophies for these contests were through the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company.
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