The History of Saturday Bowling Part 3

Memories

The final episode in Dave Parkin's three-parter looking at the major changes over the 127-years history of Saturday bowling in Huddersfield.

The History of Saturday Bowling in Huddersfield A Trilogy by Dave Parkin

Part 3: 1970 to present day

In October 1969, in readiness for the new season, a proposal was passed at the annual rules revision meeting of the Association to change the way games were played in 1970. 

For the 1st time in the SUBSCRIPTION CUP, it was voted that teams would play Home & Away along with the DRAYTON & LITTLEWOOD CUPs too.

This motion or the one to reverse it was voted for at least 11 times in a row from 1968 but more likely for longer as it no longer became newsworthy according to one report

It wasn’t just a new format that happened in 1970 but a new rival too to take some bowlers’ minds away from the lack of bowling opportunities. The local VETERANS LEAGUE was founded by some forward-thinking people, still going strong 54 years later.

The changes also meant some minor tweaks to the rules with the one below about who has the jack being narrowly defeated.

The changes in 1970 also meant for the 1st time that a proper promotion & relegation system would be in place for the 1st time.

Scoring systems & who threw the 1st jack would change a few times over the years until we have the current system all are used to.

Changing the age eligibility also helped bring in an influx of younger bowlers in the 1990’s but as a lot of those approach or turn 40, the older generation aren’t being replaced.

For those wondering what happened with clubs with more than two teams, there were 9 in 1970. Meltham & HC & AC utilised their two greens. The others mainly started the 8 man team matches an hour earlier than the main match & two games were played on the same green. Uneven league numbers meaning byes would help alleviate this issue.

In reality, the neutral v Home & Away debate has never gone away since 1970 with various attempts over the years to change it including last year. The role of the Executive committee is to provide a format voted on by the member’s clubs. Those members or actual bowlers have been dwindling over the years.

Since 2016, 40% of Saturday bowlers have given up playing in the Huddersfield League. This is of course for a variety of reasons with the slow return after COVID being one

If you have an opinion, raise it to your club rep who will vote at the meeting.

Previously ....

Part 1: 1896-1942

Part 2: 1943-1969