The first sanctioned 300 games bowled by an English man & English woman here in the UK were by Albert Kirkham and Gina Wardle.
Albert, an Area Champion boxer, had been bowling for around two years when he completed his feat at Chester on December 5 1965. Albert received an all-expenses paid trip to the USA and a £100 cash prize (online resources suggest this could be about £ 1,900 today).
Albert’s story is covered in more detail on Talk Tenpin here >> Albert Kirkham (opens in a new browser)
It would be another 20 years until we would see Gina Wardle bowl the first woman’s 300 game in England, on January 20 1985 during the Northern Scratch Tour at Firth Park Bowl, Sheffield.
Gina’s feat was covered in World of Tenpin (No. 35 March 1985) and you can read the article in the new BTBA Library here >> Gina Wardle. Gina was inducted into the UK Tenpin Hall of Fame in 2015. You can read more here.. (opens in a new tab)
Both Gina and Albert are recorded in the ‘Notable Achievements & Firsts‘ section of the library. The library is located under the ‘All News’ menu from this websites homepage.
Introducing the BTBA Library & Museum – the BTBA are building a history of bowling in England, going as far back as we can recover records and information for, and we are asking our members and readers for their help, please.
Do you have any magazines, photos or memorabilia which you can donate, or otherwise scan/photograph and submit for inclusion? Ideally you will have some evidence to support your submissions, but it’s probably better that we record it at the very least.
Please email stuartwatson@btba.org.uk and we can discuss how best to publish your materials – thank you!
Stuart Watson
Communications & PR
British Tenpin Bowling Association
