They helped define the recreation scene in the Old Pueblo. With our hot summers, being a kegler indoors in the A/C was where it was happening.
My dad was one of those midwestern transplants who brought their love for the 10-pins with them. At one time in the late 60s and early 70s you could find him bowling as many as three nights a week in leagues around town: Monday night church league at Tucson Bowl, Tuesdays at a trio league with my sister’s husband and his dad at Lucky Strike Bowl; and Thursday at Cactus Bowl with his DDD league (Doctors, Druggists and Dentists). Their social lives revolved around these bowling centers. I remember the pinball machines and the chance to bowl for an evening on an open lane.
The bowling alleys (or “centers” as they have come to be called) I recall included:
The Copa Bowl on South Craycroft. This was the after-school hangout for many of my Naylor Junior High classmates. Near the main gate of DMAFB, the site is no longer a bowling center.
Lucky Strike on Speedway was mostly a league-based place, though many friends have told me they learned to bowl at this center which is still operating.
Tucson Bowl near 22nd and Kolb is still open. However, the oversized concrete bowling pins near the front door are long since gone.
Cactus Bowl on South Alvernon was a huge phenom at 64 lanes. It is long gone from this site and has been relocated on south 12th Avenue.
Golden Pin Lanes on Miracle Mile has been converted to a Pima County Government facility. However, the shape of the sign and a remnant wall remain out front.
I’m sure I’ve left some out, so be sure and help me fill in the blanks. for example, as I was researching this post, a friend told me about an experience at the local VA Hospital. When she was a nurse there, she recalls working with a woman who had grown up on the property. This woman related that, at one time, there was a 4- or 8-lane bolwing alley on the VA property!
All of these snowbirds brought their game with them!
Relentless
