MMSTL - History

The Mens Maryland Suburban Traveling League began in 1960 and was a duckpin league, originally geared toward the low to medium average bowler. The league limit was originally 525 for five bowlers, but by the 1962-1963 season, with membership already at a high standard, the league maximum had increased to 535. The league was a competitive one, and the league maximum steadily increased over the years. By the 1974-1975 season, the maximum team average was at 560. By the 2000s, as scores had experienced marked increases over the years, the league was at a 630 team average limit for 5 members.

As near as I can trace the succession, its list of league secretaries is as follows:

From 1960 up through the early 1970s, David A. Ross
From the early 1970s through 1974-1975, Bill Williams
From 1975-1976 through 1985-1986, Tony Hughes
From 1986-1987 through 1990-1991, Ken Crist
From 1991-1992 through 2005-2006, Rod Weaver (yours truly)
From 2006-2007 through 2011-2012, Rob Thomas

** Please note that there may have been a different league secretary at the outset of the league, before the tenure of David Ross. The earliest sheet I could find was from 1962, which featured Ross 'running the show'.

Elton Wiser, who was a member of the league every year from its first year through its last, was the first president of the league.

The league was a "traveling league", meaning that more than one bowling establishment was used to accommodate the expansive number of teams each Friday night. While it's certainly true that a large bowling center with at least 40 lanes could host a 40-team league, other leagues did already occupy a certain number of lanes in the large bowling centers, and thus there wouldn't be room enough in only one 'house'. The MMSTL rolled in 3 bowling centers, primarily, during its first 32 league seasons. I was not able to locate a sheet from the 1960-1961 season, but the 1962-1963 season featured the bowling establishments, Prince Georges, University, and Woodmoor. (I'm only guessing here, but I'm thinking that "Prince Georges" and "University" were possibly Fair Lanes establishments, or were at least in the locations where Fair Lanes had their centers in the 1970s and later). The Woodmoor Bowling Center was part of a shopping center known in the Silver Spring area as "Four Corners", and was in the basement of the mini-mall. The bowling lanes were added in 1954.

On a side note: the Woodmoor bowling alley closed abruptly, which I roughly estimate to have been sometime in the early 1970s. One of the legendary icons of Duckpin Bowling, Dick Westlake, bowled in that house, and recalled going to his bowling league one night, only to find a note on the door, stating that the Woodmoor alley had closed its business.

The Travel League was customarily comprised of 38 to 42 teams, or more, with 5 players on a team, up through the 1990-1991 season. (I believe there was at least one year in which there were 44 teams, because I inherited a 44-team schedule from the secretary before me, Ken Crist).

Here are links to a few bowling sheets from those very early years of the Mens Maryland Suburban Traveling League (Note that the format of the sheet remained the same from 1962 to 1991):
September 21, 1962 (Front Side of Sheet)
September 21, 1962 (Back Side of Sheet)
October 12, 1962
May 19, 1967
September 3, 1971
FINAL Sheet from 1985-1986 Season
May 5, 1989 (FINAL)
May 4, 1990 (FINAL)
May 10, 1991 (FINAL)