Ten-pin bowling over the Model A), all three versions are still in widespread use. The television age of the 1950s also helped to increase the popularity of ten-pin bowling, as images of the sport began to enter the homes of millions across the United States. Nationally televised programs like "Jackpot Bowling" and "Make That Spare" became popular on Friday nights from the late 1950s into the early 1960s. Following many years of debate over what constituted a professional bowler versus an amateur, Eddie Elias founded the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) in 1958. The PBA's "Pro Bowlers Tour" became a permanent part of
Ten-pin bowling United States from Europe during the colonial era, similar to the game of skittles. It became very popular and was called "Bowl on the Green". The Dutch, English, and Germans all brought their own versions of the game to the New World, where it enjoyed continued popularity, although not without some controversy. In 1841 a law in Connecticut banned ninepin bowling lanes because of associated gambling and crime, and people were said to circumvent the letter of the prohibition by adding an extra pin, resulting in the game of ten-pin bowling. A painting which dates from around 1810, and has