The Dallas Broncos were a team in the short-lived National Bowling League (NBL), which operated from 1961 to 1962. They played their home matches at the Bronco Bowl, in an auditorium where arena-like seating faced the six lanes where competition took place.
The NBL was a competitor of sorts to the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA). While the PBA was structured around individual competition, the NBL followed the NFL model, with teams based in major cities.
Dallas was one of ten inaugural teams in the league, and competed in the Western Division alongside the Fort Worth Panthers, the Fresno Bombers, the Los Angeles Toros, and the San Antonio Cavaliers.
The Broncos were owned by J. Curtis Sanford, an oilman who also had the idea of building the Cotton Bowl at Fair Park in 1937. To support the new bowling league, he built the Bronco Bowl, whose 78 bowling lanes made it one of the largest bowling alleys in America at the time.
The Broncos played their matches in a specially-made arena with over 2,000 seats at the back of the building, where six lanes were set up. Rows of seats were set up in a semicircle around the lanes. A jazz band on hand to entertain the crowd between the games.
Although the arena was one of the finest in the league, the Broncos failed to sell out their first match against New York, which they won 22-2.
The Broncos never saw a rise in attendance, despite the popularity of bowling at the time. Other teams in the league had similar issues drawing fans, and most of them had to play in smaller venues and even in theaters.
In 1962, teams in the league began to close down due to financial difficulties, and the league folded within a matter of weeks.
Don Bickford finished with the best average score in the league with 220.45. His teammate J. B. Solomon had the second highest score in the league at 220.30. Dallas actually had the highest average team score (217.19), but finished with a middle-of-the-pack record of 52 wins and 46 losses.
After the league folded, the six lanes in the rear arena were removed, and the space would eventually become The Pit Club, and later add seating to host concerts.
This WBAP (later KXAS channel 5) news story, which features no sound, covers the Dallas Broncos’ first match at the Bronco Bowl.
To learn more about the National Bowling League, click here to visit a site covering its history.
Source: Wikipedia
