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In the Toronto of the post-First World War era, bowling took many forms in the bowling centres of the day. Five pins, tenpins and duckpins were all played, and in five pin bowling, the rubber band was being introduced. As such Alfie Shrubb, the English long distance runner, bowled the first 400 game ever recorded in 1918, and tonight’s inductee, Bill Bromfield, is credited in 1921, with the first perfect game. The “old master” as Bill is referred to in the old CBA manuals, bowled the first perfect game at Orr Bros. While the game is recorded in the history of our sport, it occurred prior to the formation of the CBA and thus not given official recognition by that organization. By 1922, Eddie Sutherland, the husband of another of tonight’s inductees, Marion Sutherland Dibble, picked a Toronto team to represent the city in a series of matches against London. Bill Bromfield was on this team, along with current Hall of Famer Eddie Hawkes. The Toronto team was victorious before a large crowd who paid 25 cents each to watch the event. Bill was also a member of the “Uptowns” in the big Four Loop, which was the only major league in Toronto. This team won the championship many times and one of the members of that group was Hall of Famer Charlie Demelis, who is still alive at the young age of 89. Through Bill’s induction, we thank everyone who pioneered our game throughout the early days, and gave us the legacy we enjoy today.
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