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The archives of bowling have crowned Marion Dibble the “Queen of Bowling”. The title is appropriate as Marion was the first lady to bowl the game of five pin bowling. As we know, Tommy Ryan, our first Hall of Fame member, invented five pin bowling in 1909. At this time, Ed Sutherland, Marion’s first husband, owned the Atheneum Bowling Alley at Queen and Yonge Streets. As the five pin game grew in popularity, Sutherland began to convert his lanes to the new game. However, the five pin game was played by the carriage trade of the day. It wasn’t considered nice for ladies to go into bowling alleys in those days, recalled Marion. “So I used to slip down in the morning, bowl and be gone before the men arrived.” Gradually, the ladies of the day were recognized on the lanes and in 1921, Marion formed the Ladies City Major League. By 1930, the ladies had their own section in the Canadian Bowlers Association, which was the major competition of the day. Following the death of Ed Sutherland in 1922, Marion continued to manage the Atheneum for 13 years. Subsequently, in 1939 she married Harry Dibble. On the lanes, she managed a 428 single, 990 triple and, as late as 1940, anchored her bowling centre team to the CBA championship. Marion also taught the game and is credited with introducing another Hall of Famer, Ollie Miller, to our game. As well as tonight’s induction to the Hall of Fame, the Ontario 5 Pin Bowlers’ Association has recorded Marion Dibble in its history. The second plate in a four plate series, commissioned by the OFPBA, highlights women in bowling and features tonight’s inductee, Marion Dibble, along with Ollie Miller and Mary Currie, a top bowler form Western Canada.
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