My first job, the one where I was paid an hourly wage and got a regular check, was as a "Pinchaser" at the old Vaca Bowl, on Peabody, near the intersection of Elmira Road. I was paid a whopping $1.65 per hour, which was the minimum wage in 1966. I'd work 4-5 hours, 3-4 days per week, so taking the maximum, I would work 20 hours per week for a total of $33.00 per week, which was OK for a kid, back when gasoline was $.25 to $.40 per gallon, bread was $.17, and milk was considerably less than a buck per gallon. The government took a big bite out of it, and I'd get about $90 net. every month... I cleaned up the concourse, emptied trash cans, helped the night mechanic by running "calls" if he had to spend some time on a pinsetter, kicked "deadwood" back into the "pit," and anything else necessary to keep the place running clean.
It was, actually, a much better job than it sounds. First and foremost, I learned a skill (working on Brunswick A-2 pinsetters) that would become a means of making "part-time" money. Secondly, it introduced me to the world of bowling in which I made a little "extra" part-time money when we lived in Slidell, LA (I carried an "Average" of over 210, and, when primed with three beers, regularly broke 700 for a 3-game series. We'd have "Pot Games" after the lanes closed, and I frequently won).
I only worked the Porter-gig for a summer, but I still "worked" at the Bowl for the next three years, as a league scorekeeper. The scorekeeper was responsible for tracking the scores of from six to ten bowlers, writing them with a grease pencil, on a sheet of vinyl that had the bowling score sheet permanently printed on them. These eventually gave way to a sort of frosted paper that the lights of the telescore (essentially a table with a bright lamp underneath, and a mirror and lens housing that was about head-high when sitting, it projected league scores on the big screens above the lanes) could pass through, and scoring could be done with a regular pencil. Trust me, I had to clean the vinyl sheets, when I was a Porter, and it was always a mess, even scorekeepers griped about having yellow fingers at the end of the evening, so this was a big change. The technology stayed that way until the 1980's, when the first computerized bowling machines became available. By that time, I was in the Navy. The last Bowling Center I was in (one I had helped to build) had electronic scorekeeping which was done by a laser scanner, triggered by a ball passing an electric-eye.
Scorekeepers earned 10-cents per person, per game, and were paid by the League Secretary towards the end of the second game. Leagues had three to five people on each team, so I could make $1.20 to $2.00 for about two hours work, plus tips (if any). Most teams, as a general rule, would throw a quarter per-man in the cup holder in front of the scorekeeper, if they did an adequate job, an extra $2.00 to $2.50 each series. Most nights, Vaca Bowl was "double shifted," meaning one league (or set of leagues) would start at 6:30 pm, and second shift at 9. If you were a "good" scorekeeper, you'd have teams ask if you would keep score for them on a regular basis. That was a really good thing, because the team you "regular" for would usually leave big tips. If you were "REAL good," like me, you'd get big tips from both teams, have a "regular" spot every night, and have teams that fought for you. Yeah, I sound fairly conceited about it, but the fact is, I was "The Best Scorekeeper" ever to work at the Bowl, and here's why... 1). I was a avid bowler, and really enjoyed the sport. 2). Despite every grade I got in Math (after 6th grade), math was never really a problem for me. 3). I had taken two years of mechanical drawing, and had the best printing of anyone in the building, so my score sheets were ALWAYS very readable. 4). I was there, every night, Sunday through Thursday, both shifts. And 5). I was always neatly dressed, hair combed, clean smelling, and polite.
Any given week, I could have upwards of $35 to more than $50 of tax-free cash. At the time, I was the guy who always had cash, but no one knew how I got it. It wasn't easy. In addition to keeping the individual game scores, I had to total up the scores, fill out the "Recap Forms," ensure that everything was correct before giving it to the team captains to sign, and delivering the completed form to the League Secretary. I had one team claim that they didn't want a scorekeeper, just so they wouldn't have to pay... It was a ridiculous notion, as they paid it in their League Fees, and were not required to tip. I had done pretty well on the first shift, so I didn't score in the second shift, and watched them F#%& up the overhead, and the Recap. I had a chat with the Secretary for that league, and they went through the telescores and the Recap Sheet, and decided to void their scores for the night, and they'd have to do a make-up, with an "official" scorekeeper, and pay for the "lineage" (games), or both teams would have to forfeit all four league points.
Alas, the days of Scorekeepers is gone, otherwise I'd be at the new bowling center, making a few extra bucks...
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