The Story of Yvonne Barnes
and The Motown Records Bowlerettes
At the volatile dawn of integration, Yvonne Barnes, a young apolitical African-American woman, finds herself at the forefront of the racial battle for justice by establishing the nation’s first African-American professional women’s bowling team that became back-to-back champions defeating the best white pro teams in the nation.
This is the story of Yvonne Barnes, an ambitious woman whose ambition was only rivaled…
Without Jean and Gene to hang out with and no “dating game” to keep them busy…
Yvonne started taking her son, Ray, and a few of his cousins and friends on weekly bowling outings every Saturday morning in early 1960…
In the early 1960s, Yvonne realized that she was ready to compete outside of the Negro leagues…
Click the icon and watch the official trailer of R. Ray Barnes’ new book, Queen Pin – The Story of Yvonne Barnes and The Motown Records Bowlerettes. Find out what the author talks about and why this is one of the books of the ages.
Ray is the author of the book Queen Pin – The Story of Yvonne Barnes and The Motown Records Bowlerettes (available on Amazon), and a series of upcoming books of poetic writings titled, The Art of Poetry, Go Sit in A Corner and Think, and One: An Easy Guide to Understanding God, Spirit & Love. Also, he is an actor appearing and featured in several TV Commercials, Movies, and TV shows. Ray has been a music producer and songwriter for over 35 years. Along with his partner, 3-time Grammy Award winner, Tony Coleman, they have written for, worked with, and produced celebrated music legends The Pointer Sisters, Lee Greenwood, Rita Coolidge, Mary Wilson of the Supremes, Stevie Wonder, James Ingram, Cuba Godding and The Main Ingredient, Shalamar, Lakeside, Kathy Sledge of Sister Sledge, Brian Holland of Holland, Dozier, Holland and many others.
VIEW MOREQueen Pin – The Story of Yvonne Barnes and The Motown Records Bowlerettes is a fascinating historical narrative of Yvonne Barnes, called the “Rosa Parks” of Bowling. Readers will learn how she broke the color line in bowling and put together the first all-black team of professional women bowlers who beat the best white female bowlers in the nation. They will also know how she formed the largest youth league in the United States and why her team was sponsored by Motown Records founder Berry Gordy, Jr. The women of the Motown Records Bowlerettes join a list of great African American women who were the first in sports, like Althea Gibson, in tennis, Wilma Rudolph, in track and field and Gabby Douglas in gymnastics, to name a few.
Ebonettes Major Classic League, Detroit, MI – Circa 1960
Yvonne, middle row, far left.
After having read several books on the history of sports, and entertainment in the events after the World War, to be precise, I can say that this may be the most motivating and enlightening account of bowling ever written. Great work with the storytelling and the images to make it more fun-filled.
This book made me realize one thing: the older I get, the more I appreciate that the events in my younger years turned out to be for the best. In my sixth decade, I always thought that there was nothing great about bowling, yet someone raised the bar all those years ago.
Usually, you will have people write down incomplete stories without any proper evidence. This biography of Mrs. Barnes takes the reader along with her through the virtuous and depraved times in her life. Her personal willpower, coupled with her nerve, comes to life courtesy of her son.
The text has been well-researched. After all, who could have done it any better than her own son? These are the types of books that are underrated. I hope and pray that this book doesn’t have the same fate as the others. I want to see this become a best-seller this year. Mrs. Barnes deserves this recognition.
Having witnessed Yvonne’s incredible journey up-close and personal, this account is a wonderful chronicle of her outstanding accomplishments and the enormous achievements of the famed Motown Records Bowlerettes. These extraordinary women had an enormous impact and are great ambassadors representing African American women in the field of bowling, one of the world’s most popular participatory sports.
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