Black Bowlers/White Pins

Chapter 13

In the early 1960s, Yvonne realized that she was ready to compete outside of the Negro leagues. However, she soon found out that the opportunities for Blacks to advance were quite slim at best as racism was at its very peak around that time. Nevertheless, that revelation did not stop Yvonne. She challenged the status quo head-on. Known as the “Rosa Parks” of bowling, Yvonne took the mantle to uproot the bigotry prevailing in bowling. She refused to take a back seat in the bowling alley and ended up calling out the passive attitude of most Blacks who thought that the professional ranks were reserved for Whites only. Yvonne believed that she had every bit the skill and the right as any of the Whites to become a professional. Her spirit and lack of fear later would inspire more Negro women and men to seek representation in the professional ranks. The White bowling establishment did not take kindly to Yvonne’s aggressive approach and she paid severely for dreaming of open and equal competition.