in bowling, why do they call 3 strikes a "turkey"?

Answer 1

Hmm, interesting question. I was intrigued enough to go hunting around the Internet and found a Web site offering the following theory:

All of our bowling readers will know that a "turkey" is three consecutive strikes thrown by a bowler playing ten-pin bowling. There is no recorded derivation of this term but Chuck Pezzana, the historian of the Professional Bowlers Association offers a likely origin. During the Great Depression of the 1930s many bowling alleys began to hold sweepstakes events during the holiday seasons of Thanksgiving and Christmas offering food as gifts to the winners. The common award for bowling three strikes in a row was a live turkey. If a person accomplished this feat his or her teammates would all shout, "turkey!" letting the proprietor know that the prize had been won. Interestingly, there is another sport associated with the first Thanksgiving. Did you know that when the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians gathered for the first Thanksgiving celebration in 1621 one of the most popular activities was volleyball?

Answer 2

3 Strikes In Bowling

Answer 3

Three Strikes In Bowling

Answer 4

Makes no sense - man with 4 balls CANNOT walk..... There is a timing logic behind it to keep hitters from getting on base without hitting but to also make sure pitchers are giving them pitches to hit. It is to encourage action and batters to put the ball in play. If you had a 3-3 it is actually uneven because a foul ball is a strike but can't be the final strike. The extra ball is to encourage hitters to create action and earn their way on base knowing that the pitcher has some relief. If you added more balls required the pitcher would never throw anything close and the game would last forever but if you took one ball away the batters would be walking all over the place and then the game would last forever making it cricket. It is pretty fair and works out that a batter can foul off strike 3 as many times as he can but a pitcher can only throw 4 out of the strike zone.

Answer 5

In the olden days when the balls were made of stone, it was very difficult and even rare to make 3 strikes in a row. To promote the game, the bowling alley owners met and decided anyone who could get 3 strikes in a row would get a free turkey. This led to many innovations in the game and was essentially a springboard for development of the perfectly round bowling ball, the bowling shoe, etc. I guess people really liked turkey back then.

Answer 6

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
in bowling, why do they call 3 strikes a "turkey"?

Answer 7

Well, it's better than saying "3-strikes", isn't it? Other than that, there really isn't a good explanation for it. Well, not that I have anyways. I first noticed that they call it that when I was on my Clubhouse Games. You never know whats next..

Answer 8

Same reason they call 3 goals in hockey a "Hat Trick" LOL go figure.

Answer 9

Because after all those strikes you're bound to be hungry :)