The game of bowls (and specifically lawn bowling) has a medieval history which seems to have been, if not originated in Britain, certainly perfected there. While it’s now played worldwide, the Scots seem to have taken it as their own, with their oldest club going back 1740.
In fact: it was the local chapter of the Scottish fraternal order, the Saint Andrew’s Society, who started San Francisco’s lawn bowling club in 1901. They were given a section of Golden Gate park in which to bowl by park superintendent John McLaren (a native Scot, and the club’s 1st vice-president). Originally known as the San Francisco Scottish Bowling Club, in 1931 the name was changed to the San Francisco Lawn Bowling Club.
I believe this is Bill Campbell, who, if it is him, has been with the club since 1964. I cribbed the above photo from Telstar Logistics’s Flickr stream, who also has him pictured in another excellent sweater vest. Check it out here.
Lots of old photos (and a few new ones) including a few inside of their clubhouse; click inside…
Conspicuously absent: a cocktail in the hand of anyone not currently bowling.
Above: the aforementioned John McLaren. The man who ran Golden Gate Park as his own backyard, which it literally was, since he lived within the grounds. He also famously disliked statuary in parks, and intentionally seeded obscuring shrubbery wherever City Hall rudely planted a bronze.
