Our History
The idea of a national tournament was developed in 1922 by Lewis Kiely of Kendrick Council # 686 in St. Louis, MO. Lewis had long been an organizer of intercouncil participation in bowling, baseball, and football. He met with Knights from three states and this group elected a slate of Officers and Directors.
The fledgling organization appeared before a meeting of the Board of Directors in Chicago and was granted permission to hold the first Knights of Columbus International Bowling Tournament. This first competition was held in Milwaukee in 1923 and attracted 305 teams.
It soon became apparent that the Association needed a permanent Secretary who would coordinate the allotting of tourneys, supervise them and maintain records. Reluctantly, Wilfred G. Albert accepted the unanimous call of the Officers and became the first Secretary. He held the post for 41 years (1925 to 1966). During this period he built a firm and ever-growing association which has had participants from 40 states and two Canadian provinces.
In 1940 Albert founded the Eastern Division Tournament, rolled that year in Utica, NY. In the late 40's and early 50's he attempted to hold a West Coast tournament and a Southern Division, neither of which attracted sufficient participation to continue.
The other 2 divisions continued to grow. In 1994 nearly 1200 five man teams competed.
Upon Albert's retirement in 1966, he nominated William E. Burke, Past State Deputy of New York and former Supreme Director, to succeed him. Burke was a Past President of the Association. (Mr. Albert died December 10, 1970). Mr. Burke retired after serving sixteen years as the National Secretary on July 4, 1981. (Mr. Burke died July 24, 1983).
Milford J. Trojan, of Utica, NY, was elected as National Secretary in 1981 to succeed Mr. Burke. Mr. Trojan served for twelve years as National Secretary.
In 1993, Robert Lynch from Indianapolis, IN, was elected as International Secretary.
At the 1995 Annual Meeting the Board of Directors voted to create a Ladies Division. The first Ladies Tournament was held in 1996 and has continued to grow in popularity each year.