Vintage Wood 1955-56 Men's 11” Bowling Trophy USNTC Officer Tournament Champion

Am I the only one who likes old bowling trophies like this? They are made of metal and wood, like this one, and look cool. But there is one more thing, this trophy has a story.

Usually you don’t know who the trophy belonged to, but on the base of this one is info about the winner, and how he won - see the pictures.

It also has a naval connection to the WWII United States Naval Training Center in Bainbridge (USNTC Bainbridge) Maryland - see more information about the training centers history below.

This 11” trophy is an excellent condition. There are no scrapes, gouges, cracks, or brakes in any of the pieces. Now this trophy would make a nice trophy for a current bowling league since you can reverse the plaque and engrave a new name on it or you can just keep it because you like the way it looks.

It is perfect for any bowling enthusiast or collector, this trophy is a rare find that would be a great conversation starter and would make a unique addition to any vintage bowling collection. You won't be disappointed.

More About The United States Naval Training Center Bainbridge (USNTC Bainbridge)

United States Naval Training Center Bainbridge (USNTC Bainbridge) was the U.S. Navy Training Center at Port Deposit, Maryland, on the bluffs of the northeast bank of the Susquehanna River. It was active from 1942 to 1976 under the Commander of the Fifth Naval District, based in Norfolk, Virginia.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt personally approved the site, which was seized from the Tome School by Congressional order. Roosevelt also chose the name to honor Commodore William Bainbridge, who commanded the frigate Constitution when it defeated the British frigate HMS Java during the War of 1812.

According to the Friday, September 17, 1954 football program, "The primary purpose of the Training Center is to aid young men and women entering the Navy in making the transition from civilian to sailor. The degree to which this purpose is being fulfilled is silently being proclaimed regularly as the thousands of Bainbridge trainees step into Navy roles around the globe."

The campus was expanded by government purchase from 330 acres (1.3 km2) to 1,132 acres (4.58 km2). More than five hundred new buildings were built, some designed by Eggers & Higgins.

The center was activated on 1 October 1942, and the first batch of recruits arrived 10 days later to begin "boot camp" training. They came in busloads from transportation collection points at Havre de Grace and Perryville, Maryland. The recruits were given a battery of tests to determine their educational and skill levels, then trained in ordnance and gunnery, seamanship, fire fighting, physical training, and military drill.

Recruits were trained in shipboard duties aboard the R.T.S. Commodore, a 200-foot "ship" built on dry land. The trainer was equipped with deck guns, a pilot house, davits with whaleboats, and mooring lines fastened to earth-bound bollards, so that crew members could learn casting off hawsers and other lines connecting the ship to its dock.

Halfway through boot camp, recruits had a "service week", which generally included kitchen duty, peeling potatoes, mopping, picking up cigarette butts, etc. Recruits with desirable skills, such as typing, could end up on an office typewriter rather than in a kitchen. One winter, recruits were sent to shovel snow off roads to a largely rural area near Colora and Rising Sun.[citation needed]

By the end of World War II, the center had trained 244,277 recruits who transferred to various ships and stations throughout the world.

USNTC Bainbridge also trained new boot camp graduates and other sailors in technical and other skills. During World War II, 24,484 sailors completed various programs under the direction of the Service School Command.[2] These included:

After the war, the center continued limited operations until 30 June 1947, when it was first inactivated as a Navy training center. The sole remaining training activity on campus was the Naval Academy Prep School (NAPS). A maintenance staff remained active to protect the buildings from weather and other damage.

In mid-1950, with the advent of the Korean War crisis, plans were made to reactivate the center, and it was officially reopened on 1 February 1951, with Captain Robert Hall Smith in command.

Despite the care of the maintenance staff, the buildings were in severe disrepair. A contract was awarded to Consolidated Engineering Company of Baltimore, Maryland. The necessary renovations and road work were accomplished ahead of schedule, and the center reopened its gates for recruits on 5 April 1951.

Initially, the center admitted 500 recruits per week, but the rate soon doubled. The first class of 500 seamen recruits graduated on 23 June 1951.

In 1962, the Naval Nuclear Power School was installed on the center. In 1976, the school was moved to Naval Training Center Orlando, Florida.

The Navy deactivated the Center on 31 March 1976[3] and on the evening of 30 June 1976, Chief Petty Officer Stephen Kowalki locked the gates for the final time.[4] Some of the facilities were used by the Department of Labor as a Job Corps Training Center until 1990.