Ed Delehant, Sr.

Ed Delehant Sr. 1964 Council Bluffs Men's Bowling Hall of Fame Photo 

No one person had more of an influence on 20th century organized bowling in Council Bluffs, Iowa than Ed Delehant Sr. Before his arrival and his establishment of the Broadway Recreation Parlor in 1930, bowling in Council Bluffs was almost exclusively a game played by adult men in saloons and men’s clubs. These bowling alleys were often in basements, and rarely more than two lanes. Delehant’s Broadway Recreation Parlor was a clean and modern ten lane bowling alley that made bowling fun and competitive for men, women, and children. He, his wife, his children, and his grandchildren, have been top bowling competitors and bowling center proprietors almost continuously from those early years clear until the time of this writing, in 2022.

Edward Joseph Delehant was born on October 15, 1892, in Blue Springs, Nebraska. He was the second child of prosperous farmers, Dan and Hattie Delehant. Ed married Blue Springs native, Mabel Neese, in 1913. They had six children, five surviving to adulthood.

Ed helped work the family farm until 1917, when Ed's father retired from farming and moved to Beatrice, Nebraska, leaving the operation of the farm to Ed and another son.

In 1919, Ed and his brother, Jim, purchased a garage in Beatrice, and began selling REO Speed Wagon trucks and Oldsmobile automobiles.

Ad from the November 11, 1919, Beatrice Daily Sun

The REO Speed Wagon was a multi-purpose vehicle, the ancestor to today's pickup truck. Although the basic design and styling of the chassis remained consistent, the REO Speed Wagon was manufactured in a variety of configurations (pickup and panel truck, passenger bus) to serve as delivery, tow, dump, and fire trucks, as well as hearses and ambulances. Other manufacturers provided refits for adapting the Speed Wagon for specialized purposes.

In 1920, Ed's father sold the family farm. Taking advantage of record high commodity prices, Ed sold his grain and livestock for $8,000 ($121,000 in 2023 dollars).

Done with farming, and ready for new ventures, Ed and a partner, Drew Jamieson, purchased an REO Speed Wagon fitted as a passenger bus, and in 1921 started an auto line (bus service) operating between Beatrice and the state capitol, Lincoln, Nebraska. Although there already existed a bus service between Beatrice and Lincoln, it was owned by a firm from Lincoln, and Jamieson and Delehant stated that by starting a line of their own, it would be a home concern, and would therefore mean that the money spent, or most of it, would stay in Beatrice.

A 1920 REO Speed Wagon bus similar to what the Delehant bus line first used.

Partnering with Drew Jamieson turned out to be a significant move for Ed's future, because in November of 1922, Jamieson opened the Beatrice Bowling Alleys introducing Ed to the sport of bowling.

October 21, 1922, Beatrice Daily Express

It wasn't long before Ed's bowling scores showed up in the local newspaper. By the end of 1922 he was regularly achieving scores in the mid-500's, when 500 was a good score, and 600's were almost unheard of. Those scores seem low by today's standards, but this was the era of hard rubber bowling balls and shellac lane finishes that had to be waxed and buffed nightly. 

In 1925, Ed Delehant became the sole owner of the bus line between Beatrice and Lincoln when his partner of two years, George Armand, sold his interest.

February 26, 1926, Beatrice Daily Sun 

Ed had one of his earliest bowling tournament successes in the 1928 Nebraska State Bowling Association Tournament in Beatrice when he and his partner, Herb Baker, won the doubles competition with a score of 1210 with Ed providing a 241-190-214, 645 series. Ed's team, the Queen City Coach Lines, also took the team title shooting 2810.

By mid-1928, Ed's bus service, now named the Queen City Coach Lines, was rapidly growing. Its current loading location, a Beatrice downtown hotel, could no longer handle the amount of waiting passengers, and the buses loading on a city street were causing traffic problems. Ed announced in June of 1928 that he would build a new bus depot in Beatrice.

In October of 1928, with much fanfare, Ed opened a brand-new bus depot in downtown Beatrice. The depot was described in the local newspaper as "ranking with the finest in the state for spaciousness and elegance". It housed a large loading room, an attractive restaurant, a spacious waiting room, ticket rooms, bus garage space, and business quarters.

The original bus station building still stands at 514 Ella Street in Beatrice, although undoubtedly heavily modified:

Photo from the Gage County Assessor. If you look closely, you can see the curb cuts where the busses might have once entered.

Ed didn't let his business success impede his bowling achievements. A January 28, 1929, Omaha World Herald article mentions "Big Ed" Delehant shooting 580 with his Queen City Coach Lines team in a losing effort against the local team, Buglewicz Coal, in a match at Omaha's South Omaha Recreation alleys.

Ed led the field for the 1928/1929 bowling season in the Greater Beatrice bowling league with a 183 average.

In March of 1929 Ed and his partner, Paul Staehs shot 1224 to take 11th place in the national ABC tournament in Chicago. Ed shot 207-213-214 for a 634 series while Staehs shot a 226-176-188, 590.

1929 was a momentous year for Ed Delehant's transit business. On June 30th, it was announced that his Queen City Coach Lines along with another transit operation, Cornhusker Stage Lines of Hastings, were sold to Interstate Transit Lines of Omaha. On the very next day, it was announced that the Union Pacific Railroad had purchased Interstate Transit for an estimated $1.5 million. The purchase served to remove competition with the railroad on many of its lines and added service to many parts of the state and other states not previously reached by UP trains.

Although at the time of the sale, the UP stated that the previous owners would retain management of their individual lines, it was announced only a few days after the sale that Ed was moving to Omaha to work in the UP's bus operations.

Aware of his bowling prowess due to his Nebraska State Tournament successes the previous year, Frank Cerney of the Buglewicz Coal team immediately recruited Ed to be their anchor in the Greater Omaha League.

Buglewicz Coal Team photo used in above article: L-R back row: Vern Capalite, Robert McAuliffe, Fred Pfeffer, E. J. Delehant, Front row: H. George, Frank Buglewicz (backer), Frank Cerney (captain).

Ed and his partner, Bob McAuliffe, set a doubles record in early 1930.

Omaha World-Herald 2/23/1930

Ed's stay in Omaha wasn't long though. In the summer of 1930, he moved his family to nearby Council Bluffs, Iowa and announced he would be installing a new bowling alley at 6th Street and Broadway above the Central Market grocery store. To be called the Broadway Recreation Parlor, it would include 10 lanes, a lunch counter and a few billiard tables. The cost was estimated at $23,000 (around $418,000 in 2023 dollars).

Why did Ed choose Council Bluffs when he was a life-long Nebraskan? In 1930, bowling's reputation was improving as proprietors realized that moving their businesses out of saloons and basements and into business districts would result in better reputations and increased business. At that time, Omaha had several popular bowling alleys, while the only bowling establishment in Council Bluffs was a 6-lane house in the basement of a building next to the Eagles Club on North Main Street. Most likely, these factors influenced Ed in his decision to locate in Council Bluffs. Still, it was a bold move, leaving a good Union Pacific job just one year after the 1929 stock market crash, with national Prohibition still in effect, moving with his wife and 5 young children to a new city and state to start a new business in a field he had only experienced as a customer.

Broadway Recreation held a grand opening on Thursday, September 10, 1930. City aldermen and the mayor rolled the opening balls, each on a separate lane. Match games were featured between Council Bluffs, Omaha, and Beatrice teams. There were even flowers for the women!

By any measure, Broadway Recreation was a success. Other than a short-lived duck pin bowling alley, Broadway Recreation had the Council Bluffs bowling market to itself from 1930 until 1953, when Highway Recreation opened just south of Council Bluffs. The annual Council Bluffs Women's City Tournament was started at Broadway Recreation.

Broadway Recreation hosted the Iowa Men's State Tournament in 1932, and both the Men's and Women's State Tournaments in 1938. Ed's team took first place in 1932 and set a record high score of 3042.

Council Bluffs Nonpareil 1/16/1933

August 24, 1941 Council Bluffs Nonpareil

In 1948, Ed Delehant was elected to a one-year term as president of the Iowa Bowling Proprietors Association. 

May 26, 1948 Council Bluffs Nonpareil

Ed remained a competitive bowler. He won the all-events title in the 1949 Men's City Tournament with a 1917, while also bowling on the winning team.

Council Bluffs Nonpareil March 2, 1949

After 24 years operating Broadway Recreation, in 1954 Ed built a new bowling alley, Delehant Bowl, at State Street and Pierce Street in Council Bluffs. It had 14 lanes and one year after opening, automatic pinspotters were installed, which were then new to the bowling industry and the first in Council Bluffs.

Delehant Bowl in 1956 (Nonpareil photo from the Council Bluffs Library)

After just three years of operation at the new location, at the age of 64, Ed decided to retire, and sold the business in April 1957 to longtime Council Bluffs bowler, Leonard Anderson and Leonard's brother John. They renamed the bowling alley, Anderson's Bowl. Although retiring from the business, Ed had no plans to retire from bowling, saying, "I've been in bowling for 27 years, and now I'll have a chance to catch up on the game."

Nonpareil Sports Editor, Al Schecter, wrote, "Ed Delehant stepped down after 20 years in the business, but he's still around. His car is always parked in the lot, and his cigar is still a trademark of the place. 'I'm a little on edge whenever I walk in because I feel I should be doing something,' he says."

Ed did indeed catch up on the game. The local newspaper over the next five years regularly showed Ed scoring well into the 200's and 600's, at not just his former house, but also at the other three bowling alleys in Council Bluffs.

The National ABC Tournament was held in Des Moines in 1962. Ed recruited all four sons to bowl with him under the Atlas #1 banner. Although their 2629 score was nothing special, it provided possibly the last opportunity for Ed and his sons to bowl in a tournament together.

Dean Delehant, Dan Delehant, Ed Delehant Sr., Ed Delehant Jr., Willard Delehant 

Ed returned to the bowling business in July of 1963 when he agreed to operate his former bowling alley, the now bankrupt Anderson's Bowl, for receiver Hugh Finerty Jr. The bowling alley was renamed State Street Bowl.

Ed Delehant Sr. passed away less than a year later after a short illness on May 7, 1964, at the age of 71. His family continued to operate the bowling alley, later renamed Delehant Bowl until 1979.

Personally, Ed was known as a generous man. He had paid for his brother John to attend Creighton Law School. John Delehant later became a federal judge. According to his grandson, Tim, Ed helped the owners of Tamarack Lanes in Missouri Valley, showing them how to run a bowling alley, and organize leagues. He wouldn't accept payment, not even a beer, because he didn't drink! He was a baseball fan who frequently shuttled the Beatrice team to games when he still operated his bus line. He was also a Chicago Cubs fan. 

The Council Bluffs Men's Bowling Hall of Fame was started in October of 1964. Ed Delehant Sr. was inducted posthumously in the first group of four inductees. The history of Ed Delehant Sr. shows that he was not just an excellent bowler, but an accomplished businessman as well. He truly deserves his place in the Hall of Fame.