What is the origin of the bowling term Brooklyn?

Answer 1

It stems from a long-standing rivalry between bowlers from New York and New Jersey. Whenever a New York bowler threw a crossover strike (one that crossed in front of the headpin, hitting it from the opposite side), his teammates would tease him by claiming that he had crossed the river into New Jersey. So New Jersey bowlers started claiming that any of their bowlers who threw such a strike had landed on the Brooklyn side.

In New York City and Long Island, the term 'Jersey strike' is still used. But for the rest of the country, the proper term for a crossover strike is a Brooklyn.

For a right-handed bowler, a Brooklyn strike involves hitting the headpin (the 1-pin) and the pin immediately to its left (the 2-pin). For lefties, this is reversed: hitting the headpin and the pin immediately to its right (the 3-pin) instead.