how did the brooklyn strike get its name

A “Brooklyn strike” in bowling got its name from New York city geography and a bit of sports trash-talk from the era of the old Brooklyn Dodgers.

Quick Scoop

In bowling, a Brooklyn strike is a strike where the ball crosses over and hits the “wrong” side of the head pin:

• For a right-hander, it crosses into the 1–2 pocket instead of the 1–3.

• For a left-hander, it crosses into the 1–3 instead of the 1–2.

Originally, this kind of strike was seen as a bit lucky or “ugly,” not the clean, textbook pocket hit bowlers aim for.

How it got the name “Brooklyn”

There are two closely linked origin stories that most bowlers and historians mention:

1. The New York “crossing over” explanation
   • Bowlers compared the ball “crossing over” the head pin to people crossing from Manhattan over to Brooklyn.

 * So when a right-hander’s ball crossed from the “Manhattan side” of the head pin into the opposite side and still struck, they jokingly called it a _Brooklyn_ strike.

2. The Brooklyn Dodgers “ugly hit” explanation
   • Around the time the term emerged, the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team was famously inconsistent and sometimes mocked as “Dem Bums” for their sloppy play.

 * Bowlers started using “Brooklyn” for a strike that looked sloppy or accidental, echoing the idea of the Dodgers winning in a messy way.

Most modern explanations blend these: the “crossing over” idea ties it to the borough, while the Dodgers connection explains why it also implied a kind of scruffy, undeserved success.

Related term: “Jersey side”

The language even expanded into a kind of little NYC-area in-joke:

• Some bowlers refer to the opposite side as the “Jersey side” , comparing it to crossing from Manhattan over to New Jersey instead of Brooklyn.

• This keeps the same theme: you’re “going across” from the side you intended to be on, just like crossing a river or bridge to another area.

Mini timeline and vibe

• Early 20th century : New York is a bowling hotbed; local slang spreads easily.

• Brooklyn Dodgers era : Their reputation as “Dem Bums” helps lock in “Brooklyn” as shorthand for something a bit ugly or fluky, which fit the off-pocket strike perfectly.

• Modern bowling : The term survives, but now it’s usually said in a light-hearted way—bowlers will laugh and say “I’ll take it, Brooklyn!” when a crossover strike falls.

In other words, the Brooklyn strike name comes from both geography (crossing over to Brooklyn) and attitude (a scruffy, slightly lucky hit, like the old Dodgers), and that double meaning is why the phrase stuck.

TL;DR:
A Brooklyn strike is a crossover strike that hits the “wrong” side of the head pin and still knocks everything down, named after crossing from Manhattan to Brooklyn and reinforced by the old, famously sloppy Brooklyn Dodgers being called “Dem Bums.”

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.