The sounds you're hearing probably evoke a certain image.

Monogram shirts, shoe spray, the anguished groan of a 7-10 split.

More than 45 million Americans bowl each year.

It's still one of the country's most played sports.

But bowling isn't what it used to be.

Organized leagues have been in decline for decades.

Many of the country's bowling alleys have been replaced by high-rise condos in office space.

And the establishments that remain have had to get creative to keep their businesses out of the gutter.

People would say, wow, when they walk in, bowling has become cool again.

For the Freakonomics Radio Network, this is the economics of everyday things.

I'm Zachary Crackett.

Today, bowling alleys.

In the 1960s, bowling experienced a golden age.

Professional bowlers were national heroes who earned more than NFL stars.

Bowling alleys were a critical part of America's social fabric.

The poor man's country club, as one trade publication put it.

There were more than 12,000 of them. I remember that they were crowded with a lot of men that were smoking cigarettes and cigars.

That's Mike Leong. He started bowling in 1966, and he was hooked from the start.

I think my first league average was around 144. I think my first league average was around 144, which was not bad for an 11-year-old kid.

By the time I was 15, I was already a 200 average player.

We were bowling people for money, you know, two or three bucks a game, which back in pre-1970, it was a lot of money. Leong soon developed an interest in the legitimate business

side of bowling. Over the years, he took on jobs at shops and alleys and worked his way into management

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