The beginning
BTI Mixed League formed in 1975 with support from gay bars and bathhouse owners through their organization Bars and Towels Incorporated (BTI). The organization fizzled but BTI continued as Betterment of The Individual. The first two seasons the league consisted of 20 teams of five bowlers, who bowled at the now closed Log Cabin Lanes on Woodward.
The move
In fall of 1977 the league moved to the larger State Fair Lanes to accommodate its expansion. The league grew to fill the building's 70 lanes with membership growing to over 350 bowlers, making it the largest gay or straight bowling league in the world.
The split
In 1994 amidst the memberships growing dissatisfaction with lack of maintenance and deterioration of the State Fair Lanes, some disgruntled bowlers decided to split and began the Westside Sunday league at Clover Lanes in Livonia. The others moved to the 40-lane Fairlanes Bowl in Madison Heights where the league now runs from September through May.
