New York tenpin bowling champion Louis Stein attended a meeting of the New York Bowlers Association on September 9, 1895, that laid the foundation for what was to become the American Bowling Congress.

At that meeting, Stein proposed that bowling be scored on a 300- points system instead of the then-popular 200-points system. He also proposed that 16 pounds be the maximum legal weight of a bowling ball. Both proposals were accepted and remain in effect worldwide to this day.

At the time of his death in October 1949, Stein was the last surviving charter member of the American Bowling Congress, the governing authority of American tenpin bowling.