Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
Skee-Ball
1909, proprietary name (Skee-Ball Alley Company, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.), the first element said to represent the old alternative spelling of ski (v.).\n\nSkee ball bowling, in which the ball is jumped or skeed into the pockets in the same manner as a skee-jumper rises from the bump in his flight, is a new and unique hand-ball game that seems destined to great popularity. ["Popular Mechanics," July 1909] \n
Usage examples of "skee-ball".
He had leaned his tall angular body against the Skee-Ball machine and wrapped his arms around the broom-handle as though it were a girl at a dance.