Some Of butch's Favorite Postings and Action Stories

Action Stories by daryld

The Cane

Message sent to butch (aka Cliff) on Facebook 2-17-2010

Dear AC Butch, I am sitting here at this moment with my longtime friend, Doug the Rug Weinstein. We just came across your story about your doubles match against him and Dickie Wholin. After reading it out loud to him, he began to laugh until tears came to his eyes. When I asked him why it was so funny (you beating him and Dickie for so much) he told me he had somebody in the crowd that was betting on you with his money. He doesn't remember the exact amount, but he mentioned something about buying a new car shortly after that. He was glad you bowled well so he didn't have to look too bad and no one had any idea what was going on, not even you. Come on AC, do you really think you could have beat him, even on your best day? You seem like a smart guy, yet Doug played you like a fiddle. He sends his regards and wishes you well.
Gerard Jerry Nahay

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butch's answer:

I hardly ever come to Facebook but am glad I did and found this post. I remember that day well and if Doug did dump to me I didn't have any idea what was going down. 

He was a very tough action bowler but I have beaten better, such as Tommy DiNardo and Bee Bee Notaro just to mention a few. I always stayed clear of the top action bowlers so I could bowl against guys I could consistantly earn from, which I did. Never had a loosing year.

Action bowling was the greatest years of my life and Doug was really very good at it. I always enjoyed watching him bowl...

It would be great if you guys posted to the actionbowlers forum, I'm sure you have many stories to tell...

http://actionbowler.proboards.com/index.cgi?pbuser=actionbowler

butch@actionbowlers.com

PS
butch also beat Mac Wagner, Allen "buffalo" Dwoskin, Les Sager, Les Shirwindt, Beeper, Larry Starr, Mike Foti, Richie Grossman, Richie Devita and many others, he tried to stay with the 190 or so bowlers who gave him a good living...

One of the gimmick games he never lost a match at was (one step) he even took down Lenny "the cane" Dwoskin who many considered to be the best one step bowler. The truth of the matter is butch might of been better with his one step approach then with is regular 4 step approach.

Check out more about butch at:  http://www.actionbowlers.com/acbutch.htm
Zoo...

==================================================

Original Doug "the rug" Weinstein story...


1961 - Ave M Bowl - Butch & Bernie Bannans vs Doug (the rug) Weinstein & Dickie Wholin

butch (aka Cliff) at 18 years old

This was my all time favorite doubles match, I was 17 years old and in my prime, I was at my very best that year, Bernie who I've bowled with and against for the last 3 years at Ave M was just coming into his own, for the last 6 months had really stepped up his game and was bowling some real serious action. I was considered a notch above him.


It's a friday night about 12:30 am and in walks Irving the lawyer from downtown Brooklyn with his son Dickie and doubles partner Doug. Irving was a big better and was backing one of the best doubles teams around in what I call the class B action bowlers. Class B was where most of the everyday action took place, these were great bowlers within their own right, guys that could step up to the plate and beat most of the class A action bowlers on any one given night. For instance guys like Buffalo, The Cane, Bee Notoro, Beeper, Larry Starr, Les Sager, Les Shirwindt, etc. etc. the list goes on and on. as good of action bowlers as they were, their in my class B status. 


They came in looking to bowl Mac & Stoop who hadn't showed up yet, I walked over to Bernie and said lets take a shot at some of Irvings money. Bernie said yea, lets do it. We bowled them on 21 & 22, the first game was for round $300, I bet 50, bernie bet about the same and the back covered the rest. Now $300 now adays might not sound like much but lets put it into proper perspective. In 1961 a brand new ford or chevy cost about $1500, a caddy about $2500, a slice of pizza was 15 cents, a hotdog at nathans 20 cents, a gallon of gasoline 25 cents, bowling cost 50 cents a game, get the picture. 
We lost the first game, won the second, lost the 3rd, the bets remained between 3 and 4 hundred a game, each game was very close and the back action stayed with us, Irving was covering anything we put up. In walks my partner and best friend Paul, he sees what's going on and his eyes light up, he's there for the beginning of the 4th game, gives me a hundred to put up in the middle and says were partners now start cleaning their clock. The bet goes up to $500 and we win the next 2 straight. the four of us had been shooting between 190 and 220 the first 5 games, Ave M was never considered a high scoring house.


The next 2 games goes to the opposition for about $600 each. These two guys could really bowl and go the distance but it all finally came together for Bernie and myself, over the next 6 games Dickie and Doug bowled real well but not good enough to beat the 230 plus average I shot and the 220 plus average that Bernie shot, we won all six of the final games, All toll we took Irving for about 5 big ones, I split $2000 with Paul, a thousand each... These were the days when people didn't quit being 2 or 3 down...


Irving came over after the match, shook our hands, said great bowling I only wish Mac and Stoop had been here. The following week I bowled Doug the rug with his loaded ball on 5 and 6 and cleaned his clock, Irving wasn't with him so the money wasn't as big... Oh yea, Doug was a lefty, we did bowl lefties in those days.

The greatest impression any action bowler ever made on me was Kenny Barber. The first time I saw him bowl action was at Kings Lanes in Brooklyn against Bobby Smith in the early 60s.

This skinny kid had an approach, ball, and game I never saw before, he totally floored made, His style would become what some of the greats of the future would try and duplicate, but who could truly duplicate the one and only, the original, Kenny Barber...

AC butch, creator of ActionBowlers.com

http://www.actionbowlers.com/action/barber.htm

It is hard to believe the amount of action bowling that took place in the New York metropolitan area back in the 1960s and 1970s. It was everywhere. I do remember the large number of bowling establishments in Westchester County, New York alone.  I remember Elmsford Lanes, Sky Top Bowling, Brunswick Yonkers Bowl, Post Bowling Academy. There was a small bowling center in Dobbs Ferry, New York called Scappy's. They had just 12 lanes. It featured Brunswick "JetBack" A pinsetters, surface ball returns, no automatic scoring. They added bumper bowling in the 1980s. It was one of the last vintage bowling establishments in Westchester County, New York.  All of these bowling centers are now memory. Scappy's was however, the last of its kind to close in Westchester County, New York. It still sported wooden lanes and they never installed 1980s, 1990s, era masking units. It closed in September 2001, 9 days after 9/11. Perhaps the best example of a bowling alley in my area that still has a little bit of it's early heritage is Homefield Bowl in Yonkers, New York. Though they have synthetic lanes, they still have their Brunswick "JetBack: A pinsetters. Even the occasional pin sweep (rake) will sport a late 1950s or early 1960s era Brunswick in script lettering on a gold background. Like many bowling centers today, it has plenty of modern trappings. There is automatic scoring, modern masking units, modern ball returns and air conditioning. The center itself is probably around 50 years old. It is certainly a survivor. There are a few other bowling centers that remain in Westchester County, New York.

 It would be interesting if some entrepreneur(s) would be interested in building a new bowling center in Westchester County, New York. Many defunct bowling establishments have become retail stores and with the current economic situation, it might be a more attractive to invest in a bowling alley than retail stores. With a few exceptions, many retail stores can go out of business in a short time where as a bowling alley has at least a 30 year service life. This life can be extended by proper maintenance and overhauling equipment. Many bowling centers can probably last 50 years or more. Perhaps developers should consider putting in bowling centers in place of retail buildings that have outlived their usefulness.

Jeff Alterman 

I

I love this site, so glad I found it. While growing up I heard a lot about action bowling, I can't believe all the stories here about the bowlers I heard so much about but never saw.

Thanks Butch for bringing all this to us.

Jean Balukas

Brooklyn NY

^{Ovington Bowling Lanes is where I learned to bowl and virtually grew up, at that time the pool room was upstairs and managed by the great Oliver Laurie, the bowling lanes and snack bar on the ground floor were later converted to the new pool room by Jeans dad, Great memories, I lived around the corner on 5th ave between Ovington and 72nd... Butch (check this out about Ovington Lanes)}

(Jean Balukas Video) (More About Jean) (Jeans Bio)

Jean Balukas  father, Albert Balukas, along with his partner, professional player Frank McGown, was the proprietor of a forty-eight-table pool hall called the Ovington Lounge in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn, New York. Balukas's introduction to play was at 4 years of age, not on one of her father's tables but on a 4-1⁄2 by 9 foot pool table in the cellar of her childhood home, purchased by her parents to keep her four billiards-playing brothers out of local pool rooms. In later years Balukas explained that she "almost never went to the pool hall and if I did go, I didn't play. I felt uncomfortable, and besides, girls didn't go in those days."

Johnny Gayle NYC

I bowled lots of action in the sixties and this website brings back some great memories,I saw most of the guys mentioned here and bowled some of them.

Hey Butch... I shot action in whitestone with Kenny Barber, Doc, Mush, Larry Festa, and Feeley, LaGuardia, with Milo, Furgeson, and the man, the gorilla , the guy that had arms down to his friggan knees, God bless him, Batissta. I was there when they opened LaGuardia, and Feeley, and Gene Furgeson versus, Fazio, and Milo, and it was telephone numbers all day. Anyway Getting back to Kenny, he was very well respected in Whitestone, kept us safe, if you know what I mean, and with his help, i grew into a good action shooter, learned from Feeley, And later on, at Century lanes from The Great One every Tuesday, Andy Verapapa. I am 62 now averaging 215 NO Block, and am having the time of my life teaching... Keep this Game alive !!!

Islandguy...

I remember the Lisa Maurice accident and that they had moved to California. Dave didn't bowl much action but had a few very nice finishes on the PBA tour. Loyal Inn is now a Staples and yes, a very fine house. It was my home house from '65 to '83 when I moved on to Ridge Bowl and Post my final 3 years before hanging it up. The Loyal Inn Friday Majors was the premier league in Westchester Cty during the late '60's through the mid '80's. Many of the action bowlers bowled at one time or another in that league, Behrbom, Gaito, Joe Hooks, Frank Gentile, Materasso, Heller, Iula, Kourabas, Steiner, and Tartaglia to name a few

missybearts

looking at the web site and it brought back many memiors of how it use to be and is not no more. My pick for one of the great action bowlers of all time would be Richie Hornreich of Brooklyn, u had to be there to watch a bowler without a nerve in his body whenever he needed a strike to win.

Bob Simonelli Sr.

The Hub is Spring Valley had a great major league back in the mid 60's. I bowled on a team with Ernie Schlegel, Herb Ringel, "Fast Eddie" Fenton and John Huie. Ralph Engan, Bob Materasso, Hank Boroughs and lots of the top action bowlers were in that league.

Harrybar

 

Don Peterson St Louis

 

I grew up bowling action but not in the ny area. I never realized you had so much of it there. The stories are great.

Hey Butch, been awhile since your TV show. See your still in action.
Jimmy Snuka

My dad told me about all the great action bowlers in the 50s and 60s in and around detroit, he was one of them. Finding this site was a real prize. I can't believe

Denny Detroit

Butch's Interview On Phantom Radio

Len, that was some compliment and I really appreciate it, many thanks. You are the total pro and made my interview easy to do.

Everyone should check out the Phantom at
http://www.foundation300.com/Forum16-1.aspx

He's had a whose who from the world of bowling on his show.

I really enjoyed the Mark Roth interview, he talked about the Brooklyn action and my home lanes Ave M Bowl...

AC Butch
 

Up Close: Meet the Man (AC Butch) Who Has Brought the Action Scene to the 'Net
With Jim Dressel - Bowlers Journal

Jeff Kitter Still Bowling 2008

USBC championship provides record-breaking competition
Gutter Chatter
Published Mon, Mar 10, 2008 12:00 AM

Jeff Kitter was the big winner in the all events scratch with a 643-653-623 for 1919 total to edge Cory Sikes at 1896, Bill Brady (1875), Randy Vigh (1874), Mike Robinson (1871) and Al Brownrigg (1870) among the 50 entries.

http://www.actionbowlers.com/action/kitter_2008.htm

THERE WHERE SO MANY MATCHES I DONT NO WHERE TO BEGIN, BUT THE ONE THAT REALLY STICKS IN MY MIND WAS THE ONE AGAINST MOUSIE (STEVIE) AT AVE M WHEN HE NEEDED A STRIKE AND GOT A SOLID 7 AND 3,000 WAS THROWN IN THE AIR BY JOSIE WHAT A SITE. 

Louie Spadaro

You know I "RESPECT " the opinions of everybody who's voiced them. But only Lou Capasso even mentioned Bobby Perry ( I think). When Bobby walked in he put the fear of God in people . I only saw him lose once in 7 yrs of knowing him . That was to Steve Tripp in Wallington lanes . It was a Three game match . They split the first two and Bobby left a ringing ten for the money in the third match. I went to places where people wouldn't bowl him . If he wanted action they made him shoot for score . First 680 (winner easy , didn't make the 4th frame of the third game ) and then 700 (again never bowled the 7th frame of the 3rd game) . And say what you want , Bobby NEVER threw a bad shot when the money was on the line . Never . I saw him beat almost EVERYONE of the guys that are mentioned in these threads .EVERYONE of them . I remember meeting Earl Anthony ( He was in town visiting )in Paramus lanes one night (I was a teenager at the time at that time he bowled anchor for D'amato paperstock , Mark Roth bowled leadoff ) and Bobby introduced me to him . Bobby walked away and Earl said to me "You know , he's the best bowler in the world " nodding his head pointing to Bobby . Bobby was the best unequivacably, without a doubt . Anyone who truly knows bowling knows that on a given night even a blind squirrel could find a nut . But a Lion will always eat . Bobby was a Lion on the lanes . Again in his time period I saw him beat EVERYONE of the guys mentioned in these memos:  joeyja

Hello joeyja,
I remember hearing of Bob Perry and certainly would have like to have meet him. There was alot of tigers throughout the years and I enjoyed all! Rudy was impressive with his act but when things were not right he suffered. Steve Tripp is a bowler I know and he could be tough. Willie Willis was tough if you didn't get to him. Steve Fehr of Cincinnati was a tough bowler but has been slowed by injury. Walt Corminsky of South Africa is a tiger who had alot of tough breaks but finally beat Chris Barnes to win the world masters. To bad we could only get to promote some of these great action shooters instead of touring pros. We had some great megabucks shooters who excelled on the difficult conditions. I personally think the toughest I have seen on late night house shots on burned out lanes was Norm Duke. He has magic in his ability to change hand releases. One short story, I walked into Bloomfield Ct. where they were shooting pot games. Mike Collins (once a feared lefty in early 60's) ran the pro shop. He was bowling with a few top average bowlers. Polychem owned the house and the lanes had become difficult. High game was around 185. Earl Anthony came in (he represented Polychem) and asked if he could bowl. Sure!! He walked up threw two warmups then proceed to throw the first 7 strikes!!! Mike then turned and said "What do we know about bowling". (Do you remember Mike on Burton's tips on ball drilling on ABC when he was drilling for Lichstein on the tour}.:  daryld

Back in the early 80's I was with Bobby everyday . But I haven't seen him in many years . I live in Fl now and probably never will . BUT I'd love to . To congratulate him . I bought the DVD of the Movie they mad e about his life story . I'm proud of him . I'd love to go to the track with him to bet the grass horses the day after the rain . Looking for Bold Ruler's that were 6 furlong closers stretching out to a mile . BUT Back to the bowling I went with Bobby everywhere back then And I Don't care who it was Where it was , what words came out of their mouth When Bobby walked in EVERYONE shut up . They knew that if they talked shit that Bobby would make them back it up . Every single person mentioned on this website , if they were around in Bobby's day He beat em .

Vinnie Trucelli and Joe (Joey G) Giovinazzo bowled in the 60s action againt Hornreich, O K,  Roth,  Engan,  Iggy Russo,  Simonelli,  the list goes on and on.

Bowled action between Brooklyn and Jersey and S.I.,  bowled with Ernie S in the Paramus Eastern Classic, they bowled together 1967 in Patterson rec shot 557 Joe 279  Vin 278  was 3rd highest doulbles score in the Nation if you need more info let me know thanks ...   Vic Mayo

Looking at the web site  brought back many memories of how it use to be and is not no more. My pick for one of the great action bowlers of all time would be Richie Hornreich of Brooklyn u had to be there to watch a bowler without a nerve in his body whenever he needed a strike to win. Bob Simonelli Sr

This happened one Friday night at the Hub in Monsey NY back in the late 60's... There always was action after the Classic League, Erinie, Dewey, Mike Ginsburg, The Beeper, etc. would arrive around midnight. That night there was a big poker and crap game upstairs at The Cue Room, which was a pool hall run by Red Katz who always was betting on something. About 3am the joint was jumping with action and the State Police raided the Cue Room, there was a door leading to the attic section of the Hub and some guy ducked out of it, hoping to escape. Well he escaped all right.....right through the ceiling and landed on his back on 19-20, the cops stormed in and took him away.  jjknapp

Meadowbrook Lanes in Fort Worth, TX, was where the action was in Texas from the late 1960's til the late 1970's. Gary Dickinson was unbeatable there. Norm Duke bowled action there as a kid. Bob McGregor learned to play the gutter shot there. The owner (Carmichael??) was a card player and would bet on almost anything.
It was a split house (16 lanes on each side). The 'red' side played out and the 'blue' side played in the track.
A match could be found at any time. Of course it might be against Dickinson, but it could be found.

texastwin

A lot of bowlers came to New Orleans to bowl BOBBY JACKS back in the 70's and a lot of bowlers went home broke,he had ice in his viens. He should be added to the Hall of Fame along with guys like Tim Levron, Duane Troxler at Expressway Lanes, "El Toro" at Bridge Bowl and others.

I think the best of times was the 60's and 70's in New Orleans for Action Bowles.You could go any night in any house and they had a game going.

Rudy "Rev"s still around and lives in Miss, but don't remember him bowling in the 90's, we had no action back then and still don't have any with only 2 houses around.

algiersfats

Cane, how's it going?

Good I hope, haven't been in contact for awhile, my fault. Bowled a couple of Sr. stops this summer, Seattle and Vegas, they try to make it a strike contest, looks more like a farse to me. However that not why I e-mailed you. Did you know Jimmy Lee, a young left hander from Cal. Jimmy loved action, you probably met him with Mike Litchstein during one of his trips east, he stayed with Mike alot. Jimmy passed away Tues in the am, he tried to beat Cancer put couldn't. He will be missed by a great many of us including: Lenny Nicholson, Wiseman, Couch, Himmler, Wodka, Kent and many others. When you memtion action mention Jimmy.

Thanks, Take Care

Barry Asher

Does anyone remember Val Macari?

I was so excited to find this site! My dad was an action bowler out of Brooklyn in the 1960's. His name was Val Macari. I have seen his name mentioned a few times on the site. He passed away on 9/30/04 and I miss him terribly. The reason I joined was to see if anyone had some stories or memories about him. I want to tell my 3 boys about something that was such a big part of his life when I was too young to appreciate it. I remember bowling with him at Maple Lanes & Ave M when I was growing up. He met my mom at Maple, and every time we'd go in there it was like being with family. I really felt at home there even as a very little girl. He loved the sport more than anything, and I know toward the end of his life, he'd stop by Maple to see who would be there. Please, if anyone has a story, a chance meeting, a great match, or a memory of my dad, please share it. I would love to hear it. Thank you.

I didn't personally know your dad but saw him bowl many times at Maple in the pot games, I also saw him at Ave M in the 60s

He was a truly great bowler, threw a beautiful ball and had a real good approach, Val was definetly one of the best ever bowlers to come out of Brooklyn

He was real tough in head to head action matches, he was also a very good looking man.

PS
I loved the food counter at maple, real good breakfast food especially.  relic

Sorry to hear your dad past away

You'll get plenty of stories when Lenny the Cane and Lou Capasso who I'm sure you know visit the board and see your post.

I also saw Val bowl many a match and was always in awe of his game. For sure he was one of the best when he was in his prime...

PS
It would be an honor to have you sign our new guestbook
http://pub11.bravenet.com/guestbook/915536056/    ZooMaster

1961, Butch vs. Gene Jacobs at Quenton Lanes Brooklyn.

It was a Friday night, Paul and I went for burgers at Cousins on Coney Island Ave. We finished about 1 am and were about to go to Ave M when Paul suggested checking out Quenton Lanes across the street, it was a small old bowling alley with 12 lanes. I had never bowled there but said ya, why not. I walked in and asked the counterman if they ever had any action here, it so happens the owner Gene Jacobs was standing there and said yaw wanna bowl me kid, I said why not and he told me to pick the pair.

I didn’t know Gene, it turns out he was best of friends with Stoop who first started bowling there when he was a teenager and Gene backed him once he became real good, besides owning the bowling alley Gene also owned vending machines.

From what I found out later from Stoop, Gene was a pretty good bowler years ago but was now over the hill. As soon as I saw him throw a few practice balls I knew this was a mismatch, I was at my best at that time. To make a long story short I beat him 8 straight for about $1500, big money way back then. He had cleaned out his pockets along with the register and asked to bowl on a marker, I politely said I never bowl on markers, I didn’t really know him and didn’t know if I’d get paid, plus when bowling on markers you never know when to end it. He said fine and insisted on taking us for breakfast across the street, a real gentlemen.

The next day when I went to Ave M and asked Stoop if Gene would have been good for the markers he said he already heard about the match, he also said I could’ve beat Gene for 10 grand because he was that much of a chaser and it would have been good as gold, that I would have been paid the next day.

He also said I blew my chance at the biggest score of my life because he called Gene and told him never to bowl me again that I was 25 pins better than him...

butch

Hi from Calgary, Alberta. In the early 1980's 7-10 guys would meet at noon at least once and week and bowl 3 game blocks. $5/game, $5/total, AND 10cents a pin UP THE LADDER. Losing could become very expensive and winning highly profitable. I missed a lot of work many afternoon, office would have no idea where I was and never asked. Made a weeks pay quite often and it died out after about 2 years. Never been anything like it since. Every spare or double was worth about $10 bucks when you think about it and every open would cost you that much. It was a great way to learn to handle pressure, or not, and to make some good dough, or not. Triples would go from 500-660 or so and the losers would be digging deep and the big winners would pay all the lineage. What a great time. Anybody else got crazy stories like that.

Anybody old enough from back in New York or Montreal area to remember Francois L. aka Frank L. and his entourage of black shirted white tied 'associates'. Greatest bowling memories or my life revolve around him. Can't be like that anymore, or can it? If you remember him or those like him, I would love to hear it. When he was on TV Bowling shows back then and that was often, they would get front row seats. Don't see that on ESPN Sunday Morning.

bobputtick

I would like to nominate Harry the Horse for the Action Bowlers HOF. From around 1960 to about 1965 he held his own against every top action bowler in the Bronx, and the Bronx had a lot of great ones. The thing about the Horse was that no one ever saw him shoot a bad game. The only way to beat him was to shoot sky high numbers. Guys would take him on, but even when they did, they usually acted like they wished they were somewhere else, because they knew he wasn't going to beat himself. There wasn't much he didn't know about bowling, and he would rattle his opponent by giving the guy advice about the guy's line, etc. Like "on twelve, move two boards to the right and speed up your delivery a little." That was funny enough, but the really funny part about that was that he would actually give the guy good advice, because he always knew what someone was doing wrong, but his opponent would never take his advice, and the Horse knew the guy wouldn't, so he would just give it, and watch the other guy screw up by not listening to him. He was funny as hell, and a great bowler.   Rocco "The Rock"

A fabulous article in bowlers journal about action. I bowled with, against, and hung out with for a short time Rudy Revs and seen some incredible matches ,probably the best most exciting bowling I have ever seen , including the Pro Tour and I have been watching them my whole life. "Mr. Action" Bill Daly was there for it all , he bowled in the same league as Rudy and many other great bowlers I never seen or heard anyone analyze and break down a lane any better than Bill Daly, to anyone that ever had even a little interest in bowling , he and a handful of others have become bowling legends , like mythical figures , from matches with local greats to Weber,Roth,Cook, Ballard etc. (Don`t Forget to ask around about the match against Vespi.It was a special time. I truly wish I would have experienced so much more of it. I wisk we could all go back. I myself was not at there level just below it ,( I actually bowled with part owner Bobby (The " Beak " Em.) I have not bowled in many years but the little I Seen has and will be with me forever IT TRULY WAS INCREDIBLE!! P.S. - I seen and spoke to Rudy and Bill this past December at Babylon Bowl on Long Island when the Pro Tour was here. Thanks For Great Memories the Stories Will Live Forever. " Big Bob " Smithtown Long Island -Grew Up in Deer Park and bowled at Deer Park Bowl

THE BEST PRO BOWLERS YOU HAVEN'T SEEN ON ESPN . . . YET
Deep Inside . . . By Tommy Delutz Jr.
April 2003

Michael Fagan (22) is another guy who can hook the ball on a sheet of
ice. If he were a baseball pitcher, the scouting report would say, "can't
miss" - and that report would be backed up by two top-eight finishes. His
500-rpm rev rate and his New York "action bowling" background make him one
of the favorites on this list to make TV first.

BowlersJournal.com

The best action bowler ever from Long Island is without a doubt M.L. (Lemon)

The best action bowler ever from Brooklyn is without a doubt R.H. (The Horn)

Who was better, Lemon or Horn?

Which was the greatest action house house of all time?

My top list of action houses in no particular order was:

Central Lanes
Yonkers Bowl
Whitestone Lanes
Deer Park Bowl
Ave M Bowl

These houses were in a league of their own, any other house would have to go on the B list.  Zoo Master

No way! You left off one of the greatest action houses of all time - Gun Post in the Bronx. Just read some of the posts on this web site by the bowlers who used to bowl there and remember what it was like. Action all night, every lane, and ALL the great shooters - Lemon, Ralph, Ernie, Medici, Harry the Horse, Howie Palefski, Pyscho Dave, Joel Meyers - all of them on your list of nominees for the action bowlers HOF. And all for big bucks. You just had to be there to really know what it was like, but ask anybody who was there in the sixties. I was, and I can tell you that those other houses you list may have been great, but there is no way that any house was a bigger or greater action house than Gun Post in the sixties.  Lefty Mike

Lefty Mike is right. I think Gun Post in the sixties was the greatest action house anywhere ever. Non-stop action, all night long, all the top bowlers, they came from everywhere to bowl, watch, and bet. I've never seen anything like it since.  Bronx old timer

Sorry, your right, my error.

I also was never there but sure wish I was, It sounds like Gun Post might be the #1 of all times but that's still being debated.

Central of course is always mentioned as #1, Ave M Brooklyn, and Falcaro's also have a lot of supporters.  Zoo Master
 

You really have a great site it bring back great memories, I feel like going in that DeLoreon and going right back to the 50's & 60's. I came from Falcaros and used to hang with Freddie the Ox, Ray Shell,Sis,etc. and we really had a great time traveling to Bklyn to bowl all the great action guys. There are some names I recall that I haven't as yet found on your site,names such as Billy Picone,Vinny Pantuso, Billy Gambino,Joe Lyons,Jack Clementi, I saw the match where Fred the Ox bowled Lou Spadero I was there for that one,the one that never got off the ground.I recall going to the Brooklyn Paramount on Sat. nite and watching the Cleftones, etc.Murray the K and then going to Kings Lanes,Seaview and Sid Gordons . Those days were apart of my life that I wouldn't give up for all the tea in China.E-mail me back so I can discuss these things from another old timer........Thanks Neal

Way back then did many guys come to Inwood to bowl Ernie Schlelgal, was there much action there... Mr Action

There was plenty of action at Inwood, but it was a small house, and it's action days coincided with the action at Gun Post, which was THE action house in the sixties in the Bronx, so the action wasn't as often at Inwood as it would have been. Yes, plenty of people came to Inwood to bowl Ernie, and most of them ended up wishing they hadn't. The problem for them was that Ernie was practically unbeatable down there. First of all, Chris Kourabas, who owned Inwood, would let Ernie practice all day long for free, and he did. Secondly, the shot at Inwood might as well have been designed for Ernie, because he threw a full roller, practically a straight ball, and he was very accurate. A shooter throwing a big hook would struggle, while Ernie would just go straight up and in just a little. Inwood was in Washington Heights, just across the bridge from the Bronx, near Dykeman and Broadway, Academy Street. Harry Bar, on this web site, used to have his pro shop at Inwood... Harry The Horse

As for Ernie's ball, if you go back to one of my earliest posts, about a year ago, you will see that I said that I had always thought that Ernie threw the worst ball of all the really top action bowlers. Like you, I could never understand how he could beat the top guns. I mentioned in that same post that I did see him lose to some not so great bowlers. But actually the truth is that throwing a full roller straight up and in is one of the best balls that anyone can throw - IF - and I say ONLY IF - you are incredibly, unbelievably accurate on every shot, because there is no room whatsoever for error. If you are not dead perfect in the pocket, you will never carry the five. When you throw a big hook, even if you're a little light, you can still strike with a mixer, or, more often, if you have enough ball, you will strike with a sweeper, where the five takes out the seven. But Ernie never threw a sweeper in his life, for the reason I stated above - if he was light he could never carry the five. The only way he ever struck on a light hit was with a mixer, what he called "scrambled eggs." So if you throw that kind of ball and line, you have to be perfect. The thing was that when he was on, Ernie usually WAS perfect, so when he was on, he could beat anybody... Harry The Horse

The guy I was most impressed with on first sight was Joe Berardi in 1976 at raceway, he was going to bowl the horn. I had never heard of him, when I saw that ball he threw in practice I was awe struck and something weird happened, the horn picked up his ball and walked off the lanes after Joey burried his first 10 straight in practice. Of course this was years after the horn was in his prime... Action Bowler

Lou capasso was an amazing bowler you morons haven't a clue how good he was. i have bowled action in 5 states from the mid 70's till now. he attacked the lanes like a hungry bear. he could overcome all lane conditions and play anywhere on the lane. true story ,one night in staten island daly wouldn't let his boys bowl lou a match. then he and snake were turned down for a doubles match by daly.......end the lou bashing because you people dont have a clue.

1975 to 1985 were some of the best times of my life, You did have to throw the ball well in those days. But you also had to carry. I bowled plenty of matches at La Gaurdia. My Father, Artie Eng, was the manager there for many years. I bowled Hank and Cliffy, Tavie , Beeper . Bowled Lou Lemone (2 fingers), we bowled Broomsticks. If you see Snake, Simo Jr.
Bonelli, most of the brooklyn gang,They all know me. I knew your rep when I was 15. I had some good matches over at Woodhaven too. I bowled Rudy and Won there. Grind outs 180's

I can go on for hours. I Drilled balls for Kenny Barber at Age 15 out of Whitestone, Got to know all the Old-timers. Jack Clemente, Joe Cirillo, Those are 2 of the Nicest yet toughest guys in the game. I knew Roy Garcea well from the Bowlmor. Hung out in that area in my mid teens
I retired from bowling around 1989-90. When reactive resin blowouts started hitting the market and the pins!

Unfortunately, anything you say here gets a negative response from someone. that doesn't understand. If you evre need anyone for a foursome, let me know.  Randy ExDegen Eng

Rubio vs Norm Duke 2005

The match took place at Homefield. 4-game freezeout at $1500/game. Norm Duke won. It was a quality match--the kind rarely seen anymore.

I must admit it brought back memories.. great match every game was pretty close, norm bowled great and so did rebeo. I dont think anyone thought it would be as tough of a match as it was, gotta give rubeo credit he bowled very well!!!!!

4 game freeze out 6,000 to the winner. at 1 point Rubeo was up 2 games but the cream always rises to the top. after about 20 games Duke came 4 up to win.

Also Scianna was bowling Judge. Scianna was 2 up when I left. Dont know what the bet was or the end result.

Billy RED. Duke got half for the win-$3g. Nothing owed if he ever lost which was impossible. They bowled on the "S" shot which no longer stands for the scumbag shot so named by Rudy, but now known as stupid referring to Rubeo's banker Judge. You'd have to be stupid to back anybody against this great bowler. Duke wins the last five after bowling for three hours and 9 games at the us open in the morning. Guess Rubeo got tired first. I need the business so send Judge to me to clear his little mind, before he backs Rubeo against another top pro next week.

no one ever beat rubio on that pattern until duke and it wasnt the same pattern at the same house. im sure judge doesnt think rubio is a better bowler than duke but you are too idiotic to see this. judge is up alot more than 6k betting on rubio agaisnt people on the S shot. he bowled and beat rudy, scianna, neuman, robert smith he tied, chris johnson dj archer. they bowl for the action and thrill not for purpose of making a living. bowling is a game and you people act like its all you got, pretty sad.

Homefield. Bowled 18 games. Duke missed one spare for the entire match. Wins last five. Needs the hit for the win and flushes. Judge now stuck close to $9,000 after Rubeo's loss to Rudy and Duke. Judge doesn't even blink. Guess when youir loaded, what does it mean. Like betting with fake money. Sure Judge will be putting Rubeo up against somebody else for big bucks beflore the pros leave the end of next week. Rubeo was good, probably averaged better than 240. Not good enough against one of the greats.

I watched the match for 20 games. In the course of the match there were many clutch shots by both players. First, in respect to Norm Duke, he is a fabulous bowler and even a classier gentleman. On the hand of Rubeo, he showed trmendous skill and determination to be able to compete with a hall of famer and legend in a grueling 20 game match. I myself asked Norm Duke did he think the match would be this tough and he said yes. He gave tremendous props to John after the match was over...again, showing the class all legends should have. Whoever gets on the board and knocks John's skill as an action bowler is either a fool or just a hater. He has challenged many of pros, beat some and lost to some. I, in all the years of playing sports on a top level have very rarely seen an amateur perform with such skill in a very tough situation against one of the best of all time. It was a pleasue to watch John compete at such a high level and I know the people of NewYork were very proud of his performance. Again, we thank Norm Duke for performing like the star he is and being truly a gentleman and a class act. Thats the way it was.

AF

great action bowlers, here are a few of the best and any time they bowled with or againest each other was like a great game in any sport you loved to watch. joe s,frank medici ralph engan(the most feared), jake charter, dewey blair, lemongello,ritchie hornriech,jack clemente,rich pizzutti, jeff kitter,john massaro,ernie schlegel,doc iandolli,jimmy mChugh, pete mylenki,mike derose,and many more that i'm probably other people can add to this great list. each one of these bowlers had alot of talentand when they bowled each other it was beautiful to watch no matter who one the clutch strikes the jibeing was worth the price of admission

Psycho Dave was actually not a pimp. He just lived off women. He was a nice looking guy, and he would tell women he loved them, sleep with them, and they would give him money. He called himself Dave Blank, but his real name was Dave Blankenstein. We were really good friends in those days. We could both shoot left handed almost as well as right, and when some fish walked in, we would casually bowl against each other left handed, and eventually reel them in, until some big money came on the line. Then we would turn around and bowl right handed. We had to be careful about who we did that to, because it could be dangerous.

I can't remember the name of our house, (does anyone? It was on Macombs Road, just off Jerome Avenue) There was plenty of action there, but Gunpost Lanes was the real place. We didn't have the greatest bunch of bowlers, but we had the greatest roster of characters anywhere, straight out of Damon Runyon. Including me, we were Harry the Horse, Psycho Dave, Lenny the Loser, Checkbook Al, Waldo the Professor, Harvey the Baker, and I can't remember who else. Al Unger was very good. Al and I got drafted at the same time, and spent Basic Training together.

One day Pyscho Dave challenged Frank Medici, who was a phenomenal bowler, to shoot only ten pins. Frank never missed a ten pin, so they put up some money. Frank's jaw dropped when Psycho Dave stepped up to the line and simply shot them left handed! I recall it went on forever with nobody missing, and I can't recall if anyone actually won. They probably both agreed to call it off.

In answer to the original question about Bronx action bowlers, I can only give some distant memories. Ernie Schlegel was never as good as the top bowlers. Ralph and Lemon were terrific, and I think they both were briefly on the PBA Tour, but I'm not sure. Joel Myers used to bowl in a little dark house - Boston Road Lanes. He was great, but inconsistent. Iggy Russo came down there one night, carrying a long bag with five or six balls in it. He would test out the lanes, and then come up with whichever ball was just right for those particular lanes. What a great idea! He was very good, but not as good as the real top bowlers. Howie Palefski was deadly, but left too many ten pins. Every single time he saw me he would tell me I looked like Chris Schenkel. He was one of the few action bowlers who was really intelligent.

Ah, those were the days! : Harry The Horse

Here is a name from the past LOU CAPASSO

Now that was someone who had natural talent and wasted it. Maybe is was due to too much too soon & being too young {of course not to mention the "powder" or gambling problems.} Looking at his size you would never think he was as smooth as he was. He actually made it look easy. The guy had NATURAL TALENT THAT YOU RARELY SEE TODAY. I really miss watching him bowl. I bet if he had the right people behind him Lou Capasso would have gone far. And on that note here is a piece of advise to the person who claimed he had what it took to back Lou or anyone who wants to back people out on tour: BE COMMITTED TO THE PERSON YOU ARE BACKING. IF YOU REALLY DONT HAVE THE MONEY TO BACK THEM, THEN DONT MAKE PROMISES YOU CANT KEEP. A LOT OF TALENTED IS WASTED BECAUSE OF PROMISES AND LOYALITY {OR LACK THERE OF}. IF YOU CAN'T BACK THEM, ALLOW SOMEONE WHO IS SERIOUS AND HAS THE FINANCIAL CAPABILITY TO DO IT... very observant      

Brooklyn is the greatest.

Snake was an excellent action bowler in the 80's just ask Lenny the Cane. John Colossi was an excellent bowler. He won some Lustig's including the Bellerose Winter Challenge for $10,000. He also finished second in the Buddy Russel or Varipapa, forgot which one, I think he won a regional or two as well. He also bowled a lot of action in the early 90's. Simo Jr. was a great bowler but lost the battle to gambling and drugs. Simo Sr. was a great bowler. Saba was an excellent bowler. These people won tournaments and acheived things in bowling. I don't know what your talking about. Don't mention Petraglia, the man is a legend. Roth is the greatest bowler to come out of NY Metro area ever and he spent many a days in Maple. Brooklyn has the best bowling history in our area so respect it and the players that are from there. Long Island and Jersey have nothing in the history of our sport compared to Brooklyn. Brooklyn is where legends are made. Brooklyn is the greatest.. Anonymous

Action Folklore

Action bowlers today vs yesterday

Well some things never change. What seems to be blocking most of your brains is that todays "action bowlers" only like their own houses. A real action bowler {like the Hornet, Spallone, Santini, and more names than i can type} they BOWLED EVERYWHERE AND ANYWHERE.{Which is more than I can say for most of the bowlers in brooklyn and in staten island} If we took some of you guys out of your own house you couldnt even beat a blind man. You claim to be a action bowler well get off your azzez and BOWL ANYWHERE and stop your crying crap. {It gets real tiresome with all your Blah Blah Blah nonsense}. Oh yes, I forgot, You action bowlers of today only know synthetics..ahhh yes the blind mans shot. Sure do miss those wood and laquer lanes. lmfao today's action bowler wouldnt be able to break 100 { and that is giving you 80 pins to start}... very observant

Harry the Horse:

The bowling center you referred to was All-Star Lanes on Macombs Road. I grew up around the corner on Inwood Avenue. Thanks for bringing back good memories. : SueS

Well I guess you don't remember much. Ralph won three titles and lemon was on tour for ten years and probably the only bowler voted into the HOF with only 6 titles. Probably because he won two majors in one year. Schlegel was a great action bowler as most know and absolutely better than Ralph in action. Only the Horn and Lemon were better: Senior Citizen

Hi Susie –

Thank you for reminding me of the name of my old house. All-Star Lanes. In view of the fact that I spent most of my life down there, day and night, you would think I'd remember the name, but this was forty years ago.

I still don't know how I happened to stumble onto this website, I wasn't looking for it, and hadn't thought about the old days for many years, but it sure brought back some memories. I have an All-Star Lanes story for you. I mentioned we had some great character names down there: Pyscho Dave, Lenny the Loser, Checkbook Al, etc. We had one guy down there – Mike Bowler. Now the thing is that this was actually his real name! We didn't believe him, until he finally showed us his driver's license. Mike Bowler. Unbelievable. The guy was an incredibly terrific shooter, with one of the smoothest deliveries I have ever seen. He could easily have gone on the tour, but he would never, ever bowl action. Not for a penny. He was just a Citizen who liked to bowl. He would come down two or three nights a week, just bowl six or eight games all by himself, and average in the 230s. One night some guys came down from some house and we were all sitting around. Mike Bowler's name came up, and they didn't believe it was his real name. We insisted it was, and we said what's more he can live up to it. Well some trash talk started, and finally we challenged them. Mike agreed to bowl, because he wasn't putting up a penny, and he didn't care who he bowled. As far as he was concerned he was just bowling for fun. So they put up their best guy against Mike for a three game set. We sent in a bundle laughing our heads off, because we knew what Mike could do, and furthermore there was no pressure on him. He couldn't have cared less – he was basically bowling against himself. Well. Mike shoots an EIGHT, and we never saw that bunch again. We offered Mike some money, but he wouldn't take a cent. I guess the moral of the story is that your mother told you to never bowl against a guy whose name is Bowler. Shortly after that, Mike stopped coming down, and we never saw him again.: Harry The Horse

Here is a name from the past LOU CAPASSO

Now that was someone who had natural talent and wasted it. Maybe is was due to too much too soon & being too young {of course not to mention the "powder" or gambling problems.} Looking at his size you would never think he was as smooth as he was. He actually made it look easy. The guy had NATURAL TALENT THAT YOU RARELY SEE TODAY. I really miss watching him bowl. I bet if he had the right people behind him Lou Capasso would have gone far. And on that note here is a piece of advise to the person who claimed he had what it took to back Lou or anyone who wants to back people out on tour: BE COMMITTED TO THE PERSON YOU ARE BACKING. IF YOU REALLY DONT HAVE THE MONEY TO BACK THEM, THEN DONT MAKE PROMISES YOU CANT KEEP. A LOT OF TALENTED IS WASTED BECAUSE OF PROMISES AND LOYALITY {OR LACK THERE OF}. IF YOU CAN'T BACK THEM, ALLOW SOMEONE WHO IS SERIOUS AND HAS THE FINANCIAL CAPABILITY TO DO IT... very observant      

Action bowlers today vs yesterday

Well some things never change. What seems to be blocking most of your brains is that todays "action bowlers" only like their own houses. A real action bowler {like the Hornet, Spallone, Santini, and more names than i can type} they BOWLED EVERYWHERE AND ANYWHERE.{Which is more than I can say for most of the bowlers in brooklyn and in staten island} If we took some of you guys out of your own house you couldnt even beat a blind man. You claim to be a action bowler well get off your azzez and BOWL ANYWHERE and stop your crying crap. {It gets real tiresome with all your Blah Blah Blah nonsense}. Oh yes, I forgot, You action bowlers of today only know synthetics..ahhh yes the blind mans shot. Sure do miss those wood and laquer lanes. lmfao today's action bowler wouldnt be able to break 100 { and that is giving you 80 pins to start}... very observant

Greatest Jersey Action Bowler's

Bowlmor-Met Majors

Dream Match:

Ralph Engan vs. Mike Limongello (before he changed his name)

Comments: Being from the East Coast, and growing up around bowling in the 60s and 70s, I saw my share of action matches. And although I didn't get up to New York as much as I wanted, I managed to see Ernie Schlegel, Richie Hornreich, Ralph Engan, Fred Lening, Joey Berardi, Jack Winters, Jimmy McHugh, Iggy Russo and some of the other top action stars in action. Remember the fake heart attack when someone was betting both sides and found they couldn't afford to win the match?... or lose it? It was a great and colorful era...Jim Dressel (editor, Bowlers Journal)

What a great website.

While not a big action bowler in terms of money -- I always looked for pot games which you could find in almost every bowling alley in the 70's. My friend Paul Lorefice and I always traveled late at night to watch the great action shooters at lots of houses. I bowled leagues at Parkside, Maple, Mill Basin, the original Gil Hodges, Diplomat, Park Circle, Kenmore (and some I can't remember). I remember George Stillman (always loved his release). I remember the Beeber (can't believe he's mentioned here). I bowled in some Kegler tournaments. The whole atmosphere of bowling alleys was so different. I too watch some of the young talented kids practicing today and can't believe the lack of respect for the game I see. The game is definitely too, too easy today with the conditions and pins and equipment. I averaged 195 at Parkside in the early 70's and was one of the best in that house. 195 today is low bowler in some leagues. Oh well -- it has been great reminiscing about the great action days. I'll keep coming back to this site and will tell all my friends back in Brooklyn about it.~~ Gary Rich

The biggest bettors I have seen or heard of by decade (at least $1,000 a game at times):

1960s-Hornreich, Lemon, Davie May, RC from Florida

1970s-Daley, Kidder

1980S-Daley, David Ozio, Richie and Joe Messina

1990s-Daley, Snake Lorenzo, Billy Red Cowan, Norm Duke ...OldTimer

The Heaviest Bowling Balls

The Night I Retired

It's 1961 and besides my father backing me, I had my own crew. My key man, like myself, was also 17. Paul's life is a whole motion picture and book within itself. He was a good-looking macho Italian womanizer, he was also a mans, man.

Pauls father owned a very successful wholesale bagel bakery, he worked as a bagel baker and hated it, even though he earned 3 times the money that most family men did. No matter how much he made, it was never enough. Paul's father was the type of man that would kick the living shit out of him for any reason at all, but that never stopped Paul from doing whatever he wanted.

We would be involved with each other, on and off for all of our lives. Including making sex films that showed on Broadway and through out the World at the tender age of 20. He was working with Andy Warhol and many other famous or near famous people, you'll see a lot more about these years in the motion picture. Paul had an office on 7th Ave above the Carnegie Deli, where he interviewed naked girls for the flicks. Paul would end up firing the leading male many times, and take over the roll himself.

It's 1966 and one of the toughest matches I ever bowled was against Richie Grossman, who would be found a few years later in the trunk of his car in Gravesend Brooklyn with a bullet in the head. It was a Friday night, A week before I would make the biggest mistake of my life, getting married, I left my future wife at about midnight and walked the 5 blocks to the bowling alley.

The night before, my crew, consisting of Paul, Doug, and Larry, had made a mid size hit of about eight hundred bucks, that was suppose to be our kitty for tonight's action. Paul wanted me to bowl Richie Grossman, Doug and Larry felt he was to strong for me because I wasn't bowling much lately and Richie was a workhorse. Paul immediately split the kitty up and told Doug and Larry where to go. He turned to me and said bowl him, you'll eat him alive.

 It turns out it was one of my best nights ever; my first three games were 290, 289 and 246. The first 15 games I averaged about 240 and we were up about eight thousand, by far the most money we were ever ahead. Richie went broke, I paid for the lines, the match was over, or so I thought. I was feeling great, couldn't wait to get out of there and split the money with Paul, in walks Sal the plumber. Richie talks him into backing him and here I am, back on the alleys again.

It's now 5:30 in the morning; all the people that were betting on me had gone home, we were covering Richie for about fifteen hundred a game. By nine thirty, Richie completely wore me out, I quit, winning 300 hundred dollars. Richie was pissed that I quit, while he was still down thousands that the outside betters had left with earlier.

The next night I was at Leader lanes at about 1 am, I was still exhausted from the night before and swore I wouldn't bowl. My partner Doug begged me to bowl doubles with him. Relentlessly I gave in and bet only ten dollars a game out of disgust of what happened the night before, we went on to beating 4 different doubles teams, never lost a game all night long, cleaned out the house, I never increased my bet past ten dollars, many thousands had been won, I made 170 dollars.

 I walked out the front door with my ball in hand, went to the middle of Coney Island Avenue, the sun was just beginning to come up, a lot of the guys were walking out wonderering what I was doing. I slowly went into my approach and delivered the ball down the middle of the avenue, it hooked slowly towards the gutter where it ended up. That was the last time I threw a bowling ball for quite some time. The following Saturday I got married and didn't even walk into a bowling alley for the next ten years.

Who was the best con job as a hustler

Who Had The Best Approach

Big Time Action Houses

Action bowlers, before & after 1980

How good was Ben McNevich

Rudy Was Amazing

The horn's downfall was gambling.screwed up his game. otherwise who knows how good he could have been on tour? richie would come to Central sat night just to make money to get back to acqueduct on monday, and lose.richie came to fiesta in the seventies, waiting for Bill's dice game sunday morning. never bowled, except with the broom. and he was tremendous. 170, if anyone out there remembers. anyway to cut to the chase, rudy before he settled down and went on tour, could lose a ton at AC, come back and win a big Lustig tournament and get even. just blocked out AC. Amazing. maybe rudy does have a mind...Just Browsing

A Question For Bill Daley

duke, former tremendous action bowler.

when he first went on tour, he bowled alot of action back in the early eighties in L.I. when the stop was at Garden city. he traveled with two backers who were willing to bet up to 100g. duke from Texas. only big action state oher than here. dickinson from texas. another former big action bowler. last time duke was here, five, six years ago, rudy bowled Bill Oakes at Centereach. duke backing oaks, betting at least $700 a game. duke had Rudy move each pair. Scores were not that high except for last game. oaks won. duke bet at least $1,200 last game. rudy also bet good, a rarity. $300 a game. rudy 3 or 4 down...Just Browsing

The Truth about Jeff, Rudy, Norm, etc.....

The truth is Jeff is an excellent bowler who keeps getting better. However, he is not as good as Norm, and probably wouldn't bowl Norm unless it was on Staten Island. Norm would definitely win over the long run because he is just better. Norm has also accomplished much more than Jeff in tournaments, and has made a lot more money. Rudy is in his own league and should never be mentioned in the same breath as Norm or Jeff or anybody else in the New York area. Except for maybe Tim Mack. I do think Jeff and Norm would be a good match. However, I would only bet on Norm...Know It All

Early 70s

Back in the early 70's, after our league session at Meadow Lanes in Hartford, Jimmy McKue and a friend dressed in fatigues showed up looking for some action. A local by the name of Don Berry answered the call and took a singles match against McKue. The warmup tosses by McKue were awesome, and no one wanted to bet against him. Myself, I figure that the house bowler has a small edge during the first game at least, so I put down some money on Berry. Believe me, if you had wanted to bet your house, it would have been covered. Anyway, Berry shuts out Mckue in the 7th frame of game number one. I collect and head for the door.

Action At Maple Lanes - Sun - 7/17/2000

It was a pleasure to see some real action at Maple Lanes. Some of the celebrities in attendance were,  Butch the Gambler and Lenny the Cane, plus possibly the greatest action bowler of all time, (The One and Only Great Horn) there was A nice crowd on hand to watch and bet on the match. This kid Jeff is pro material for sure, he's the real deal. I would love to see some of these Florida bowlers try him on for size. The biggest problem would be the amount of money his backers want to go for, Florida moneymen just aren't in that league. I hope this is only the beginning of bringing some real action back to Brooklyn, the home of action. And the home of the greatest action bowlers website. (ActionBowlers.com) I wonder if any of the Long Island bowlers, Jimmy Williams, Joe Scianna, etc. have what it takes to go up against Jeff, who one day might be as great an action bowler as the other Jeff (Jeff Kitter)...Johnny G

Berlin Bowl in Connecticut

Berlin Bowl in Connecticut saw a lot of action on Friday nights/Saturday mornings back in those days. Ira Katz from NY, Pete Couture, Larry Litchstein, Ron McCaul from MA, among others. I myself participated on a lesser scale than the heavy hitters, but I did observe that few ever got the better of Ira in that house. It took a long time to get a match off the ground, each side negotiating for what they thought was an edge. Eventually the teams would be set, the money right, and a pretty large audience got to see some great bowlers perform. From my view of the action, I figured Ira to throw about nine strikes a game every game. That made him a tough guy to get ahead of, and that's why the negotiations were so important. No twolefties on the same team, etc..

I would be interested if any readers ever made the trip up our way.

Plastic balls were in use by that time The mix of partners became the on averageass ...lo-revs

The Action Was Great

Even though i'm not a bowler, I had the honor of being a teenager in the late 50s and hanging out at Windsor lanes. Jameses mother Josie had the food counter there and backed a group of young bowlers in action, on Saturday afternoons they would bowl against the kids from Ave M. The best of which was the owner of this website, Butch. He was really very good and the Windsor kids would never bowl him at Ave M at that time. A few years later I got into all the great night action at Leemark, Melody, Bay Ridge lanes, Maple, Shell, Diplomat, Kings lanes, Seaview, Leader lanes, Elmwood, Sid Gordons, Gil Hodges, Strand, Kenmore, Colony, And of course the big one, Ave M bowl. It was a time period that was very special. A motion picture would be great, but could never do it true justice, The bowlers were real characters with character. Try Iggy Russo, Mac & Stoop, Ernie Schlegal, the Horn, and the list goes on and on. The backers were Damon Runyon type characters. What a time, I'm so lucky to have lived through it. I've been around some of the action in the 90s, a total joke, what a let down....Spider

Hornreich Story

Lenny, You and Butch, and all the contributors of this sight really opened my eyes and probably the rest of the young audience's eyes about Richie Hornreich. I posted a question to Jim Dressel editor of the Bowlersjournal, as to why Richie Hornreich was not on the list of the greatest 100 bowlers of the century, even though The "Count" Guengler was listed as #25. This was Jim Dressels response: "Bowlers Journal International Discussion Board Re: To Editor JDressel - The Count what about The Horn Posted By: Jim Dressel

Wednesday, 8 December 1999, at 10:15 a.m.

Actually, I heard many stories about Richie Hornreich when I was living back in the east coast, and saw him bowl several times in the old Kegler Bowling Club scratch events when I was involved with that group. He was a helluva bowler, but you wonder how many of the stories are true or not. I do know he found it difficult on at least two occasions to get anyone to bowl him in some meaningful "action"...

Which brings me to the point of this post -- it's probably time we do a story on Richie, if he's willing. If anyone has any contact information, please send it along. In the meantime, this is also a story that could be told through several second party sources, like Roth, Berardi, et al. I don't know if we're going to get the chance to talk to Joey about this one (does anyone know where he is?), but certainly we can follow it up.

And as for why "The Horn" is not in our Top 100 and "The Count" is, let me just say that it may be just as simple as that fact that Gengler got the ink, while Hornreich didn't. Besides, mkano a mano matches were the order of the day in Gengler's day, while the PBA Tour grabbed most of the headlines in Hornreich's day... again, though, let's see what we can do about setting the record straight with a story in BJ... "

I really have no relationship with Richie, but I know you still do. Perhaps you can tell him that Jim Dressel would like to write an article about Richie. If he is the greatest action bowler of all time, he deserves to be recognized as that.

Lou Gaudio Jr...

The Other MATT  IACOVELLI

I thank my cousin Matt Iacovelli(Fafo) for scoring all of those great games. I took credit for a lot of them when I was a youngster. LMAO it is true. Then Fafo for a while laid low in bowling and I was averaging in the low dueces and scoring well at the New Country Lanes at the time. Yes the house that made the block popular. But no I didnt only bowl there I grew up in Park Lanes in Stapleton and pot bowling as a kid at Big Ten and then on to my uncles house where I learned the game Colonial Lanes. I remember all the good times in Colonial from the overnighter card games when my uncle Jimmy was manager there. What a time that was I was about 18 then there were pinnochle games going on poker games and Brisk also. If you went broke you would practice bowling. Man who slept in those days. I then graduated into a lot of tournament bowling then Norm and his Brother I even forget the name of the club. No matter my wife and I won the scotch doubles in Bellrose Lanes . I made a few bucks but to tell the truth I choked when it came to big money so I never really bowled for it. I remember and respect Snake Lorenzo makes me laugh my ass off but He can back up his talk with the ball. Rich Hornreich another story Richie comes in and snake is talking his talk and making a match Rich says enough of the BS put up the money and lets get it on. Great Matches. These guys have no regard for the money its the action that keeps their blood moving they would win and drive to AC and lose it all and start over looking for backers. I can tell you that locally it was Decon and DOM Basile who didnt give a crap about anything they loved the game and people loved them . Dom I think still is bowling. Decon I say a prayer for you buddy I loved you like a big brother. I remember one night at Country I had the first 8 and Decon was a little under the weather and said to me I am not leaving Matty I want to see you throw your first 300. To say the least I didnt but I mooned the friggin 10 Pin anyway for a laugh I won the pot but didnt shoot the biggie. You know what I will never shoot the biggie I have rheumatoid arthritis and miss the hell out of the game but I play on my computer and havent felt bad for myself. I met my wife in the Bowling alleys s--- she is my love and my life.

I remember bowling and being president of the first scratch league at country the now Manfredi league I believe was the Kevin Regatti Memorial classic. We had some terrific bowlers in that league. Like Joe Albenese, Frankie Longo old and young DOM Basile and Decon. Rab and Eddie Wilkenson, Alvin Brown, I can go on and on I am sorry if you read this and dont see your name but for the life of me these are the names that come up to my mind. Now Joe Albenese I really looked up to even though we are around the same age Joey was cool as ice when he bowled made it like a business I tell you. Well one Saturday morning I walk into the lanes at country and the guys are already bowling pots small money a lot of fun. I have no ball and Joey says Matty your fingers are similar to mine try this ball I dont like it maybe you will. Well I took this LT48 and went on to win three pots with it that day bought the ball from Joey and the funnier story about this ball is that I went into the Luchese Petraglia open as an amatuer and proceeded to weigh in my three balls guess what I had a bleeder which was plugged this is a no no on tour I didnt know and I had another ball which was plugged also a no no and Joeys LT48 well I used the LT and proceeded to avg 211 for the 8 game block I was 13th on the Money board and thought I had a shot at making the finals. What a laugh but I did come in 38th and got a check which I xeroxed and cherish to this day. I forgot who I crossed lanes with but I threw a 240something the last game he threw a 300 like it was nothing. He made the show. It was my biggest thrill other than keeping score at the Cougar opening back in 1970 I believe and hanging with Earl Anthony LaMachine I called him and the Late Norm Myers and Salvino and Weber man I was in heaven . I went to TOLEDO that year to bowl in the Pro Am just because I made friends with these guys. Well I didnt win but had a great time. I was also COunty Chairman for the New York BOwling Association. If you want to have a great time Bowl in a National American Bowling Congress tournament and you will have a great time. Thanks for allowing me to write here and I hope to come back soon. MAtt Iacovelli

Matt Iacovelli

Matt Iacovelli

My father was an action bowler back in the early 70's although i was to young to remember any of the people he bowled with i do remember how good he was and still is. My father is Mat Iacovelli (fafo) he now lives in St.Petersburg Florida were he ave's a 209 from the foul line. I was born in 1971 so there is much i do not know about the crazy lives of actionbowlers except that my father loves the game. My father still loves the game and bowls everyday in 2 or 3 leagues.This is dads true love in life and at 62 he has seen so many good bowlers and has made so many friends and spite what bowling has done to his family life he is happy and healthy and bowling and i love him very much..........

sincerely, Denise Iacovelli  From S.I.N.Y

Visitor's name: matt iacovelli

st petesburg fl  hi..read your article on bowling in n.y. in 50s and 60s. i bowled with iggy, mark, john, and ernie at that time just to mention a few. i lived in staten island for 42 yrs. those were the action days.

JERRY HOWARD

for hall of fame from detroit!

Here is a story i heard from an oldtimer at the cream of the crop, who lived in detroit in the 50s and later, and nominates, this person , and here is his story, and i agree he should be in there. i believe , if we check back to late march or april , some one from detroit might have submitted his name , it rings a bell, and here it goes. this gent , wishes to remain anonymous, and will honor his wishes, as he did not work for two years going around the detroit area, with jerry making a living. here is a couple of those stories. jerry bowled and beat the entire strohs, team, the great one, with ed lebanski, buzz fazio,lee jugelard,bob strampe and don carter, beat them all in the 50s and for 500 a game at least. he also bowled a famous bowler , i wont mention his name, but see if you can guess , for 5000 dollars and beat him. till this day the check from this bowler has not cleared,for the 5000 and his son was a famous t v bowling announcer, and his initials were n b sr. jerry also bowled andy verapapa, for 500 a game and lost a bundle as well, with andys buddy, and former middle weight champ jake lamotta , betting on andy , as he just finished beating sugar ray robinson , in detroit earlier that week. lenny d so add jerrys name to the action hall of fame lennyd

Re: great coverage steve

okay, i have read all of your thoughts & now i will want equal time. i am jimmy's wife, but i am also an accomplished bowler myself. i have seen jimmy on & off the lanes for 10 years now, i have seen him suffer through extensive ulna surgery. i have seen him bowl left-handed for 3 years while recouperating (averaging 210 by the way). he has beaten many on every conceivable lane condition. i did watch barnes at carolier for 12 games because he was bowling with a good friend of mine. he is excellent, and also receives good advice from what i assume to be his ball rep. but just because of his successes you cant take away the fact that jimmy in his own right is an excellent bowler, both mentally & physically. he has many successes to his credit including a regional title when he was 18 or so with broken ribs, got 12 checks in 20 stops in 91 when there were rabbits to fill a field of 160, not 103. i can go on & on about who he has beaten & what he has won. the fact is, what makes a true winner is someone who thinks he can beat anybody at any time on any condition, and thats how jimmy thinks. and guess what? he was the winner last night. so call him a house bowler if you want, make all the excuses for barnes that you want, but there are a lot of people that know what jimmy is really made of. rose

I am only 26 years old,

but  I remember my first days of watching action before I became good enough to bowl matches. Joe Scianna, Jr. should be a member of your list. Joe was unbeatable for almost a year at Deer Park in the early 1990s. One night he destroyed Snake and Tavie in the same night. Even though he had some great singles matches. Jason Tiso and him were also unbeatable in doubles matches, we used to bet on them all night and walk out with pockets full of money. But, if you are looking for a story, the thing I  remember most is in 1991, the first year the PBA came back to Long Island, there was a big night of action on Friday at Deer Park. Vespi, with the chip on his shoulder, came in and was 5 up on Pete Williamson and someone else. Vespi says, "Who's next and is there anyone else that wants to try to beat me?" Well, Joe didn't want to bowl and got talked into it. Gets his balls and  stands in the settee and looks at the overheads and goes to Vespi, "250, that's a great game, but its not enough to beat me!" Well, we all sent it in and Scianna shoots 268, 300 and Vespi quits. That alone should warrant consideration for the list, but if you get enough stories about Joe you will see that he will eventually deserve to be placed on your list. ( LOL )

Love this!

Man I love this board. Reminds me of the days when I watched my idol, Ralph Engan take on all comers at Skytop and Paramus. Even bowled some action myself even though I was more of a contributor than a winner. The young guys today have no idea how great it was then. Seems like some of you want to resurrect the action days. Wouldn't that be something to see! Good job with this board guys. Great bowling, Gino

Balls

There is a kid from Staten Island I have known since the juniors. Degenerate gambler, he told me he won $16,000 on football one weekend and then lost it all the next. Has been a fixture in OTB since he was like 16. He also bowled, but wasnt't really that good. I will only post his initials OM. He bowled a scratch tournament at New Bowl Rite, and somehow made the finals. He won every match and made it to the title match, beating Rudy among other great area bowlers. The final match he bowled John Spence from PA. People were betting on the previous matches, but for the title nobody was willing to bet on OM. So OM took all the bets. He beat Spence for the title and won all the bets, making over $3000. He has since disappeared from the bowling scene, laying low. I think he owes a lot of people. LG

I WAS ABOUT 18 OR 19

THIS KID FROM BKLYN COMES INTO OUR HOUSE

( LI CITY) LOOKING FOR ACTION. IT JUST SO HAPPENED THAT THE BEST BOWLER IN THE HOUSE HAPPENED TO BE THERE IN THE NAME OF PAT FEELEY. PAT NEVER CARRIED MUCH MONEY WITH HIM BUT WITH ALL THE GUYS THAT WHERE IN THE CENTER AT THE TIME WE SCRAPPED TOGETHER ABOUT $1,000. I NEVER SAW THIS KID FROM BKLYN BEFORE AND NEVER EVEN HEARD OF HIM. NOT UNTIL THAT NIGHT!. U CAN GUESS WHO IM TALKING ABOUT IT WAS THE HORN!!!! RICHIE PICKS LANES 27-28 A PAIR THAT PAT PRACTICES ON MOST OF THE TIME, AND KNEW BETTER THAN ANYONE IN THE HOUSE. LANE 27 WAS A 11 OR 12 BOARD SHOT AND 28 WAS DEAD GUTTER. THAT WAS THE BEST CARRYING TRAJECTORIES. ANYWAY THEY WARM UP FOR AWHILE AND FINALLY THE MATCH STARTS. RICHIE IS PLAYING BOTH LANES THE SAME, 2ND ARROW AND PAT IS PLAYING THEM THE WAY THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE PLAYED. THE BETS AREN'T ALL THAT BIG AROUND $250 A GAME AND PAT WINS THE FIRST TWO EASILY AND HAS THE 3RD OUT OF THE WOOD BY THE 9TH. RICHIE ASKS PAT IF HE CAN FINISH HIS GAME AND PAT GIVES THE O.K. RICHIE THROWS THIRD ARROW ON THE LEFT AND THIRD ARROW ON THE RIGHT, TURNS TO HIS BACKER AND TELLS HIM TO UP THE BETS. THE BET GOES TO $400 A GAME AND WHAT HAPPENED NEXT I COULD'T BELIEVE!!! RICHIE TOOK OFF HIS DRESS SHIRT TO REVEAL UNDERNEATH A TEE SHIRT WITH A SUPER MAN LOGO IN THE FRONT. HE STARTS THE GAME ON THE RIGHT LANE PLAYING THE 4TH ARROW AND THE GUTTER ON THE LEFT. BOTH THE OPPOSITE OFWHERE HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN PLAYING THE LANES. WHEN WE SAW WHAT HE WAS DOING WE THOUGHT THAT WE HAD A LOCK IN THE MATCH NOW. TO OUR SUPRISE RICHIE DIDN'T MISS THE POCKET FOR THE NEXT 5 GAMES AND DESTROYED THE PAIR, AVERAGING NEAR 250, FROM THAT DAY ON HE BECAME MY ACTION BOWLING IDLE AND WHENEVER I GOT THE CHANCE TO SEE HIM BOWL I WOULD ALWAYS TRY AND GET A BET DOWN ON HIM. HE WAS THE GREATEST. (Twirl )

TOP HALL OF FAME

They will be placed in chronological order with #1 john the count gengler #2 only man to beat the count mort lindsey #3 barney spinella # 4 joe falcaro #5 don carter #6 dick weber 7 carmen salvino #8 joe joseph #9 lee juglard #10 dick hoover#11 lou campi< # 12 junie mcmahon . this is just the start you had other great players from the 40s and 50s that even i dont recall, and you can take them from the original pba tour mr nice guy steve nagy joe willman and the all time abc pinfall record holder joe norris. along with jack winters joe ostrowski, and the other eastern bowlers of the past we know, but what about the western bowlers earl anthony also would have tobe in there with mike aulby and any of the other pba more recent greats likes of those, who won the masters the us open and many other pba titles that the many local action shooters never won or even participated in . so the record book i believe should start with the pioneers of action and work up to the present days of rudy revs , the colorful ones and yes though i never saw him play joe scianna, but with his name being mentioned the way it has definately belongs. lennyd hope to see you guys at the action in ny mid july at deer park if we can pull it off. along with the bowling action we will also try for some live big name entertainment and close the house down for the day charging a reasonable fee for the benefit of the hall of fame and also part of the money going to jerrys kids, so it will be for a worthy cause ( and the jerry is not the count). lennyd

I love bowling

since I was 4 years old,  grew up watching Dick Weber and all the greats on Saturday. When I seen Mark Roth I fell in love with his game and did all I could to be like him. As a 20 year kid I bowled with all the greats Bernie Morgan, Howard Gilroy, Mal McEwen, Lee Hammond, and Bruce Oliver just to mention a few. All of these gentlemen are in the Flint Bowling hall of fame. Just to watch and learn from them is something I will always cherish. My foundist memory is when Bernie Morgan bowled someone (I can't recall his name the bet was 10 games at Bernie's house and ten games at other house loser left town it was great to watch this match of course Bernie kicked his ass and of the gentlemen went to Detroit. Boy those were the days. What breaks my heart the most is the the young kids up and coming have no passion or love for the game maybe they need to watch some of the classic matches we use to watch to know what it was like

(Keith Richardson)

BOWLING HAS CHANGED ALOT OVER THE YEARS

THE WELU'S,CARTERS,ZAHNS,AND DONT FORGET JIMMY MACK, YOUR GOOD IF YOU REMEMBER THAT NAME ARE LONG GONE. I STARTED BOWLING AT 5 YEARS OLD AND REMEMBER WATCHING BOWLERS LIKE THAT. HECK I STILL REMEMBER WATCHING CHAMPIONSHIP BOWLING, IN BLACK AND WHITE OF COURSE. TO ME THOSE WILL BE THE DAYS OF THE BIRTH OF BOWLING, AND MAYBE ABC SPORTS WILL GET THEIR HEAD OUT OF THEIR ASS AND BRING BACK A 25 YEAR TRADITION...SATURDAY PBA TOUR, I SURE DO MISS IT. TIME TO LEAVE MEMORY LANE, I COULD GO ON FOREVER.

(RICK "SUPER SNAP" JOHNSON)

CENTRAL LANES

BACK IN THE LATE 70S. BURNED DOWN IN 1968. BIGGEST ACTION HOUSE EVER. HORNREICH AND LEMONGELLO WERE THE BEST THEN. FAINO FROM 1970 UNTIL 1975. JEFF KIDDER FROM 1976 UNTIL HIS RETIREMENT IN EARLY 1980S. NOW A PROFESSIONAL GAMBLER, ONE OF BIDGGEST IN THE COUNTRY. ERNIE THE BEST FOR MY MONEY AND A DEGENEARATE. NEVER LOST A DIME ON HIM FOR SIX MONTHS IN CENTRAL. ANY MORE INPUT. MY HOME (Steve Shear)

What A great website

I'm a couple of years older than you, but you bring back great memories. I once bowled the great Iggy Russo in the Strand lanes in Astoria.and althogh he'll never admit it Ernie Schlegel still owes me 5 bucks. I live in Florida now, and your right, these people down here have no idea of the greats of the game. Many a Friday night we would go to Central lanes to watch and bet on the action. Those were the days (before technology) when a 190 average was a great bowler. The pros bowling at Bowlmor (Tony Sparando & co.)were only averaging 202

(Don DiCicco)

Nice to see your page on Bowlmor

I bowled there in 1973/74. The guys bowled on the lower end of the house and every week there was the biggest crowd watching this skinny guy that can rev the ball like noone could - that guy was Mark Roth. I bowled with Annise Kelly and Renee Adams and other great women bowlers. It was a great time there!!!!

(Monica Chieco)