Some Of butch's Favorite Postings and Action Stories
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I have been doing an internet
bowling "talk show" now for over 5-years. We have done over 260
shows, with about 150 different bowling personalities. I saw the "Action Bowlers" story in Bowlers Journal and just HAD TO interview AC Butch. I finally got a hold of him and we did it. His Show will be on the internet starting Wednesday, May 2. Each Show is "on" for a week - 24-hours a day. You can access the Show by clicking-on the Phantom Logo on the home page of this site. I will tell you that AC Butch did a terrific interview, one of the VERY BEST that we have had. He is one of the MOST INTERESTING people in all of bowling. p.s. This is a GREAT SITE. Len Nicholson The Phantom 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. AC Butch
Jeff Kitter Still Bowling 2008
USBC championship provides record-breaking competition
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,
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 .
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
To Val Macari's children and grandchildren - He was one
of the smoothest and most consistent players of the Brooklyn bowlers.
He was the first bowler in Maple Lane's history to break a 200 average
(201). My brother,(Mike), was a good friend of your dad's when they
were in their teens. My parents had an 8mm movie with about one minute
of your father and my brother kidding around. I used to see him on
75th street passing me while I delivered mail. I truly liked and
admired him (miss seeing him)
Nick Colonna - Maple Lanes Brooklyn, I know most of the Brooklyn action bowlers
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.
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.
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
Sorry to hear your dad past away
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.
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
by pure luck typed in l.i. bowling history and kept going until this site came/up
I bowled a lot of action at Patchouge, Deerpark,
Bowlerland, Farmingdale, Portjeff, Centerreach, Greenscres. My best
bowling buddy and all around friend or friends were Pete Pastor and Pete
Pastor Jr. I bowled with pete,tommy bertucci in deerpark on monday or
tues.nite in'74or'75 wednesday nite in Patchogue, thursday was always
action nite in greenacres, we use to work together putting in cesspools
during the day, take a shower and a 2 hr. nap then bowl all nite. pete
was a smart bowler/gambler, not to mention a bad note but i was suppose
to bowl phil mccauly next after mike bellamore in farmingdale, i just
got a new sheet and was keeping score for their last game when phil
threw his second or third frame and had a heart attack, everyone was at
the hospital, me pete, tommy plus the list goes on when they told us he
didn't make it, it was pretty sad.
I can tell you story after story because i lived in a bowling alley 7 days a week somewhere usually in bowler land, lake Ronkonkoma, i was the guy with the bad left arm, since '76 i've been in atlanta ga but always came back a few times a year and picked pete up and we'd go to different houses to see if we could find some of the guys. feel free to e-mail me at bowlerland173@hotmail.com GRRRREAT SITE
warren grau
THE BEST PRO BOWLERS YOU HAVEN'T SEEN ON ESPN . . . YET Michael Fagan (22) is another guy who can hook the ball
on a sheet of BowlersJournal.com
The best action bowler ever from Long
Island is without a doubt M.L. (Lemon) 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.
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.
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
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. 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.
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.
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 What place in action bowling folklore do you feel Mac & Stoop individually belong in, and also as a doubles team...Larry K
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:
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 –
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 My opinion,best ever from New Jersey was Ed Ditolla. He made tv in the seventies. Dennis Jacques and Craig Mueller were very good. Petraglia is from New York and was never that good in action. Gualtieri who has been around forever was an excellent action bowler but never as good as Ditolla in his prime.I'm sure most do not remember Ditolla but in the mid sixties he averaged in the two teens in league play, not many did so. Anybody, know what became of him? ... Anonymous
Bowlmor-Met Majors That other post is getting too big, so let me start one here. I seem to remember Dick Battista having an all lefty team one year,maybe Vinny Yettito on it, others I am not sure.I remember Hornreich back then, just a kid, what talent. God only gives it to certain people, and he was one.Hey, you remember a guy named Gene who always remembered your birthday? he was amazing. Not too bad a bowler, either. Bowlmor died when they stopped the landgraf in the eighties. graz castellano shot the house record in the late fifties, 803 or 802. amazing. that has to equate to 900 these days... Anonymous
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 Article:
The Heaviest Bowling Balls The biggest loads I ever saw were thrown by Mario who came to Central alot and Joe Leggett who hung around Lyons Lanes in Jersey. Joe always threw an 18 pound ball which made him a 200 bowler. Mario's I believed was heavier, 18-19 pounds. the load naturally was to make the ball hook more naturally. I remember one night the lanes at Central were so dry, Mario wished he had a 16 pounder. It was so funny. the man was standing all the way over to the left and had trouble keeping the ball on the right side of the pocket...Old Timer
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 was always on the hustle - looking to con anyone he could - there must of been a few of them out there...Charlie Whack Whack
Who Had The Best Approach The best approach I ever saw was Ralph Engan who looked like Fred Astaire getting to the line, absolutely smooth. and that includes the pros like Burton who was classic book style. Ralph also won a few stops. been gone for a long time...Old Timer
Big Time Action Houses What house had the longest run of big time action, who was second & third. How long, and what where the years...Herbie
Action bowlers, before & after 1980 How do the pre 1980 action bowlers rank against the post 1980 action bowlers...Bernie
How good was Ben McNevich Did Ben bowl much action, did he ever bowl action at Ovington Lanes against Artie Sharonback how ever his name was spelled. Does anyone remember Jimmy Nolan the lefty from Ovington, how good was he, big hook. If I remember correctly Ben came to Ave M afew times. ...Bart
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 Was Jeff Kitter the best action bowler you were associated with, I don't know if back would be the correct phrase. If not, who was the best one you partnered with and who do you consider the best of all time. Who was the best in the 50s - 60s - 70s - 80s - 90s And last but not least, what was the best doubles team, meaning two guys that really bowled a lot of doubles matches together, ala (Mac & Stoop)(Fats & Deacon)(Jeff & Cliffie) Your the man Dollar Bill, The real Mr. Action... I hope you reply to this post. Thanks... Kevin
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. A day or two later, I checked to see how the match had ended, and I heard that Mckue won the next 8 or 10 straight. There is a saying that cream always rises to the top. In an honest match, that will invariably happen. Jimmy was cream...lo-revs
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 |
