Hall of Fame

Joe Berardi

Year Inducted: 1990
Induction Category: Performance

Berardi, who was a star bowler and a champion as a teen, won his first regional pro title at 17, captured the BPAA U.S. Open at 24, then soon after added the Tournament of Champions and ABC Masters crowns. He finished his career with 10 PBA Tour titles and more than $800,000 in winnings, all of which made him a popular choice of the electors in his first year of eligibility.


 

HomeTown: Wellington, FL
Bowls: Right Handed
Joined PBA: 1972
DOB: 11/20/1954

I think Joe Berardi was one of the top action bowlers of all time, I saw him many times at Raceway Lanes in Yonkers, some real classic match's

Where is Joe now and what's he doing.

Saw Joey Berardi at his father's funeral about a month ago. He is living in Staten Island and sells MRI equipment. He said he has his own company. Another great talent (like the Horn) who had a big gambling problem.

Joe Berardi in my opinion was the bowler to watch he had it all Form, Ability,Threw a TON . The only thing I can say about Joe I was happy to be his friend for a few years on tour.I LOVED TO WATCH HIM BOWL!!!!!If there is one tip I could give any bowler is watch him and learn. In my opinion 1 of the greats of all time!!!! Lou Capasso

When I was a kid, Joe used to come to Carteret Lanes on occasion. This was back in 1973-74, used to bowl Ed Walsh on the upper end of the house and take all of Ed's money. Back then Joe would "cradle" the ball, then just rip it threw his downswing. Met him years later at the bar at the Petraglia Open at Carolier. He did remeber those times and was a complete gentleman.

Ok you are a lowlife with no respect probobly making 6 bucks an hr oh by the way which burger king do you work at. no picles please!!!! Do you have a name , can you spell it, you are nobody , my friends were all good bowlers most could beat me on any given day. that is true Snake, Joe C, Roth ,Berardi, joe s, Horn, ed O., Larry starr, etc etc but wow that was good company, I am not ashamed to say they could bowl as well as I. But WHO R U? answer NOBODY , whats worse you are a nobody who HIDES like a little scared rat!!!! want cheese on your burger!!!!!  Lou Capasso

As far as real action goes Billy is as close to being a throwback to the real action bowlers of the past as they come these days, that being said I doubt he'll bowl you on a shot or condition that's not up his alley.

What a lot of guys don't realize is that regardless of what you did or didn't do. you're one of the true natural great talents that ever picked up a bowling ball, in your prime, you were capable of beating any bowler in the world anytime you got on the alleys, and with that in your face excitment of a Pete weber or Marshall Hollman.

Lou you truly are one of the great ones.

As good as Billy is he's not in your class, his true roll should be being your backer, not your opponent.

You and Joe Berardi would have made an awesome doubles team in action, who would have bowled anker?

I would of given my right nut to see you and Joey against Jeff Kitter and Cliff Burgland. I would of come in my pants just walking in the door.

There match against Roth and rags was good but Mark and Johnny were never known as big time action shooters, you and Joey were.

actually joe berardi and i did bowl doubles together in the late 70's early 80's. we bowled 2 debbies. berardi and capasso. dont remember the outcome lol. also i am pretty sure he and i bowled amatch somewhere maybe michigan. I remember becouse ebonite had just come out with the mag 10,11,12 or something like that and we drilled a couple ( the ebonite rep gave us a case of each) and ended up bowling a matchit could have been the ebonite rep and another pro or 2 pro's dont remember. dont even remember if we won or what we bet. but here s a match that was cool. larry lichstien and joe hutchinson were picking on me 1977 so i of course challenged them to a match. they both agrred so i said i would take little mike larry's son who was about 10 or 11 at the time as my partner we get on the lanes with hutch and his big grin thinking this is an easy steak dinner. mike and i beat them. steak dinners on lich and hutch. funny thing mike and i age wise together at the time were not equal to either of them alone... Lou C

answer to the question who would bowl anchor mmmmmm probobly me because i am a pocket shooter and am always there, would just be a carry thing for me. i throw so hard that the only thing that stopped me was the a 10 pin or 4 or wallshot 7. but thats the way i bowled i could rev it up with the best only thing was my ball never went into a roll it had to much speed. i was a hard thrower, even though i stroked thru the shot my swing and approach forced me to throw the the ball hard. berardi wow when he was bowling he just looked so good. approach armswing revs, he was awesome.i bowled with joe in paramus a few times we would both go up and sub when we were not on tour. he would bowl 1st and i would bowl 4th or 5th especially when we bowled with joe cirrillo and butch dangel. anyway thanks for the compliment . to billy red hey maybe we should team up and bowl never know. have him email me and we could talk.us to fatsos could make a killing.
or i am at circle lanes in nj every sunday morning my once a week bowling is in the beat the house these days, there are brackets and then 20 a man pot games after the tourny and some action. lot of good bowlers there. a fun day...  Lou C

I was around the action scene when Richie was in his prime but never had the pleasure of seeing him in any matches.

Even though he was from Brooklyn did he bowl a lot of action there once he came into his own. I saw a lot of action with most of the big names of the time at Colony, Seaview, and Ave M

I didn't catch the horn until the mid seventies, he was real good then but past his prime, I never saw him go up against Jeff even though they were both at Raceway almost every Saturday night.

One night I saw Richie walk off the lanes against Joe Berardi, they were practicing, Joey buried 10 staight with a monster ball, Richie picks up the his ball and says the match is over, It didn't begin yet, I was amazed...

It was the first time I saw Joey, he was very impressive.

Butch bowled Beeber that night upstairs on the corner pair, it was a real grind, I think they ended up splitting about 16 games, the week before Butch took down Les Sager 4 straight at Kenmore, it was the first time I was rhere, 1976, I really liked the atmosphere , it was a throw back to when bowling alleys were bowling alleys.

My favorite places for atmoshere were Paramus, Fitzimmons, Duvall On Flatbush Ave, Bowlmore, Raceway, Parkway Lanes.

heres my oppinion
hornet lemengello kitter berardi rudy revs. that would be my a list.
these guys were awsome. the only one i really never saw was lemongello. but there were hundreds of great bowlers. perry, schlagel, pappas, snake, engan,val macari, spallone,viale,neumann, killer, johnny meyers ira katz charlie venable joe s, fats and deacon,buffalo,god the list can go on forever.. i only bowled from 73 to81 and than again from 84 to 89 on and off. but had the pleasure of bowling many of these guys. and beating most. so i will put myself in here . but there are still many many more guys who were awsome not from the ny nj area.
cane mentioned cammillari, tom was a charter member of the pba and an awesome bowler with great knowledge of the game. he invented many parts that are still in use by bowling alleys today. funny thing is everyone would pick some one different Lou C

I put up a post on the Beeper thread, and then saw this one and decided to toss in my two cents.

Man, I idolized Joe growing up. I thought he was the greatest. The gentleman who said in the post above to watch Joe and learn was 100% right.

I was a teenager in the early 80's and had seen him bowl on TV, I think in the Firestone. I recall entering my first JBT (Junior Bowler's Tour, Chuck Pezzano Jrs. organization) at Pearl River Lanes. I think Joe's Dad owned the pro shop and I remember that I hoped I'd get to meet him.

Finally I did, though not at Pearl River. Great guy. I was a pinchaser at the now defunct Elmsford Lanes on Route 9A in Elmsford, Westchester County. Joe was bowling in a PBA/WASA regional. His partner was a gal named Kate Helbig. They won. But here's the classic.

When the PBA does any kind of tourney, they require (or at least back in 82-83 they did) two pinchasers, two mechanics and an electrician to be on duty in the pits. So, I was put on the shift. In the final match, Joe strings 8. Our boss tells me and the other chaser to climb up on the catwalk, in case Joe bowls the 300, so we can shut off the machines and pull the pins right away.

Joe strings 11. We had a monitor in the back so we could see everything; either they had a closed circuit on the final pair or it was being taped for local cable. Some strikes were buried, some were jersey/brooklyn. He was carrying everything, with such style and obvious ability. Gets up for number 12. BURIES THE EIGHT PIN. 299.

My chasing partner jumps off the walk, turns off the machines, and hangs over the pinsetter to grab that 8 pin off the deck before he takes any other pins out. I ask him "what the hell are you doing?"

His response (he was a bit goofy but well meaning) "I'm going to give this to Joe, he may want it as a souvenir."

I look at him like he's cross-eyed and from another planet, then I peep out of the masking unit and see that Joe does not look happy about that buried 8. I tell him "I wouldn't do that. Why would a guy of that level, who's bowled a bunch of 300's, want that G-d Damn 8 pin he just buried."

But goofy goes and gives it to him anyway. And while I stood back there cringing, I saw him accept it with grace.

God Bless you Joe. I learned a lot about bowling and sportmanship from you, and I hope you're still playing!

Joey bowled alot of action in the early seventies especially at Fiesta Sat nights. He first came around when he was around16.

That firestone tournament he won his second major, he swept the field on tv. Don't remember whom he beat in the final game but the first match he beat his buddy the great Roth. 230-224. Roth opened with double nuts, Berardi a triple and that's all she wrote. Berardi was the first bowler I can remember that won a stop playing the 6th diamond with urethane. Now it's no big deal, but everybody is using resin.

There is no argument that he was a great Tournament and League Bowler. But what I saw around the action is that it did not alway's translate into being a great action bowler. It also worked in reverse I think the question of why some of the best action bowlers never went out on tour was that it was not where they were at their best.

Richie in 1975 was not near the bowler he was at his peak. In his prime, he would have eaten Berardi.
Bowlers who were great in action did pan put on the tour, Limongello, who was great on tour, and Schlegel and Egan to name a few. Action bowlers that were good but not outstanding like Roth, Petraglia and Berardi became great on tour. mchugh another great action bowler held his own but nothing special on tour. Other decent action bowlers like Lichstein and Spigner won on tour but nothing special.

1975 richie was in vegas!!!! berardi was TOUGH! Joey had ice in his viens, the only time he got rattled was the 1st few times on tv. Joey and i hung out together one fall tour in 1977 or 78 and became friends. but the question is who would have won the match and my answer is...........the lane conditions would determine the outcome becouse if there was oil i would have to believe it would have been close. a little drier condition maybe richie. a wetter condition joey. a gutter shot ME !!!! LOL. One thing I will havew forever is i have known and bowled them both and won. I beat joey in a pba finals at riverhouse lanes, gus lampo's house at the time he shot 289 and i shot 299. i avg 240 that week and finished 8th. tough conditions haha... Lou C

At his peak, Richie or Lemon would have beaten Berardi on any condition. You had to see Hornreich at his best which was prior to 1969. berardi at his best in action not even close to Hornreich. Richie beat Godman on more than one occassion at central where the lanes were dry, with Godman averaging in the 240s. Richie in the vargo on oiled lanes with 4 lb wood shot 1080 for 5, iincredible. The great EARL ANTHONY won that tournament one year with a 1020. Richie played anywhere from the gutter to the fourth diamond in the good old days. In those days, he had a very high backswing. Lemon was just as good, no matter what the conditions.
I have not seen anybody here talk about the late Charlie Faino from Philly who was the best around from 1970 through 1976. He supported a family off the action and beat everybody around. Jeff never beat Faino, although they rarely bowled each other. Urethane lanes came into play in 1976 and the full roller that Faino through was not as effective.

Berardi was a small bettor. When he first came to Fiesta when he was about 17 or 18, my partner and I backed him many times.

I never had the pleasure of seeing Joe bowl action, I 'd love to hear about some of his matches. The only time I almost caught him was in 1975 at Raceway lanes when the Horn called the match off when Joey buried 10 straight in practice.

It was the one and only time I saw him live and was I ever impressed.

my days on tour i cashed 8 or 10 times. second pdw is a friend we 1st met in cranston r.i 1977 my 1st year out there and dick introduced us. about the horn in my opinion he was the best. i have known ernie since about 1975 or so he is deadly accurate, but never had the chance to bowl him . my opinion on the over all best i had ever seen. joe berardi ,loved to watch him ,he was poetry in motion. nuff said... Lou C

I remember in the Early to Mid 80's late night action at Woodhaven Lanes Friday or Sat.night,  I walk in and on lanes 59-60 Joe Berardi is bowling Bob Spallone. Now all I remember is the following week Spallone is walking around Woodhaven with a $100 bill stuck to his forhead screaming "who's afraid of Berard!!!"  How good was Spallone?  Also remember Spallone vs. Snake at Country Lanes after the Marketeer League bowled the first year of that league.

No Degen I'm not from Berardi territory. I'm from Schlegel territory and just happened to move here 6 years ago. I have Joey's phone # why don't you give me your real name so I can verify whether you backed him for a year.
Hey Sickle st. when and where did Ernie beat Dewey I don't remember that. Did Ernie ever bowl Howie Palefski at Gun Post?? Now we really have to try and get Ernie to come east and bowl the Horn.
I'm serious Degen lets set something up and since when is $20g's a small bet????? I think you're a real bigshot on paper lets see what you've got for real.

Horn and myself went to Laguardia the 1st time I was bowling a guy named dirt for about 1g agame fornt and back. I win 4 straight and the horn was shooting dicein the back. after that match is when I bowled behrbaum
he beats me the 1st game for 300 i won the next 2 beating him by 30 each game and he quits we win about 4500 that night 3 way split .next morning we go to bridge lanes and look for action but there was none so he takes my to the track. he is broke by the 7th and we play a $50 late double he picks the 1st race i pick the 2nd I know nothing about horses so i pick the horse nicky santagata is riding we hit the double pay about 65 dollars so he now has about 800 we get home around 7 and says lets go to the meadowlands. we do,he goes broke in 3 races!!! that was just richie.
I never knew berardi to gamble outside of bowling and joe and i hung together for a very short while the first year he got married becouse i got married the same time. Joe was so smooth and threw a great ball. He and I closed more than 1 bar in those days...  Lou C

And now for the Bronx and Manhattan action legends:
Manhattan Lanes - Ernie Schlegel
Woodlawn Lanes- Richie Pizzuti
Boston Road Lanes-Joe Cirillo and Bob Materasso
Fiesta Lanes (still open)-Jeff Kitter
Tremont Lanes-Ralph Engan, Marv Applebaum,Eddie Seco, Andy Carnasie
Pel Park Lanes-The Great Howie Palefski
Steeles Lanes-Jackie Sturtz
Webster Lanes-Two guys named "Pencil" and "Gramps"
Gun Post Lanes(still open)-Frankie Medici
Van Nest Lanes(still open)- Charlie "Phantom"
Gun Hill Lanes- Vinny and Ronnie Pizzo
Fieldston Lanes-Joey Berardi
There are lots more but I'm having a senior moment. More to come.

Hey cane, give me your thoughts on these match ups
(in their pime) at their house and at a neutral house

Billy Picone vs Louie Spadaro
Bert Goodman vs Bob Simo SR
Joe Santini vs Iggy Russo
Ralph Engan vs Jeff Kitter
Mousie from elmwood vs Val
The horn vs Pete Weber
Lemon vs Marshal Hollman
Petraglia vs Roth
Berardi vs Walter Ray

That's it for now, I love your thoughts and knowledge of the old action days.
 

Dear Stevie,

I just spoke to quite a few of my colleagues who was there with me when Ernie was shooting action at Gun Post Lanes with his red ball. We all agree something was up with his bowling ball.

Ernie was very accurate, I agree there with you. I should have just made reference to 'The Bell' when they had thier action matches, so for this I do take back the statement that he was a poor action bowler.

I see all these younger kids talking trash on how good they are at Action Bowling. Stevie, how old are you and where are you from? Have a nice day.

Former Action Bowler
Vito D.

P.S. I did have some matches with Ernie at Gun Post Lanes and Joe Berardi just to name a couple. I held my own with them, you know win some lose some! Wish I had my legs strength still. I think we could compete with these so called action bowlers.

Berardi did better in the pro's but Ernie is by far the better action bowler. Joey bowled some action but not a lot. He joined the pro's at a very young age. Remember there is quite a bit of oil on the pro tour and Ernie never threw a lot of ball so it was much tougher for him to carry. There aren't many guys around who are as accurate as Ernie and if he could carry like some of the others he would have been SUPER TOUGH on tour.
I'm ready DEGEN...................just let me know when.

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)