Tommy: American Legion Post 346, Gully Rd., Neptune, has their own Bocce Court, on their premises. The last Sunday in June, every year, The Legion begins it's year with a Memorial at High Point, Sussex County. The Bocce balls are brought up to High Point and Monmouth County American Legion, has a "Y'all Come" match! I don't know how to play, but I enjoy watching the others, yell and scream at each other, when they lose! I also enjoy eating genuine "wedding soup", prepared by their Auxiliary Members! Yummm!
--- In AsburyPark@yahoogroups.com, "justifiedright" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > BYE BYE TO BOCCE > > MATCH BETWEEN NEIGHBORING TOWNS' OFFICIALS ENDS 30-YEAR RUN > Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 07/12/07 > BY CAROL GORGA WILLIAMS > COASTAL MONMOUTH BUREAU > > > NEPTUNE CITY The signature event will conclude with matches among > 52 teams Friday and Saturday at Memorial Park. The event kicks off > Friday at 6 p.m. with the traditional celebrity match. The celebrity > teams will be comprised of officials from Asbury Park, Belmar, Long > Branch and Neptune City, among others. > > It is time to retire the horse's butt. > > After 30 years including almost a decade of rivalry between the > governing bodies of Long Branch and West Long Branch the > Anthony "Putt-Putt" Petillo National Bocce Tournament is fading into > the sunset. > > The tournament, which began in 1977 in Asbury Park, is > saying "arrivederci," announced organizer Sal Caliendo of Neptune > City, who added "never say never" about a reprieve in a written > history of the Shore tradition. Caliendo still will organize mini > tournaments during the year to benefit local charities. > > The signature event will conclude with matches among 52 teams Friday > and Saturday at Memorial Park. The event kicks off Friday at 6 p.m. > with the traditional celebrity match. > > The celebrity teams will be comprised of officials from Asbury Park, > Belmar, Long Branch and Neptune City, among others. > > It has been two years since officials from Long Branch played > officials from West Long Branch, eight years of matches made > resonant because the then-mayor of West Long Branch, Paul Zambrano > would challenge his brother, then-Long Branch City Councilman > John "Fazz" Zambrano. > > The losers would carry home reproductions of a horse's butt. > > But both men have since resigned their respective positions after > being caught in a corruption sting and await sentencing to prison > terms. > > Long Branch Mayor Adam Schneider said the city challenged West Long > Branch last year but the borough could not field a team. Long Branch > played Neptune City instead but the magic of the rivalry was gone, > said Long Branch City Councilman Anthony Giordano. > > In office for more than 13 years, he said nothing resonated with > residents more than the annual bocce matches. Even he is at a loss > to explain why. > > Giordano said it was an event that brought people together rooting > for the home team no matter where on the political spectrum > viewers fell the rest of the year. > > "I loved it," said Schneider. "It was always a good time. People > wrote nice things about us, and that doesn't happen very often. > There was always more coverage about the tournament than anything > else we did." > > "Those were great times," agreed Giordano. > > "Year-round, as I talked to people throughout Monmouth County, > people used to get a kick out of them," Giordano said of the rivalry > games. "The years we lost, it was brutal around here for weeks. We > used to joke that we got a harder time from constituents when we > lost the bocce match than we did in a bad budget year." > > The tournament is named after Caliendo's cousin, a former Asbury > Park police officer and special events director for the city who > passed away on the eve of the event in 1987. Then-Gov. Thomas H. > Kean declared it "the official bocce tournament of New Jersey," and > it attracted participants from as far away as Staten Island. This > year, teams are coming from remote locations like Ridgefield Park in > Bergen County and Northfield near Atlantic City. > > The current tournament is being played in memory of Caliendo's > brother, Ricky, who died Feb. 11 of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, > or ALS, also referred to as Lou Gehrig's Disease. > > Ricky Caliendo, 52, a former Asbury Park city worker, was one of the > original tournament officials in 1977. > > Sal Caliendo will bring out one of those original courts to serve as > the championship court this year, he said, along with an original > scoreboard and bocce ball set. Sal's wife, Liz, has been preparing > hundreds of photographs to display at the tournament. Those > photographs are available for the taking as the Caliendos, who have > a collection of thousands, hope some of the attendees see themselves > or a cherished relative in the displays. > > "If you see a memory you like, take the picture," Caliendo said. > > Although bocce has become increasingly popular along the Shore in > the last 30 years, that wasn't always the case, recalled Sal > Caliendo, noting that at the time the tournament was created, bocce > was largely confined to backyard barbecues at Italian households. > > The game mixes qualities of bowling, shuffleboard and marbles. The > object is to roll colored balls as close as possible to a smaller > white ball called the pallino, which is thrown first. In addition to > smacking an opponent's ball out of the way, a strategic player can > knock the white ball itself to a new location, redefining the > playing area. > > Caliendo, who also founded the Al Natale Men's League, a softball > fixture for 25 years before it disbanded in 2002, said it was > Petillo who suggested the first bocce tournament. > > It proved more popular than organizers initially thought, leading to > a second in 1978. They were held in Asbury Park and Belmar until > moving to Long Branch in 1998. (The tournament had been cancelled in > 1997 when organizers could not afford costly liability insurance.) > > In 1998, Long Branch invited the tournament to a new home in West > End Park, building courts to accommodate players. > > The tournament was at home there until last year, when Neptune City > gave it a place overlooking the Shark River. > > Everyone from congressmen, state legislators, mayors, council > members and sports figures have played in the tournaments, Sal > Caliendo said. Asbury Park's own Danny DeVito played one year. > > Among the more well known celebrity players have been John "The > Count" Montefusco, the former New York Yankees pitcher, professional > soccer player Kevin Gannon, professional bowler Marc Roth, former > Oakland Raiders linebacker Phil Villapiano and pro wrestler > Scott "Bamm Bamm" Bigelow. > > Caliendo said he will miss the tournaments but still plans on > playing a lot of bocce. > > "It was just great, just fantastic," he said of the last 30 > years. "To go back and think of all the memories and the people who > played (we know) it brought a lot of people together and a lot of > friendships were made." > Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AsburyPark/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AsburyPark/join (Yahoo! 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