Post by butch on Jan 16, 2002 12:19:39 GMT -5
Ave M Becomes A Big Time Action House: 1960
The real action started at Ave M when two guys by the name of Mac and Stoop joined forces and made Ave M their home. They would go onto turning Ave M into probably the biggest action house in the Country. The big name bowlers came from all over the place, gunning for these two Damon Runyon type characters that would become legends in their own time. One of the greatest moments I remember is the night this 16-year-old tooth pick from Long Island came into Ave M with his backers. I honestly thought the ball weighed more than him. He went on to cleaning out the house; his name was Mike Lemongello, one of the greatest action bowlers of all time. He also did very well on the pro PBA tour as did many of the action bowlers who came out of Brooklyn, such as Johnny Petraglia and Marc Roth just to name a few. Through out the years there were many good action houses in the Metropolitan Area, Paramus, Yonkers, Kuskies, White Plains, White Stone, Colony, Kings Lanes, Fitzimmons, Bowlmore, Gil Hodgers, and many, many more, but Ave M was in a league of it's own, thanks to Mac and Stoop. These were the days that most of the major alleys stayed open 24hrs a day, 365 days a year. What more could I ask for.
In my teenage years I had one major problem, my father, he was very strict about me being home no later than 10pm. That was fine before I started hearing about all this great action that was going on late at night after the leagues were over. By this time we were living on a dirt lined Street in Bensonhurst, across the street from the Cemetery. One Friday night I woke up about 3:30 in the morning and started daydreaming about what must be going on at the bowling alley. It became to much to bare just thinking about it, so I decided to gamble, I very quietly got dressed and stuffed some pillows under my blanket, and wrote a message that I left early to go fishing with my friends. My bedroom was in the back of the second floor of our home, I went out the window and jumped on top of the near by over hang to our back door, I then climbed down the peach tree that was near the back entrance. I walked the 10 blocks or so to the bowling alley, the anticipation and excitement was mounting every step I took. When I finally turned the corner at Ave M and McDonald, the site in front of me was beyond my wildest expectations. The entire block of the bowling alley on Ave M was lined with very expensive doubled parked cars, they were all over the place, the entrance to the bowling alley was brightly lite and many people were hanging around outside the door. As I made my way into the bowling alley my heart was pounding and now I totally couldn't believe the site in front of me. All 28 lanes were going and the place was so crowded you could hardly walk in. Money was being bet on the games like it was water and all the famous action bowlers that I had only heard stories about were there live and in the flesh. They came from all different areas, Long Island, New Jersey, Westchester, Philadelphia, you name it. My whole body was tinkling. I had to go to the bathroom real quick, which was on the second floor behind the locker rooms. As I walked up the steps there were people all over the place, a big money crap game was going on inside the locker rooms. I really thought I died and went to heaven. From that day on I was totally and hopelessly hooked, the world of action was definitely my world.
Continued Below:
The real action started at Ave M when two guys by the name of Mac and Stoop joined forces and made Ave M their home. They would go onto turning Ave M into probably the biggest action house in the Country. The big name bowlers came from all over the place, gunning for these two Damon Runyon type characters that would become legends in their own time. One of the greatest moments I remember is the night this 16-year-old tooth pick from Long Island came into Ave M with his backers. I honestly thought the ball weighed more than him. He went on to cleaning out the house; his name was Mike Lemongello, one of the greatest action bowlers of all time. He also did very well on the pro PBA tour as did many of the action bowlers who came out of Brooklyn, such as Johnny Petraglia and Marc Roth just to name a few. Through out the years there were many good action houses in the Metropolitan Area, Paramus, Yonkers, Kuskies, White Plains, White Stone, Colony, Kings Lanes, Fitzimmons, Bowlmore, Gil Hodgers, and many, many more, but Ave M was in a league of it's own, thanks to Mac and Stoop. These were the days that most of the major alleys stayed open 24hrs a day, 365 days a year. What more could I ask for.
In my teenage years I had one major problem, my father, he was very strict about me being home no later than 10pm. That was fine before I started hearing about all this great action that was going on late at night after the leagues were over. By this time we were living on a dirt lined Street in Bensonhurst, across the street from the Cemetery. One Friday night I woke up about 3:30 in the morning and started daydreaming about what must be going on at the bowling alley. It became to much to bare just thinking about it, so I decided to gamble, I very quietly got dressed and stuffed some pillows under my blanket, and wrote a message that I left early to go fishing with my friends. My bedroom was in the back of the second floor of our home, I went out the window and jumped on top of the near by over hang to our back door, I then climbed down the peach tree that was near the back entrance. I walked the 10 blocks or so to the bowling alley, the anticipation and excitement was mounting every step I took. When I finally turned the corner at Ave M and McDonald, the site in front of me was beyond my wildest expectations. The entire block of the bowling alley on Ave M was lined with very expensive doubled parked cars, they were all over the place, the entrance to the bowling alley was brightly lite and many people were hanging around outside the door. As I made my way into the bowling alley my heart was pounding and now I totally couldn't believe the site in front of me. All 28 lanes were going and the place was so crowded you could hardly walk in. Money was being bet on the games like it was water and all the famous action bowlers that I had only heard stories about were there live and in the flesh. They came from all different areas, Long Island, New Jersey, Westchester, Philadelphia, you name it. My whole body was tinkling. I had to go to the bathroom real quick, which was on the second floor behind the locker rooms. As I walked up the steps there were people all over the place, a big money crap game was going on inside the locker rooms. I really thought I died and went to heaven. From that day on I was totally and hopelessly hooked, the world of action was definitely my world.
Continued Below: