Andy Varipapa

Varipapa was born Andrea Varipapa in Carfizzi, a small Arbëreshë comune in the Calabria region of Italy, the son of Francesco and Concetta Varipapa.{{Cite book |last=Gerstner |first=Glenn |url=https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Glenn_Gerstner_Andy_Varipapa?id=l0MDEQAAQBAJ |title=Andy Varipapa: Bowling's First Superstar |publisher=McFarland |year=2024 |isbn=978-1-4766-9333-0 |location=Jefferson, NC |pages=11–12}}{{cite news |last1=Bergamin |first1=Luca |title=Carfizzi, la piccola Albania dove si lotta per le tradizioni |url=https://www.corriere.it/bello-italia/notizie/carfizzi-piccola-albania-dove-si-lotta-le-tradizioni-eb66d924-caca-11eb-8ed4-12d8a45dc37a.shtml |publisher=Corriere della Serra |date=2021}} After his father's death, he and his family moved to the United States in 1903, where they settled in Brooklyn.{{Cite news |last=Barkan |first=Rhonda |date=April 6, 1978 |title=Life is Just a Bowl of Tricks: And Andy Has Done Them All! |url=https://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn84031205/1978-04-06/ed-1/seq-3/ |access-date=December 17, 2022 |work=Observer |location=Northport, NY |pages=3}}

As a teenager, he worked as a pin boy, delivery boy, switchman, and in a soap factory.{{Cite news |last=Hinteroff |first=John F. |date=February 2, 1947 |title=He Couldn't Make the Dodgers but Became 'King of Keglers' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/573428190/ |access-date=January 18, 2023 |work=St. Louis Globe-Democrat |page=E1}} He first bowled at the Fraternity Hall alleys in Williamsburg in 1904 and practiced by emulating the game of a local up-and-comer, James Melillo. Varipapa made a good choice. After Melillo changed his name to Jimmy Smith, by 1906, he was World's Champion.

Varipapa became a well-known bowler in Brooklyn, but was disillusioned by the seedier aspects of the sport. He wanted to earn money from his talent, not from gambling.{{Cite news |last=Altshul |first=Jack |date=March 31, 1972 |title=Andy Varipapa at 81: And How He Keeps Rolling Right Along |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/714613644/ |access-date=December 17, 2022 |work=Newsday |location=Melville, NY |pages=42}} Without big-money tournaments, head-to-head matches were the only way for bowlers to make a living. He quit bowling for a time and turned his attention to baseball, and later boxing.{{Cite news |last=Cohen |first=Lou E. |date=November 25, 1938 |title=Sports Chat: Varipapa Pin Official |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/577783783/ |access-date=December 17, 2022 |work=Brooklyn Eagle |page=6}} He competed under the pseudonym "Andy Bell," believing it was a more suitable name for an athlete.{{Cite news |last=Van Fleet |first=Bill |date=May 30, 1960 |title=At 69, He's Still Hot Bowling Name |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/639683955/ |access-date=February 1, 2023 |work=Fort Worth Star-Telegram |department= |page=15}} Varipapa was hit by a truck whilst riding a bicycle during one of New York's many transit strikes in 1919, preventing him from pursuing baseball and boxing any further.{{sfn|Gerstner|2024|p=21}}

While working as a switchman on the Brooklyn Bridge, Varipapa took night courses at Pratt Institute and became a machinist. After working briefly at Remington UMC in Hoboken, he landed a job at the Brooklyn Navy Yard just as the U.S. entered World War I in 1917.{{sfn|Gerstner|2024|p=25}} After being laid off in 1921, he worked for a time selling insurance, but later leased a billiards room at the Empire Bowling and Billiards Academy in Bushwick.{{Cite news |last=Armijo |first=Pat |date=October 27, 1974 |title=82-Year-Old Trick Bowler Visits City |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/156346549/ |access-date=December 19, 2022 |work=Albuquerque Journal |page=E-8}} At Empire, Varipapa began to practice and hone his game. In 1926, brothers Ed and Jim Lawler hired Varipapa to manage their new bowling business in Stuyvesant Heights, and over the next several years, became one of the top bowlers in New York City.{{sfn|Gerstner|2024|pp=31-33}} He bowled the first of his 78 300 games on March 28, 1927, and during the next two seasons captured the Brooklyn Alley Owners Individual, Long Island Individual, and Brooklyn Alley Owners Doubles titles.{{Cite news |date=March 29, 1927 |title=Andy Varipapa Bowls Perfect Score of 300 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/686074680/ |access-date=December 19, 2022 |work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle |pages=A-3}}{{sfn|Gerstner|2024|p=187}}

In late 1930, Joe Falcaro invited Varipapa to compete in a doubles match against Jim Murgie and Charley Reilly, two of Philadelphia's top bowlers. Varipapa was the star of the match, averaging 233 over 42 games and leading him and Falcaro to a dominating 1,626 pin victory.{{Cite news |last=Walker |first=Punch |date=December 22, 1930 |title=Punch's Bowling Comment |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/253046288/ |access-date=December 19, 2022 |work=Binghampton (NY) Press |page=25}} Varipapa later said his performance gave him the confidence to focus all of his attention on becoming a professional bowler.{{Cite news |last=Kirsch |first=Fred |date=February 2, 1973 |title=For the Record |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/492972387/ |access-date=December 19, 2022 |work=Record |location=Hackensack, NJ |page=B-8}}

With few avenues to earn a living as a professional, Varipapa turned to learning the trick shots that would catapult him to national prominence. Practicing during off-hours at Lawler's, he started to perform his trick shots in 1932. In 1934, short film producer Pete Smith invited him to appear in his new short film, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyTsG454A3o&t=210s Strikes and Spares]. His performance, along with later appearances in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARt0wQJ6G1M&t=7s Set 'Em Up] (1939) and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5vdEjL3nls Bowling Tricks] (1948), made Varipapa the world's most famous bowler during the 1940s and 1950s. He toured from September to May, often six days per week. By 1937 he earned $100 per appearance, a handsome wage during the Great Depression.{{sfn|Gerstner|2024|p=67}}

Varipapa was considered to be "the greatest one-man bowling show on Earth"{{Cite news |last=Peters |first=Dick |date=December 20, 1948 |title=Schwoegler Wins National Bowling Crown |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/98194175/ |access-date=March 25, 2023 |work=Detroit Free Press |pages=25}} because of his jaw-dropping displays of trick shot artistry. He was famous for his ability to convert splits including the "impossible" 7-10 split rolling one ball from each hand down the lane.{{Cite news |last=Anderson |first=Orlo |date=December 25, 1932 |title=Champion U.S. Trick Shot Bowler Makes Difficult Ones Look Easy |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/513811722/ |access-date=July 12, 2023 |work=South Bend (IN) Tribune |page=3}} Modern stars including Chris Barnes and Norm Duke regularly use shots created by Andy in their trick shot routines.Professional Bowlers Association. (2015). “[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLLRg0sur6g PBA’s Best Bowling Trick Shots].” YouTube video posted by PBABowling, March 9, 2015.

Beyond his trick shot exhibitions, Varipapa was a solid professional bowler. In 1946, at age 55, he won the prestigious BPAA All-Star competition (predecessor to the U.S. Open) in a grueling 100-game format, making him the oldest winner.{{Cite news |date=December 23, 1946 |title=Handy Andy |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_newsweek-us_1946-12-23_28_26/page/78/mode/2up |access-date=March 6, 2023 |work=Newsweek |pages=78–79}} He became the first to win two years in a row when he repeated in 1947 despite a dramatic comeback by 1945 champion Joe Wilman of Chicago.{{Cite news |last=Bartlett |first=Charles |date=December 16, 1947 |title=Andy Does It; Retains Pin Crown |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/369972794/ |access-date=March 21, 2023 |work=Chicago Tribune |page=37}} In 1948, Varipapa came close to a three-peat, finishing second to winner Connie Schwoegler of Madison, Wisconsin.

On April 17, 1959, Varipapa won an $8,000 jackpot by throwing six consecutive strikes on the popular television show Phillies Jackpot Bowling.{{Cite news |date=April 18, 1959 |title=Varipapa Takes $8,000 Jackpot with 9 Strikes |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/489788613/ |access-date=April 25, 2023 |work=Bergen Evening Record |location=Hackensack, NJ |page=13}} He retired from competition in March 1962 a week shy of his 71st birthday.{{sfn|Gerstner|2024|p=153}}

File:Andy Varipapa 1961.jpg

While retired from competition, Varipapa performed more than 100 days per year during the 1960s before cutting back to 20-30 per year in the mid-1970s.{{sfn|Gerstner|2024|pp=140,165}} Suffering from arthritis, he began to bowl left-handed in 1969 and within a couple months was averaging in the 180s.{{Cite news |last=Demoretcky |first=Tom |date=September 9, 1969 |title=Andy Varipapa is a Rookie Lefty at 78 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/714048864/ |access-date=May 12, 2023 |work=Newsday |location=Melville, NY |page=48}} President Nixon named him to the President's Advisory Conference for Physical Fitness and Sports in 1970, making him the oldest athlete and the only bowler so honored.{{Cite news |date=October 1970 |title=President Reorganizes Council: Lovell Named Chairman |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8F1eBCE1SOYC |work=President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports Newsletter |pages=3}} He performed his trick shots on the popular ABC television show That's Incredible in 1980, exposing Varipapa to many who had never seen him perform.{{Cite news |last=Bogle |first=Wes |date=July 12, 1981 |title=Incredible Andy Varipapa |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/317060190/ |access-date=December 17, 2022 |work=Sunday Home News |location=New Brunswick NJ |page=85}}

Varipapa was inducted into the American Bowling Congress (now United States Bowling Congress) Hall of Fame in 1957.{{Cite news |last=Walter |first=John |date=March 1957 |title=Varipapa Elected to the Hall of Fame |work=National Bowlers Journal and Billiards Review |pages=27–29}} He is also a member of the New York City Bowling Association (1951), Eastern Long Island Bowling Association (1965), National Italian-American Sports (1980), New York State Bowling Association (1982), Long Island Sports (1984), and Bowling Coaches (2008) Halls of Fame.{{sfn|Gerstner|2024|p=187}}

Varipapa married Vincenzia (Alice) DeMartino on June 17, 1917. They had three children: Connie (Cornacchia), Frank, and Lorraine (Ruffolo). The family lived in Brooklyn until 1943, when they moved to Hempstead after Andy purchased Hempstead Recreation, a 14-lane bowling center. After Alice's death in 1960, Varipapa lived with Lorraine's family in Plainview until 1976, then with Connie's family in Huntington Bay until he died on August 25, 1984, at the age of 93.{{sfn|Gerstner|2024|pp=152,164-165}}{{Cite news |date=August 27, 1984 |title=Andy Varipapa Dead; Famed Bowler Was 93 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/08/27/obituaries/andy-varipapa-dead-famed-bowler-was-93.html |newspaper=The New York Times}}

Varipapa never smoked and rarely drank, a rarity among someone who spent so much time in bowling alleys. His health was such that after gallbladder surgery in 1956, his surgeon remarked that Andy's "blood pressure, vital capacity, muscular reflexes, and pulse rate were those of a younger man."{{Cite journal |date=February 2, 1957 |title=Sports & Medicine: Bowling Champ Still Going Strong at 65 |journal=Scope Weekly |volume=2 |issue=8 |pages=15}} Varipapa credited his good health to daily bowling and moderation in everything.{{Cite news |last=Palmer |first=Al |date=June 13, 1971 |title=Try Varipapa's A, B, C of Bowling |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/264707406/ |access-date=December 19, 2022 |work=Pensacola News-Journal |page=6C}}

In 1951, using seed money from his father, Frank Varipapa partnered with former Brunswick salesman Stan Lewis and opened Bowl Mart on Jericho Turnpike in Mineola, one of bowling's first "pro shops."{{Cite news |last=Clemente |first=Dick |date=May 5, 1951 |title=Around the Alleys |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/710894574/ |access-date=April 12, 2023 |work=Newsday |location=Hempstead, NY |page=25}} The concept of custom-fit bowling balls was relatively new, and the business thrived as bowling became increasingly popular in the 1950s. In 1960, the company expanded to 11 locations in four states, and when Frank died in 1988, he still owned the flagship store in Mineola.{{sfn|Gerstner|2024|pp=129-130}}

• The phrase "Varipapa 300" became part of the bowling lexicon due to a quote often attributed to Andy: “If I throw 12 strikes in a row over two games, in my mind, it is a 300 game.”{{Cite news |date=March 27, 2013 |title=Wolf Spreads Out His 3 Straight Perfectos |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/599725289/ |access-date=May 2, 2023 |work=Kenosha (WI) News |page=B3}}
• Varipapa appeared on What's My Line. He signed in as "Mister X," and none of panelists recognized him, nor were able to figure out his identity after the 10 allotted questions. With his shock of white hair and Italian accent, panelist Henry Morgan thought Andy was the physical culturist Charles Atlas.Gross, Lloyd, dir. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdSj6hBQHp4 What’s My Line?] Season 4, week 145. Distributed by Viacom, taped October 7, 1971. YouTube video posted by Andy Varipapa: Bowling's First Superstar, November 25, 2023.
• On January 18, 1982, Varipapa's name was mentioned on the CBS hit show M*A*S*H. Corporal Maxwell Klinger (played by Jamie Farr) said to Colonel Sherman Potter (Harry Morgan), “What a day for us! I haven’t been this excited since Andy Varipapa came to Toledo for a trick bowling exhibition.”Dubin, Charles S., dir. M*A*S*H. Season 10, episode 12. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74aPuLKBixg “Blood and Guts.”] Aired on CBS, January 18, 1982. YouTube video posted by Robert Varipapa, February 8, 2013.
• In 2015, Wheaties made Varipapa the centerpiece of a series of commercials.{{Cite news |last=Schultz |first=E.J. |date=March 27, 2015 |title=Wheaties Makes Marketing Strike with Retro Bowling Ads |url=https://adage.com/article/see-the-spot/wheaties-makes-marketing-strike-retro-bowling-ads/297793 |access-date=June 6, 2023 |work=AdAge}} Identified only as "Grandpa," Varipapa's shots from Bowling Tricks were overlaid with a narrator's voice criticizing millennial behavior. In one, the narrator states, "Grandpa wasn’t allergic to cats, or dust, or pollen. He was allergic to whiners. And losing.”General Mills. [https://www.adforum.com/creative-work/search?brand=wheaties&keyword=varipapa “Wheaties Presents Andy Varipapa’s Bowling Tricks.”] AdForum. April 2015.

• Gerstner, Glenn. [https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Glenn_Gerstner_Andy_Varipapa?id=l0MDEQAAQBAJ Andy Varipapa: Bowling’s First Superstar]. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2024.
• Grasso, John and Eric R. Hartman. [https://play.google.com/store/books/details/John_Grasso_Historical_Dictionary_of_Bowling?id=bblKBAAAQBAJ Historical Dictionary of Bowling]. New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2013.
• Hurley, Andrew. [https://books.google.com/books?id=QgeoAAAAIAAJ Diners, Bowling Alleys, and Trailer Parks: Chasing the American Dream in Postwar Consumer Culture]. New York: Basic Books, 2001.
• Kogan, Rick. Brunswick: The Story of an American Company from 1948 to 1985. Skokie, IL: Brunswick, 1985.
• Marks, Lou. The Bowling Experience. Boyton Beach, FL: Goldmark, 1987.
• Miller, Mark, ed. The Bowlers’ Encyclopedia. Greenvale, WI: American Bowling Congress, 1995.
• Schmidt, J.R. [https://books.google.com/books?id=a87TDQAAQBAJ The Bowling Chronicles: Collected Writings of Dr. Jake.] Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2017.
• Varipapa, Andy, and Nick Tronsky. Andy Varipapa’s Quick Way to Better Bowling. Edited by Tom McLaughlin. Rev. ed. Bronx, NY: Ishi Press, 2015.
• Weiskopf, Herman. The Perfect Game: The World of Bowling. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1978.

https://andyvaripapa.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Varipapa, Andy}}

Category:1891 births

Category:1984 deaths

Category:American ten-pin bowling players

Category:American people of Arbëreshë descent

Category:Italian ten-pin bowling players

Category:Italian people of Arbëreshë descent

Category:Sportspeople from the Province of Crotone

Category:Italian emigrants to the United States