Andy Varipapa (March 31, 1891 – August 25, 1984) was a professional and trick bowler. He became famous around the world for his trick bowling shots.

Life and career

Varipapa was born Andrea Varipapa in

Carfizzi Carfizzi ( aae, Karfici) is an Arbëreshë ''comune'' in the Province of Crotone, Calabria, Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the midd ...

, a small

Arbëreshë Arbën/Arbër, from which derived Arbënesh/Arbëresh originally meant all Albanians, until the 18th century. Today it is used for different groups of Albanian origin, including: * Arbër (given name), an Albanian masculine given name * Arbëresh ...

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' in the Calabria region of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, the son of Francesco and Concetta ( née Fuoco) Varipapa. After his father's death, he and his family moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, where they settled in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. Before becoming a professional bowler, he also played

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

and had a try at a

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...

career. He started his bowling career in the 1920s and soon made a reputation for himself in this sport, becoming one of the first pro bowlers in the country. Varipapa was considered to be "the greatest one-man bowling show on Earth" because of his array of exhibition rolls, such as a "boomerang ball" that Varipapa would slowly roll down the lane, only to have it return. He was famous for his ability to convert

splits A split (commonly referred to as splits or the splits) is a physical position in which the legs are in line with each other and extended in opposite directions. Splits are commonly performed in various athletic activities, including dance, figu ...

and, astoundingly, could regularly convert the 7-10 split by rolling one ball from each hand, simultaneously. A film shows the balls crossing paths before meeting the pins. He made many demonstration short films over his career, including 1934's '' Strikes and Spares'' with Sally McKee and Buster Brodie. Beyond his trick shot exhibitions, Varipapa was a solid professional bowler. In 1947, at the age of 56, he won the prestigious BPAA All-Star competition (predecessor to the U.S. Open) in a gruelling 100 game format, making him the oldest winner ever. He became the first to win two years in a row when he repeated in 1948 in spite of a dramatic comeback by Joe Wilman, who had won the All-Star in 1946. In 1949, Varipapa came close to a

three-peat In North American sports, a three-peat is winning three consecutive championships. The term, a portmanteau of the words ''three'' and ''repeat'', originated with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association, during their unsuccess ...

, finishing second to winner Connie Schwoegler of Madison, Wisconsin. He was inducted into the USBC (

United States Bowling Congress The United States Bowling Congress (USBC) is a sports membership organization dedicated to ten-pin bowling in the United States. It was formed in 2005 by a merger of the American Bowling Congress—the original codifier of all tenpin bowling stand ...

) Hall of Fame in 1957. Varipapa lived to be 93 years old and was an active bowler well into old age. At the age of 78, he taught himself to bowl left-handed, as his right hand was giving him difficulties. Within two years he averaged 180, a testament to his skills and longevity. The "Andy Varipapa 300" game was so-named after Andy joked that a string of 12 consecutive strikes spanning two games should count as a 300. In 1950, he published the pamphlet ''Better Bowling'', which was expanded two years later into ''Andy Varipapa's Quick Way to Better Bowling'' (Garden City Books).

Personal life

During his lifetime Varipapa was also known as "The Greek", a clear reference to his

ancestry. Varipapa died on August 25, 1984, at the age of 93.

References

*Bowlers Journal 2011 Year Review *PBA 1997 Press Guide

Official Website

https://andyvaripapa.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Varipapa, Andy 1891 births 1984 deaths American ten-pin bowling players American people of Arbëreshë descent Italian ten-pin bowling players Italian people of Arbëreshë descent Sportspeople from the Province of Crotone Italian emigrants to the United States Italian people of Albanian descent