THE NEWEST GAME IN TOWN : It May Not Make Comeback, but Boccie Beats Dominoes for These Torrance Men

When Frank Carbone was a youngster living in New York City, he and his friends loved to play boccie in empty lots and city parks.

The 85-year-old Torrance resident recalls that the game was so popular in his neighborhood that an interested player could get a quick match at most any park.

“Boy, they had some great players back there,” Carbone said.

First to Sign Up

When the retired aviation worker learned in April that the Bartlett Senior Citizens Center in Torrance had installed a boccie court, he was one of the first to sign up.

The game, which is similar to lawn bowling, is played on a clay or grass court with wooden balls. It originated in Italy and is popular with the elderly in Europe.

But few people in this area had ever heard of the game. “I’ll tell you it was no easy trick getting information on this game,” said Suzie Wand, a recreation coordinator for the city’s recreation department.

A demonstration on how to play the game was provided by a part-time staff member who had learned the rules from her Italian father, Wand said.

“I would love to see this catch on here,” she said. “These people get good exercise and fresh air from playing boccie ball.”

And while boccie has yet to gain much popularity in Southern California, it is a hit with Carbone and five close friends, who in the past had met regularly for shuffle board and dominoes.

Now all six get together early every morning for a friendly game that can sometimes become very competitive.

“If you two don’t hurry up and throw the ball, I’m going to punch both of you in the nose,” 75-year-old Bob Miller said jokingly as he waited for Carbone and his partner, Al Manheimer, to start the game Wednesday morning.

“Keep your shirt on,” shouted Carbone as he tossed a green ball across the clay court, while remarking on his own form: “Wow, look at that follow-through.”

Watching from the side, Wand said: “These guys get more exercise arguing than they do playing the game.”

The game is played on a 60- by 10-foot court, which is surrounded by wooden walls about 2 feet tall. A small yellow ball, called the “jack,” is tossed to one end of the court to begin the contest.

Teams or Individuals

The object of the game is to toss large wooden balls from one end of the court toward the jack at the other end. The player whose ball remains closest to the jack wins one point.

It is permissible to knock away an opponent’s ball that is closest to the jack or to knock the jack away from a well-placed ball. Boccie can be played by teams or individuals.

Wand said boccie was added to the list of activities provided at the center as an alternative to shuffle board, which had to be discontinued when the center temporarily moved from its downtown location to a closed school on Greenwood Avenue. Wand said the downtown site is being renovated and will reopen next summer.

The renovated center won’t have a boccie court, Wand said, but if the popularity of the game increases, boccie may be one of several activities that will remain at the Greenwood Avenue location.

Manheimer, an 81-year-old retired meat cutter, said the game, although intended to be relaxing, can become stressful. “The problem is that there are too many authorities out there,” he said, pointing to his opponents.

“Hey, why did you knock my ball out? I didn’t do anything to you,” asked 64-year-old Victor Habif as he nudged Miller.

“I did it because you’re a nasty old man,” Miller answered as he aimed his next shot.

“Come on, you two. Stop messing around,” yelled Carbone.

“I told you it was competitive,” Wand said. “You should see these guys play dominoes.”