Bocce Brings Back Wooster Square Crew

On a sun-drenched Sunday morning, a man finessed a ball down the tree-shaded bocce court at Wooster Memorial Park.

The man was Frank Sacco, who was born on 82 Wooster St. and will turn 108 in November. His ball clacked off the other balls, coming to rest near the pallino, or target. Competitors and onlookers at the weekly Society of St. Maria Maddelena bocce league match cheered. 

Sacco was at the park to accept a certificate of appreciation and longevity from the society. Founded in 1898 by immigrants from the town of Atrani on the Amalfi coast, it’s the oldest Italian American Society in the United States.

That’s according to Anthony Vitolo, past president of the society, as well as its historian and parliamentarian.

“I’ve been a member for 40 years,” he said, as he followed the competition.

And Sacco, of course, is the oldest player.

On the recent Sunday, that distinction won Sacco a discount: The league declared him a lifetime member. He no longer needs to pay dues.

While Frank lives with his son Andy in Cheshire, he regularly comes back to Wooster Square, lunching with the guys at the society on Tuesdays and playing bocce at Memorial Park on Sundays.

Frank Sacco’s father, who immigrated from Amalfi at the turn of the 20th century, made ends meet as a fisherman in Long Island Sound. His father peddled his fish on Franklin, Hamilton, and Wooster Streets, before operating a grocery store in the building now occupied by Tre Scalini.

“I graduated from Commercial High School, and I never went to college,” Sacco said, his clear, strong voice belying his years. 

“You know how I made up for it? I took the Webster dictionary wherever I went. I got my college education by studying every word of the dictionary.” 

Among other occupations — he ran an auto parts store on Grand Avenue and worked as a stockbroker for Smith & Barney in Hartford — Sacco was editor-in-chief of the New Haven News, the leading Italian newspaper in Connecticut. He was also the editor and artist for the Republican Trumpet Newspaper, giving then-presidential candidate Richard Nixon a copy when he visited New Haven in 1960.

While Sacco has the distinction of being the club’s oldest player, the regulars all have deep roots to the society and to the neighborhood. Bocce brings them back together.

Vitolo, for instance, was born and raised on 117 Wooster St. His father came from Atrani.

He said he’s at the club every day. ​“Most of the guys down there grew up together, believe it or not, and now they’re retired.”

Society President Andrew Consiglio, Jr. said the society founded the bocce league a few years ago ​“to keep the guys busy.” 

Consiglio was born on what used to be called Collis Street, then moved to Hamilton Street near Chapel. He worked as a police captain in New Haven and retired a few years ago. He also has a development business. 

“I live in North Haven, but I’m down here every day,” he said. ​“You can’t get it out of you. It’s born into you.”

“That’s right,” said Peter Criscuolo, Jr., another Wooster Street native, amid the soft thud of bocce balls on the crushed stone surface and the chorus of good-natured ribbing. ​“Love North Haven, nice and peaceful, but there’s no roots. It’s artificial turf compared to this.”

Rich Biondi, a social studies teacher and track coach, as well as the author of three oral histories on Wooster Square, ambled over.

“When we started the league two years ago, it brought back players to this court who hadn’t played here for 40 years,” he said.

Joe Redente, who was awaiting his turn, said the bocce court was installed in 1962.

“It was a political move,” he said. “[Former Mayor Richard C.] Dick Lee did it as a way to pacify the Italians after the whole debacle of putting 91 through the Wooster Square neighborhood.” 

“Right,” said Thomas Aquaro. He grew up on Brown and Wooster. His grandfather, also named Thomas, came over in 1906 and was the treasurer in the society.

“This park originally had a basketball court right here, horseshoes over there,” he said. He motioned at the playground. ​“And there was a fellow named Harry who took care of all the equipment.”

“Anyhow, they put in the bocce court, and until a few years ago, it was barely used,” said Redente, a retired New Haven cop. ​“Overgrown with weeds, full of garbage, people walking their dogs didn’t clean up after them.”

Then, he said, John Sehl, a city parks department foreman, got involved. 

“He put in fresh rock, rolled it, did everything, and when it was done he came down to the club to make sure it was OK, and the next day someone told me he passed away,” Ferente said, shaking his head.

“But what he did was huge, because it brought a lot people back.”

Biondi agreed. ​“It’s perfect because the older you are, the more experienced you are, the better you are,” he said. ​“It’s really a game of finesse and experience. It’s about the feel of the ball, and the camaraderie of playing.” 

The league tournament is in October. That’s when things get serious. ​“Right now, we don’t have standings. We just play with partners, we switch, we joke around, bond, just have a good time,” Biondi said. 

When they started, he’d send out email reminders. ​“Now they just come,” he said. ​“And the guys that don’t play, they just come to hang out because they like to come back to the park they played in.” 

By then, members of the league were convening near their society banner for the certificate ceremony. Among them was Sacco who, though assisted by his son Andy, moved with a certain spring in his step. 

“Check it out,” Criscuolo said. ​“He’s a lifetime member, no more dues expected; he’s exempt. At 107, no more dues.” 

“Where else would he go but here?” Andy asked, his father retiring to his lawn chair, certificate in hand, as play resumed. ​“It’s his natural habitat. This is home. This is it.”