Pin Action: Small-Time Gangsters, High-Stakes Gambling, and the Teenage Hustler Who Became a Bowling Champion (31 page)

Schlegel liked to wear vibrant colors on television. He called it “color therapy.” The more aggressive the colors in his clothes were, the more aggressively he believed he would bowl. Whatever works, right? This particular photo was taken at the 1983 American Bowling Congress Masters, now a “major” on the PBA Tour. Ernie won the Masters in 1996 at age 53. To this day, he remains the oldest player ever to win a major on the PBA Tour.
Photo courtesy of Luby Publishing.

Illustration from the June 1979 issue of
Oui
magazine. Some items of note: The Muhammad Ali poster left of the mirror is an allusion to Schlegel’s admiration for Ali, his idol. You see a small photo of Cathy, Schlegel’s wife, to the lower-right of the mirror. You also see Schlegel’s Bicentennial Kid costume slung over the back of a chair, and Schlegel’s colorful bowling bag, designed by his wife. You also see Schlegel wearing his then-trademark white pants dotted with silver stars from hip to ankle, and his patented aviator shades. Additionally, you see a portrait of Evel Knievel in the upper-left. That’s the person who inspired Schlegel’s Bicentennial Kid gimmick.
Illustration courtesy of Frans Evenhuis.

This photo captures Steve Harris meeting up with Schlegel at a pro bowling event nearly half-a-century removed from their days as two of New York City’s preeminent bowling hustlers. They both have done quite well for themselves since their days on the streets.
Photo courtesy of Steve Harris.

The chicken shack that currently occupies the site of Steve Harris’s old pro shop at 4840 Broadway on the corner of Broadway and Academy in upper Manhattan.
Photo courtesy of Gianmarc Manzione.

In 2014, Ernie Schlegel joined the 40-year participation club at the prestigious United States Bowling Congress Open Championships, a tournament that has been running for more than 100 years.
Photo courtesy of the United States Bowling Congress.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

M
anzione is one of the world’s foremost action bowling historians, and a lifelong bowler himself. He has written on the subject of bowling for all of the bowling industry’s highest-profile publications, including BOWL.com, PBA.com,
Bowlers Journal International
,
Bowling This Month
, and
Bowling Digital
. His writing also has appeared in
The New York Times, The Paris Review, The Southern Review, The Southeast Review,
and many other publications. In 2004, he obtained and MFA in creative writing with a concentration in poetry at The New School in New York City. His first book,
This Brevity
, was a poetry collection published by Parsifal Press in 2006. He currently is Editor of
Bowlers Journal International
, the oldest monthly sports magazine in the country. Previously, Manzione taught English and creative writing at the College of Central Florida, the University of Tampa and the University of South Florida. He lives near Tampa with his wife, Brittni, and his daughter, Ellianna.

PIN ACTION

Pegasus Books LLC

80 Broad Street, 5th Floor

New York, NY 10004

Copyright © 2014 by Gianmarc Manzione

First Pegasus Books edition December 2014

Interior design by Maria Fernandez

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher, except by reviewers, who may quote brief excerpts in connection with a review in a newspaper, magazine, or electronic publication; nor may any part of this book be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other, without written permission from the publisher.

Grateful acknowledgment is made to Luby Publishing, the United States Bowling Congress, the Professional Bowlers Association, Cathy and Ernie Schlegel, Steve Harris, Kenny Barber, and Frans Evenhuis for providing the photos and illustrations that appear in this book.

The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:

ISBN: 978-1-60598-645-6

ISBN: 978-1-60598-715-6 (e-book)

Distributed by W. W. Norton & Company