The photo above shows Eugenio “John” Ambruso with his bocce
playing friends. The photo was sent in
by his granddaughter Maryanne Jordan Warrick.
It was taken in 1960 and shows the bocce players at the recreation
center at 16th and Jackson Streets in South Philadelphia. John was a bocce champ and had many trophies
to prove it.
My grandfather Michael Ambruso often told of playing bocce
all Sunday afternoon in the side yard at his brother-in-law, Patsy Bonelli’s house
in Garfield. Probably drinking homemade
wine from Patsy’s basement.
Bocce was certainly a popular pastime with Italian-Americans
in both South Philly and Garfield. Can you
share any memories of your Ambruso relatives playing bocce? Were they good enough to win trophies like
John Ambruso?
