Brockton Native Comes Home For Wheelchair Bowling Championship

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—Surrounded by family members he had not seen in person for more than 20 years since moving to Florida, Brockton native Michael Cannizzaro held the championship trophy for the top scorer in the B division of the American Wheelchair Bowling Association’s 50th anniversary National Championship—a first place title made sweeter because he won it in his hometown.
“I’ve been second (in the National Championship) for the last two years,” Cannizzaro said. “I want to win it here,” he said.
His nephew David Cannizzaro whose daughter Chelsey had never met her great-uncle until the tournament—said his Uncle Michael had the win with a few strings left to bowl, but remained quiet and calm as other bowlers finished out their matches.
“He didn’t celebrate. He kept quiet about it, but you could see he was really excited,” David Cannizzaro said.
Michael Cannizzaro joined more than 50 bowlers and hundreds of spectators for the American Wheelchair Bowling Association’s National Championship held at Westgate Lanes in Brockton from June 20 to 25. (Pictured, second photo from top at left rolling a practice ball)
Tournaments are held all year long around the country, but the National Championship is the “Big One,” competitors said.
The AWBA, formed in 1961, celebrated its 50th National Championship at Westgate Lanes in Brockton—a special moment commemorated in Brockton in part because of Tournament Director Wayne Webber.
Also in a wheelchair, Webber said he received treatment for injuries out of the Veteran’s Administration Hospital in West Roxbury, but also worked in Westgate Lanes’ Pro Shop for more than 3 years while living in Massachusetts before moving to Florida 19 years ago.
“There’s a real rapport here and it’s been a special place for me and others,” Webber said.
Westgate Lanes has become a special place for Michael Cannizzaro having won his first National Championship with his family watching, but getting to the tournament was no small feat.
Cannizzaro made a unique-for-him road trip from Florida to Brockton to not only compete in the National Championship, but also visit with family members who he had only previously talked with on the phone.
“It was like a family reunion,” said Rosalie Linscott, Cannizzaro’s sister who now lives in Foxboro.
(Pictured in photo at right back row: Terry Powers, Ann Powers, Rosalie Linscott and David Cannizzaro. Front row: Ray Dennison, Michael Cannizzaro and Chelsey Cannizzaro)
Linscott said except for a few family members who have traveled to Florida to visit Michael, most have never met him because he has lived in Florida for 22 years and rarely travels because of his handicap.
However, the National Championship being held in Brockton was powerful incentive for Cannizzaro to visit.
“He said, ‘I’m going to that one,’” Linscott said.
What made it happen was friend Ray Dennison, also in a wheelchair, who drove with Cannizzaro in a special wheelchair van more than 1,460 miles from their homes in Port Charlotte, Florida—just north of Fort Myers--to a hotel near Linscott’s home in Foxboro.
The pair took two days to make the trip.
“It’s not easy for those guys to get around. It was really a marathon trip for them,” Linscott said.
While Cannizzaro was crowned National Champion for the first time, Reading, California resident Walt Roy was crowned champion for the fifth time in the “scratch” division.
A Hall of Famer, Roy, 68, who has been bowling for more than 30 years, said he would not miss the National Championship for the world.
“This is our Super Bowl, our World Series, and our Master’s,” Roy said. “I wouldn’t miss it for anything,” he said. (Pictured in top photo bowling a practice strike)
Roy urged other men and women in wheelchairs to become involved in the sport not only for exercise, rehab and meeting new people, but also maybe to win.
“Go out and try it,” Roy said. “You don’t have to be a national champion—just have fun,” he said.
However the competitor in Roy added: “You can be as good as you want to be—maybe you can be a national champion.”
During opening ceremonies held Thursday, June 23 a celebration to veteran’s featured “Singing State Trooper” Sgt. Daniel Clark and Brockton Firefighters Pipes and Drums.
Westgate Lanes manager Harry Minassian Jr. said the opening ceremony was amazing and heartfelt.
“Everybody was crying,” Minassian said.
Al DeGirolamo, legislative aide to State Rep. Michael Brady, was one of those who was honored to throw out one of the first balls of the tournament.
Like the men and women who competed in the tournament throughout the week, DeGirolamo sat in a wheelchair and held the heavy bowling ball on his lap as he used his arms to wheel the chair to the line of the alley.
He said he used all his might to send the ball down the lane. DeGirolamo laughed noting he might need more practice.
"I got three gutter balls in a row," DeGirolamo said. “I gained a lot of respect and admiration for what those competitors do,” he said.
To find out more about the AWBA or learn about leagues and how to join, click here to visit the AWBA website.