Pin Action

Gianmarc Manzione

Most of us think of bowling as a "sport" in quotation marks, and bowling alleys are places with disco balls, matching shirts, and funny shoes. But in the 1960s, New York City was the center of action bowling, a form of high-stakes gambling in which bowlers--often teenagers--faced off for thousands of dollars every night. When money like that is changing hands, you can bet the pressure is on (and balls are rigged), and losses come with dire consequences. But for a few kids, the world of action bowling would turn out to be a ticket off the mean streets of New York City and onto the Professional Bowlers Association Tour. For Ernie Schlegel, it would be a chance to shed his con artist ways and become a bonafide champion.For the more than 100 million bowlers worldwide and for fans of timeless sports histories, PIN ACTION captures the underbelly of 1960s and '70s New York, when thugs and hustlers ruled the dark alleys, and tells the true story of how the most notorious action bowler of all time became a Hall of Famer. Set in the gritty, flashy, lost world of action bowling, Gianmarc's tells an epic tale filled with seedy characters, uproarious eccentricities, improbable twists of fate, and a rags-to-riches narrative that is so crazy it has to be true.

Gianmarc Manzione is the most recognized writer in the bowling industry today. He has written on the subject for the New York Times and all of the bowling industry’s highest-profile publications.  Manzione fell in love with bowling as a kid growing up in Brooklyn, where he spent so much of his childhood in local bowling alleys that he was virtually raised in them.  Manzione currently teaches English and creative writing at the College of Central Florida, and lives with his wife near Tampa.

Buy it now in print: Amazon Barnes & Noble IndieBound

Buy it now in ebook: Amazon Barnes & Noble Apple Kobo

Endorsements & Reviews