Sad News Regarding Dennis Tinerino
We are very sorry to report the passing of Dennis Tinerino, on May 7th. A Mr. America and Mr. Universe, Dennis was honored with the AOBS' Highest Achievement Award in 2007. We want extend our deepest condolences to Dennis' family and friends. You can read more about Dennis by clicking hereA Celebration of Joe "The Great" Rollino Hosted by Mike D'Angelo on March 19th
Mike D'Angelo organized a wonderful luncheon in honor of Joe Rollino on what would have been Joe's birthday - March 19. Mike hosted the event at one of Joe's favorite restaurants "New Corners" in Brooklyn, the same place that Joe's birthday party was held last year. We had even more attendees at this year's celebration. A full report on the celebration will be provided in the May/June AOBS newsletter. We want to thank Mike for putting this wonderful event together.Sad News Regarding Joe "The Great" Rollino
It
is our sad duty to report that on Monday, January 11, just before 7
AM, our beloved Joe Rollino was struck by a mini-van while crossing
a busy street in his Brookllyn, NY neighborhood. He died several
hours later at Lutheran Hospital, never having regained
consciousness. Joe was just 66 days short of his 105th birthday,
which would have fallen on March 19.
To describe Joe's passing as a major loss would be a major understatement. His loss will be felt by the entire Iron Game universe, by the boxing world, by the WWII veterans he was a heroic part of, ,by the countless Brooklyn neighbors that knew him (he'd been a fixture in the same neighborhood for more than 100 years), by his church, by his friends and by his family. .
We cannot begin to do justice to Joe's life at this time, but our upcoming newsletter (February/March) will provide some coverage of Joe's remarkable life (which couldn't be covered fully by anything less than a series of books).
A wake for Joe will be conducted on Thursday, January 14th and Friday January 15th (both days from 2-5 PM and 7-10 PM) at Torregrossa's Funeral Home in Brooklyn - 1305 79th Street (near 13th Ave.). The phone number there is 718.232.8844. The Funeral will be held at St. Bernadette's, which is on 82nd St. and 13th Ave. in Brooklyn, at 9:45 AM, Saturday, January 16th. The family has offered an alternative to flowers - a donation to the American Diabetes Association (one of Joe's sisters and his mother had this disease).
26th Annual Reunion a Great Success
Despite the swine flu raging at that time, and the depressed economy, our reunion on June 13, 2009 was one of our largest and most successful ever. It was another gala occasion of education (seminars by Tommy Kono and Bruce Wilhelm, and a historical meeting focusing on the legendary Andy Jackson of Jackson Barbell fame), excitement (demonstrations by strongmen and women during the afternoon and during the dinner itself) and recognition for Iron Game greats (Carla Dunlap, Bill Seno and Bruce Wilhelm). You can read more about this fabulous event by clicking here to see our August 2009 newsletter (which covered the event in detail).
Don't miss next year's event, scheduled for October 23, 2010, at the Newark Airport Marriott Hotel.
Joe "The Great" Rollino Celebrates 104 Wonderful Years!
by Artie Drechsler
On
Thursday, March 19th, 2009, The Great Joe Rollino marked his 104th
birthday with some of his many friends from the AOBS (photo shows,
left to right, Steve "The Mighty Stefan" Sadicario, "Iron Mike"
D'Angelo, "The Great" Joe Rollino, Artie Drechsler and Joe Yu). Once
again, Mike D'Angelo coordinated this terrific event at the New
Corners restaurant in Brooklyn, NY. In addition to the 20 or so
people in attendance, Joe received a steady stream of calls on his
cell phone from Iron Game family members for all around the country,
and some outside the US. .
This marvel of longevity never ceases to amaze all in attendance with his memories, not only of distant years gone by, but of recent events as well. The Great one teaches as well as inspires, in the most profound way possible - by example. He exercises before the luncheon and , sticks to his vegetarian fare (while avoiding the birthday cake) at the luncheon, because a healthy lifestyle is something Joe lives each and every day without fail. One can't argue with the results. We wish Joe many healthy years to come, and hope that all of us will be with him through those years, to celebrate each of his marvelous annual milestones.
Slim "The Hammerman" Farman and Friends in the News
Slim “Farman” Hosts A Gathering of Strongmen
In early January, some of America’s top performers of oldtime strongman feats converged on the home of the legendary Slim “The Hammerman” Farman in Pottstown, PA. Among those who made the pilgrimage were Russell Jones, Dennis Rogers, Greg Matonick, Tom Kelly, Steve Weiner and Pat Povilaitis. Their visit and impromptu strength performances attracted the attention of the local newspaper – The Mercury. A report of the event was front page news in the Sunday January 6th issue of the Mercury, edging out news of Barak Obama’s victory in Iowa and the retirement of the local DA for top billing and front page space. Under the heading “Gathering Strength: Slim the Hammerman mentors group in feats of might” the article included photos of all the aforementioned strongmen in action, the largest photo on the front page featuring Slim doing is signature leverage lift with two sledgehammers. The article mentioned something about each performer and the feat(s) he did, as well as the mentor Farman having been mentored by Joe “The Might Atom” Greenstein. In all the story extended over three pages and included 13 photos. What coverage!
I know Slim was happy to have so many of his friends gathered together on one day and those who observed the event had a very special treat indeed in seeing so many strongmen performing at one time.
