It’s no secret: Bocce has been a staple in Sunny Italy for as far back as anyone can remember. And today, everyone is playing bocce with the  hottest sport in Italy continuing to catch on like wildfire in the U.S. And former Assemblyman Lou Tobacco -- now associate executive director of Staten Island University Hospital and Farrell alum -- knows it all to be so true.

Each year he chairs Staten Island University Hospital’s Golf, Tennis & Bocce Outing to sold out crowds as well as playing host to more than 100 Monsignor Farrell alums and supporters who gathered on the grounds of Angelina’s Ristorante for the Third annual Farrell Fall Bocce Classic.