Joe Santini Sr.'s “15 minutes of fame” was more like 30 minutes in television time, but for those living in Lockport's prominently-Italian “West End,” it translated into a lifetime of respect and admiration.

Most of us still didn't have color television sets when Joe first appeared on the famed local bowling program, “Beat the Champ.” Up through that time in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Santini's name was a common one in Union-Sun & Journal sports headlines as one of the best bowlers in a city where bowling was king.