In late summer 1936, amid the depths of the Great Depression, the charms of bocce were heralded in The Evening Sun,. The writer used the same line that accompanies just about every story on the ancient game of lawn bowling. “Ever hear of bocce?” In fact, bocce is a descendent of the oldest game devised by man: throwing balls toward a target.

Some 5,000 years before Christ, the Egyptians played a version with smooth stones. In Baltimore, folks from Harford County to Hamilton surely know it, particularly in Little Italy, where courts next to the old St. Leo’s parish school will host the 2024 season.