The 2022 Fall League ran from November 7, 2022 through March 25, 2023.

The season comprised 40 teams divided into five groups of eight teams each. Each group played on a different day.

• Group A: Mondays at 6:30 pm.
• Group B: Tuesdays at 6:30 pm.
• Group C: Wednesdays at 6:30 pm.
• Group D: Thursdays at 6:30 pm.
• Group E: Fridays at 7:00 pm.

The regular season ran from November 7, 2022 through January 20, 2023. During the regular season, each team played one match against each of the other teams in their group. There were no inter-group practice matches.

At the end of the regular season, the top four teams in each group advanced to the playoffs. Single elimination playoffs commenced on January 8 and finished with the championship match on March 25. The twelve playoff teams with the best regular season winning percentages received a first round bye in the playoffs.

The 2022 Fall League of the Clayton Bocce League will forever be remembered for, at least, two things: (1) the brutal weather, and (2) the greatest night of upsets in Clayton Bocce League history.

We like to kid around that only die-hard bocce players will brave the elements to play outdoor bocce from November – February. The other leagues are in hibernation or in the cozy confines of an indoor carpeted surface. Not so with Clayton Bocce League players. If you play in our Fall League you know what you are in for and you show up prepared.

But . . . damn. When it wasn’t brutally wet it was always brutally cold. The Fall League consists of 40 teams playing 20 matches a week, or a total of 140 matches before playoffs. An astonishing 124 matches were rescheduled (some more than once) because of rain. Numerous matches were played in temperatures that got no higher than the low 40s. Propane sales spiked during our season, as every form of heating element was on display (but we had to draw the line at open flames), with the singed clothing as evidence. We wish we had the concession on rechargeable heated vests and jackets. We planned to have at least a month between the end of the Fall League and the beginning of (an early this year) Spring League. It was five days.

But when we did get to play, the level of play was awesome. Exciting matches are the norm in our leagues and the weather did not impact some excellent play. A sure Fall League record long match was played by a couple of Friday night teams who finished by 10:30 p.m. on – what else – a clear and freezing cold night.

The Fall League also set another record that may stand for a few years. Twenty teams make the playoffs. The quarterfinal (final 8) matches are usually the best and most exciting night of bocce for the entire season. This year exceeded everyone’s expectations, as the top four seeds (who went a combined 76-8 and +510 point differential during the regular season) were taken down by the 8th, 5th, 7th, and 11th seeds respectively. Exciting indeed.

The “Quarterfinal Massacre” resulted in four teams in the semifinals who had never reached such lofty heights. The semis and finals resulted in three new medalists and a new reigning Fall League champion:

1st Place: Family Ties (Capo: Kris Wismer)
2nd Place: Mazzei Chevrolet (Capo: Matt Mazzei)
3rd Place: Pallino Posse (Capo: Julie Cowherd)
4th Place: Throw Pallino First (Capo: Julie Rogers)

Sadly, however, we cannot close out the story of the 2022 Fall League without a brief in memoriam. Rich Purdue, the inspiration for the team name Throw Pallino First, passed away on the eve of the championsip matches, after a spirited fight with cancer. While Rich sometimes forgot which ball to roll first at the start of a frame, no one who knew him will forget his kind and loving spirit and passion for bocce. And in true credit to the level of sportsmanship that we care about above everything else in this league, all teams readily agreed to postpone the finals matches for, thanks to a couple of atmospheric rivers, a few weeks.

Finally, a very special thanks must be extended to our groomers, Brent Dawson and his assistant, Guy Hagler. Postponing and rescheduling matches, and complaining about the cold, is nothing compared to the real work these two guys put in to get the courts ready when the weather allowed. They, and the courts, took a beating this past winter but when we needed the courts to be hard, fast, and ‘bocce ready,’ they got it done.

No one will forget how cold they were for the 2022 Fall League. But not even that could begin to melt away the spirit of camaraderie and sportsmanship that marks this league and this community.