Basilio Gasdia was born in southern Italy on November 27, 1930 and, like so many of his countrymen, he emigrated to Canada, arriving on December 5, 1953.

His brother, Joe or Gino, arrived in Canada before Basil and Joe arranged for Basil to work in construction with Toronto Air Conditioning. In addition, with a high skill level in bocce from his Italian heritage, Basil joined his first bowling league at Long Branch Bowl in Toronto’s westend. As well, before finally settling down, Basil and his brother also set pins at the old Ace Bowl on Danforth.

However, Basil moved back to the west side of the city and, with the opening of Queensway Bowl in 1958, Basil was settled and his game improved dramatically. Art Biffis and Tony D’Atri, the owner and manager respectively, introduced Basil to such top bowlers as Bob Reihm and Jim Ritchie.

From the Queensway, Basil joined the Master Bowlers Association in 1965 and his MBA career continued to the end of the 1992-93 season. Over 1560 games and nearly thirty years, Basil averaged 253 to rank a very respectable fifty-first in average all-time and sixth in both games and pinfall. In addition, Basil won four tournaments including both the 1984 and 1986 Double Knockout Tournament which was held in Oshawa at Motor City and the Oshawa Plaza and both centres were ideal for Basil’s soft but accurate delivery. Furthermore, in 1979, Basil also qualified for the Master Bowlers Association of Canada National Championships, and the team won a bronze medal in Winnipeg.

Basil was also a regular at the Open and, from 1965 to 1994, qualified twenty times as a player and he also coached on three other occasions. Basil bowled in the singles competition eight times and made the men’s team seven more times. Overall, his teams won five provincial titles and three national titles. The Canadian championships were accomplished in 1965 at Kitchener, 1968 at Niagara Falls and in 1989 in Red Deer, Alberta.

While the Masters and the Open were the provincial and national arenas for Basil to excel, he also left his mark on the popular All Events Tournaments of the day and the City Major League as well. At tournament sites such as Waterloo, Oshawa and Peterborough, Basil bowled with his York West teammates, such as Hall of Famer Al Snow, Connie D’Alessandro, Bert Sheehan and Bob Reihm to win their fair share of the awards. In the City Major League, Basil bowled with several teams including McGuinness Distillers under the captaincy of Eddie Marlatt. His lifetime marks included a 448 single, and three, five and ten game scores that exceed 1100, 1600, and 3000 respectively.

Basil appeared on television twice, once at O’Connor Bowl and a second time in the Masters at the annual Grape and Wine Tournament in St. Catharines against Terry Noon.

While Basil starred on the lanes, he also gave his time and effort to coach in the Youth Bowling Council at the Queensway. While his lifelong friend, Jim Ritchie, coached his daughter, Anna, several top bowlers, including Joanne Coram, were products of Basil’s teaching.

While Basil may have retired from the tournament trail in 1994, he has enjoyed considerable success on the Master Bowlers Association Senior Tour, winning one event and also competing in a national final in Winnipeg.

In a career that has spanned forty-five years, Basil has shown a dedication and commitment to our sport that is second to none. Moreover, he has been a true sportsman at all times and, with his wife, Joyce, continues to enjoy 5 pin bowling to its fullest.