www.bceagles.comCambridge Arlington Belmont Watertown Lexington1812 Mass. Ave. 1193 Mass. Ave. 63 Trapelo Rd. 144 Main St. 1620 Mass. Ave.617-876-0876 781-643-7177 617-484-4600 617-923-9607 781-861-020010BOB BP -- File name: B72040_BC_32pg_Txt.pdf Made on Sep 16, 2008 at 7:02:58 PM, Page 10 <strong>of</strong> 36 pages. Trim is 8.5 x 11.0 --
2008 INDUCTEEBOB BP -- File name: B72040_BC_32pg_Txt.pdf Made on Sep 16, 2008 at 7:02:58 PM, Page 11 <strong>of</strong> 36 pages. Trim is 8.5 x 11.0 --BROTHER JOSEPH (EDDIE) IARROBINO, OSB ‘53GolfA chapel dedicated to Pasquale and AnnaIarrobino will soon open and welcome youngmen and women who have made the pilgrimageto Saint Andrew’s Benedictine Abbey inValyermo, California. Fourteen years in themaking, the chapel in the Abbey’s youth centerhonors the parents <strong>of</strong> Brother Joseph Iarrobino,a peerless golfer and one <strong>of</strong> the most courageousathletes ever to wear the Maroon andGold.Edmund V. Iarrobino ’53 took BrotherJoseph for his religious name when he joinedthe Order <strong>of</strong> Saint Benedict 30 years ago. Hehas lived at the Abbey in the foothills <strong>of</strong> the SanGabriel Mountains since that time. His primaryduty for more than a decade has been raisingmoney for the chapel.“Perseverance and prayer. That’s why thechapel is almost ready. It’s a lot like golf. You’vegot to have perseverance if you’re going to succeed,”said Brother Joseph, who has knownand experienced both the rewards <strong>of</strong> perseveranceand the power <strong>of</strong> prayer.The Iarrobino family lived near the BostonCollege campus on Suffolk Road, where Eddie’sfather worked as a chauffeur. Eddie caught thegolf bug when he was only five years old. Hewould chip the ball around the back yard andputt it into buried tin cans for up to six hoursat a time. He’d also sneak over to the BC footballfield on the Dust Bowl and practice untilFather Maurice Dullea, the faculty moderator <strong>of</strong>athletics, showed up to shoo him away.As soon as he was old enough, Eddiebecame a caddy. At age 14 he won his firstcompetitive tournament, the New EnglandOpen Championship at Albemarle CountryClub in Newton.In August 1948, he and future Eagle <strong>Hall</strong> <strong>of</strong><strong>Fame</strong>r Fordie Pitts battled to a draw in the statecaddy championship, each shooting 152 for 36holes. Pitts, who weighed 109 pounds toIarrobino’s 110, prevailed by a stroke in an 18-hole play<strong>of</strong>f. In his story about the match, theBoston Globe’s Ernie Roberts dubbed the wispyIarrobino “The Thin Man,” after the 1934detective movie starring William Powell andMyrna Loy.A few weeks later, Eddie tried to help hisfather start the family’s 1938 Plymouth. Hewas pouring gas into the carburetor when anengine spark ignited the fuel, causing an explosionthat engulfed the lad in a sheet <strong>of</strong> flame.He was bedridden for three months andendured four skin grafts for third-degree burns.Doctors at Newton Wellesley Hospital toldIarrobino that he would never play golf again.But four months after that grim diagnosis, inJanuary 1949, he strode onto theCommonwealth Golf Club course and beganhis comeback, gamely swinging driver andirons despite the thick scar tissue that coveredhis right arm and side.He graduated BC High with his class andstill managed to captain the golf team thatspring. A final surgical procedure, in the shape<strong>of</strong> the letter “Z,” excised more scar tissue andrestored sufficient range <strong>of</strong> motion for him toagain drive the ball sharply <strong>of</strong>f the tee. Thedetermined Iarrobino was set to launch hisBoston College career.That was the golden age <strong>of</strong> BC golf. Five <strong>of</strong>the seven linksmen enshrined in the <strong>Hall</strong> <strong>Fame</strong>prior to Iarrobino played between 1950 and1956. Eddie arrived at the school with his reputationfor consistency and deadly accuracyalready established. <strong>Hall</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Fame</strong>rs Harry Ernst,Dick Kinchla, and Bob Crowley had just graduated,but Iarrobino and classmate Leo Gracemoved in and kept the Eagles at the top <strong>of</strong> collegiatecompetition under coach John “Snooks”Kelley.The team was undefeated in regular seasonplay during Eddie’s three varsity years from1951 through 1953, and they won the NewEngland Intercollegiate Team Championship in1952. Iarrobino compiled a sparkling record <strong>of</strong>16-2. In every match except one, he played in11the number one slot against the opposition’sbest player. One <strong>of</strong> his losses was by the score<strong>of</strong> 3 and 2 to Holy Cross immortal Paul Harney,who went on to win seven PGA Tour events.As Kinchla puts it, the diminutiveIarrobino “could thread a needle” from anywhereon the course. “He was very accurateand straight as an arrow <strong>of</strong>f the tee,” said Dick.Crowley adds “Eddie didn’t have a lot <strong>of</strong>range. But he was a very steady player and hada great reputation, both locally and while hewas at BC.”“The secret <strong>of</strong> golf for me was really in theshort game. I was at my best when putting,”said Iarrobino. He credits Ernst with helping todevelop his grip and swing; Harry helped himmoved from a baseball-style grip to the interlockingmethod and eventually to an overlappinggrip.Though Eddie seldom drove the ball a greatdistance, he usually made it to the green intwo strokes. He’s especially proud <strong>of</strong> the threeholes-in-one he has shot during his career – atNatick and Nashawtuc in Massachusetts and atBraemar Country Club near Los Angeles.Eddie majored in economics and minoredin accounting. He had always aspired to religiouslife, and after graduation he entered theCarmelite order. But the meatless diet did notagree with him, and he had to return homeafter six months.Drafted into the Army, Iarrobino trained asa postal clerk and shipped <strong>of</strong>f for a tour <strong>of</strong> dutyin Korea in 1954. He won the Eighth ArmyForward golf tournament on the Seoul CountryClub course, where bomb craters and combatscars still pocked the fairways.After his discharge in 1956, Eddie workedfor General Electric, Carling Brewing, andAmerican Tobacco. He also stuck with golf,winning club championships at Natick in 1960and Wampatuck in 1965.But Eddie still felt the call to religious life.Feeling that his time as a Carmelite had notfully tested his vocation, he joined the order <strong>of</strong>Saint John <strong>of</strong> God at age 37. Eight years later,seeking a more contemplative way, he becamea Benedictine and took his religious name inhonor <strong>of</strong> Saint Joseph the Worker.Up until a few years ago, in his fund raisingfor the order, he frequently had the opportunityto play golf with friends and benefactors.“You can learn a lot about people by playing18 holes with them,” he says.
Change language