Bocce is a game that many from East Haven enjoy, as locals have taken a love for the game and fared very well when playing, whether it be locally or at the national level.

The same can be said for 95-year-old Paul Corrano, who continues to play in the East Haven Beach Bocce League through the recreation department, and has been on the championship team for seven of the last nine years. In doing so, Paul is very humble as he only believes he's a good player for his age-not overall.

"Well, I was once, but no more now," says Paul. "The man throws the first pill, first ball to next pill, I used to be good at that. I am, but I'm not as good as I used to be."

East Haven Beach Bocce League Commissioner Chris Bonagiuso says that Paul is one of the more popular players in the league, as plenty of guys love to watch him play.

"Everyone regards him as the No. 1 point guy in the league. He's tremendous," says Bonagiuso. "He puts the ball right by the pallino about 80 percent of the time. Everybody gets a kick of out of it because he's 95 years old and better than everyone else in the league."

Paul has been playing bocce for more than 40 years, mostly with partner Tom Mancini. The duo has teamed up about 90 percent of the time that Paul has played throughout the last 20 years, whether at the beach, at the Annex YMA Club, or at Fort Hale.

While a member of the Annex Club, Paul was a one-time champion, and on Sept. 2, Paul's team, Elsie International on Long Wharf, wrapped up the championship on the beach beating Fantasia of North Haven 3-1 in a best of five series.

Bonagiuso loves having Paul as a member of the league because of his popularity and the history he makes year after year as a returning member because of his age.

"He's very humble, he's a good guy, and I believe he's the oldest player to ever play in our league at 95. We've had a couple people hit 90, but I don't recall ever seeing someone at 95," says Bonagiuso. "He's probably the most popular guy in the entire league. There's one guy in his team that's a really, really good player. Long story short, one of the guys said that he only comes down and looks forward to playing on the beach because Paulie is playing on the team. He absolutely loves coming down just to play for Paulie, and he's arguably one of the best players around."

Paul brings a wealth of knowledge of the game of bocce when he comes to play at the beach, playing a pivotal role for his squad year after year as they continue to win championship after championship. Bocce is also a game that Paul intends to continue to play for as long as he can as the game keeps him feeling younger.

"I'm going to continue playing-if my health keeps me healthy, I'll continue playing," says Paul. "So far I'm healthy."