lit a candle 14h agojust read the piece about his 865 series and now I see he's gone. 90 years old. that's a hell of a run on the lanes.
Their story
John A. Scaia Jr. was an American amateur bowler from Solvay, New York, who became one of the best known figures in Syracuse area bowling over a career that spanned decades. He was inducted into the Syracuse Bowling Association Hall of Fame in 1988 and remained active in the sport…
John A. Scaia Jr. was an American amateur bowler from Solvay, New York, who became one of the best known figures in Syracuse area bowling over a career that spanned decades. He was inducted into the Syracuse Bowling Association Hall of Fame in 1988 and remained active in the sport well into his senior years, a fact that made him a local legend long after his playing days in other sports had ended.
Scaia was born in Jamesville, New York, on August 11, 1936, and grew up in Solvay, where he graduated from Solvay High School. In 1955 he accepted one of the first athletic scholarships awarded by Le Moyne College, where he played baseball. After earning his degree he enlisted in the United States Air Force and was stationed in Plattsburgh, New York, where he met Joyce "Jane" Hurlburt, who became his wife. The couple married in 1961 and spent the next 64 years together before her death. Following his military service, Scaia settled back in Solvay and built a career in the commercial banking industry.
It was on the lanes, not the diamond, where Scaia left his most lasting mark. He became an avid and highly decorated bowler in the greater Syracuse area, racking up multiple 300 games and numerous 700 and 800 series over the years. His enshrinement in the Syracuse Bowling Association Hall of Fame in 1988 recognized a body of work built over many seasons of league and tournament play. Remarkably, he kept improving with age: in 2013, at 77 years old, he shot a three game series of 865, which his family and local bowling community regarded as the finest performance of his career.
Scaia's story resonated locally because it combined steady, lifelong community ties with an unusual late in life athletic feat. He was a lifelong communicant of St. Marianne Cope Parish and St. Cecilia Church in Solvay, and he was known in the area as both a devoted family man and a fixture of the local bowling scene for well over half a century.
John A. Scaia Jr. died on October 27, 2026, in Solvay, New York, at the age of 90. His death was confirmed through an obituary published by Bagozzi Twins Funeral Home in Solvay and the Syracuse Post Standard. No cause of death has been made public. He was predeceased by his wife, Jane, his parents, and his sisters, Betty and Doris, and is survived by his two children, five granddaughters, and three great grandchildren.
Biography adapted from News reports and the sources cited on this page; death reported by Syracuse.com.
