New York bowler reaches 50 appearances at USBC Open Championships
April 11, 2025
BATON ROUGE, La. – Getting to 50 years at the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships has been a goal for Thomas Scalia since he reached his 25th year of participation in 1999.
“A buddy of mine got to 51 years before he passed away, and he said, ‘Tommy, you dedicate your whole life coming to this tournament – you at least have to make sure you get to 50 years,’” said Scalia, of Elmira, New York. “So, I set this day as my goal and have been coming to the tournament every year I could make it out.”
Scalia’s longtime goal was achieved Monday at the Raising Cane’s River Center, as he was led out to the lanes alongside his wife (Terry), son (Ryan) and daughter (Amy).
The 75-year-old also received a plaque, chevron and diamond lapel pin to commemorate his milestone appearance.
To make his 50th year even better, Scalia was able to bowl with Ryan for the first time at the tournament.
“Besides getting to 50 years, I’m really happy because I get to bowl with my son, Ryan, since he is bowling the Open for the first time this year,” said Scalia, who made his tournament debut at the 1973 event in Syracuse. “I have been bowling with the same group for a while, but I had to make sure I partnered up with my son for this occasion.”
Traveling the country and making a vacation out of his bowling trip each year brought back the fondest memories for Scalia, specifically in Nevada.
“I really love going to Las Vegas, because there is so much to see and do – it never gets old to me, and the group always talks about the memories we have there,” said Scalia, a member of the Elmira USBC Hall of Fame. “Reno holds a special place in my memories as well, because I bowled my highest sets at the National Bowling Stadium.”
Scalia’s top series at the Open Championships occurred during singles at the 2011 event in Reno, posting 732. He also recorded his highest all-events total that year (1,892) and has four other all-events scores north of 1,800 at the NBS (in 1995, 1998, 2013 and 2014).
Now that he has reached 50 years at the Open Championships, Scalia plans to continue bowling as long as he can.
“I plan to keep bowling,” Scalia said. “God willing, as long as a I can stay healthy and continue to bowl.”
In his 50th appearance, Scalia rolled sets of 503 in team, 493 in doubles and 528 in singles for an all-events score of 1,524, raising his pinfall total at the tournament to 85,067 for a lifetime average of 189.
The Open Championships is celebrating its third trip to Baton Rouge in 2025 and scheduled to feature more than 58,000 bowlers and 11,600 five-player teams competing across 150 consecutive days at the River Center.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships page.
“A buddy of mine got to 51 years before he passed away, and he said, ‘Tommy, you dedicate your whole life coming to this tournament – you at least have to make sure you get to 50 years,’” said Scalia, of Elmira, New York. “So, I set this day as my goal and have been coming to the tournament every year I could make it out.”
Scalia’s longtime goal was achieved Monday at the Raising Cane’s River Center, as he was led out to the lanes alongside his wife (Terry), son (Ryan) and daughter (Amy).
The 75-year-old also received a plaque, chevron and diamond lapel pin to commemorate his milestone appearance.
To make his 50th year even better, Scalia was able to bowl with Ryan for the first time at the tournament.
“Besides getting to 50 years, I’m really happy because I get to bowl with my son, Ryan, since he is bowling the Open for the first time this year,” said Scalia, who made his tournament debut at the 1973 event in Syracuse. “I have been bowling with the same group for a while, but I had to make sure I partnered up with my son for this occasion.”
Traveling the country and making a vacation out of his bowling trip each year brought back the fondest memories for Scalia, specifically in Nevada.
“I really love going to Las Vegas, because there is so much to see and do – it never gets old to me, and the group always talks about the memories we have there,” said Scalia, a member of the Elmira USBC Hall of Fame. “Reno holds a special place in my memories as well, because I bowled my highest sets at the National Bowling Stadium.”
Scalia’s top series at the Open Championships occurred during singles at the 2011 event in Reno, posting 732. He also recorded his highest all-events total that year (1,892) and has four other all-events scores north of 1,800 at the NBS (in 1995, 1998, 2013 and 2014).
Now that he has reached 50 years at the Open Championships, Scalia plans to continue bowling as long as he can.
“I plan to keep bowling,” Scalia said. “God willing, as long as a I can stay healthy and continue to bowl.”
In his 50th appearance, Scalia rolled sets of 503 in team, 493 in doubles and 528 in singles for an all-events score of 1,524, raising his pinfall total at the tournament to 85,067 for a lifetime average of 189.
The Open Championships is celebrating its third trip to Baton Rouge in 2025 and scheduled to feature more than 58,000 bowlers and 11,600 five-player teams competing across 150 consecutive days at the River Center.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships page.