Bowling Memoirs of Johnny Petraglia – Remembering the Great John Hriscina

On July 20th, 2015 we lost John Hriscina. John was the Senior PBA Bowler of the year in 1990 and had 7 titles. John was a great bowler, but he was much more than that. John was a terrific family man who loved life. He was one of the happiest people I’ve ever met. He was also one of the strongest. John never flaunted his strength, but every once in a while you would see it. One time in the paddock, he was taking his bowling balls out to the lanes, and was carrying one of his balls by the fingertips. You’ve seen this…when a bowler jams the tips of their fingers into the holes and lets the ball hang. Well that’s how John was carrying the ball. One of the guys in the paddock started teasing him. John looked at the guy, lifted the ball straight out, parallel to the ground, with no bend in the wrist and said, “Hey don’t pick on me.” Try that some time, it’s truly an amazing feat.

My favorite story I tell about John happened after a pro-am. Three or four of us were going out to dinner after the pro-am. But when we got done, John decided not to go. A bunch of guys that John was bowling with went into the bar to have a drink and invited John. There was karaoke going on in the bar and John loved to sing, especially karaoke. We went to dinner and came back to the lanes around 11:00 p.m. John was still there. He wasn’t drunk, but clearly he was in no condition to drive. We said, “Come on John, it’s time to go.” But he wanted to stay longer. I said, “Okay, but you have to give me your car keys,” and he did. The next morning at roll call I asked him how he got back to the hotel. “Did one of the bowlers drive you,” I said. He said, “No.” I asked, “Did you call a cab?”. He said, “No, there’s a Domino’s Pizza on the corner. I walked to Dominos and ordered a small pizza. When they asked where I wanted it sent, I said…..I’ll show you.” Is that great or what? The next time you’re stuck for a cab, go to Dominos and order a pie.John was a great guy full of life, I will miss him a lot.

cento anni’… Johnny Petraglia

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