USBC Hall of Famer Jimmy Schroeder dies at age 96
September 19, 2025
ARLINGTON, Texas – Jimmy Schroeder of Amherst, New York, a member of the United States Bowling Congress Hall of Fame, died Sept. 17, 2025. He was 96.
Schroeder was elected to the USBC Hall of Fame in 1990 in the Veterans category and was a member of the exclusive 65-Year Club at the USBC Open Championships, where he competed for 68 consecutive years from 1949 to 2016.
During his career on bowling’s biggest stage, Schroeder knocked down 119,015 pins across 631 games for a career average of 188. He is one of 31 members of the event’s 100,000-Pin Club and ranks fourth on the career pinfall list. USBC Hall of Famer Bill Lillard Sr. tops the list with 124,087 pins.
His lone Open Championships title came at the 1976 Classic Singles event in Oklahoma City, where he posted a 750 series. He also had a runner-up finish in Classic All-Events in 1968.
Schroeder was the first bowler from Buffalo to join a nationally recognized professional team when he signed with the St. Louis Falstaffs and led the team to a world title in 1958.
The following year, he joined the renowned Detroit Stroh’s and helped the team to a city title. The Stroh’s also finished second in the five-man team event in the Classic Division at the Open Championships in 1961.
Beyond the Open Championships, Schroeder was one of the 33 charter members of the Professional Bowlers Association in 1959 and Buffalo’s first member of the PBA Tour.
He won numerous Buffalo Bowling Association City Tournament titles as well as singles, doubles and team titles at the New York State Tournament, earning him inductions into the New York State USBC Hall of Fame in 1985 (Outstanding Ability category) and the Greater Buffalo USBC Association Hall of Fame in 1978 (Bowling Performance category).
Schroeder was also a member of the AMF Staff of Champions for 30 years and served as bowling director for Special Olympics International.
He was instrumental in creating the partnership between the Special Olympics and the Open Championships, which welcomed the first edition of the Special Olympics National Unified Tournament on the championship lanes in 1991. The tournament celebrated its 33rd edition in 2025 at the Raising Cane’s River Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Visitation services will be held Sept. 21 at D. Lawrence Ginnane Funeral Home in Kenmore, New York, with funeral services taking place Sept. 22.
For more information on the USBC Hall of Fame, visit BOWL.com/HallofFame.
Schroeder was elected to the USBC Hall of Fame in 1990 in the Veterans category and was a member of the exclusive 65-Year Club at the USBC Open Championships, where he competed for 68 consecutive years from 1949 to 2016.
During his career on bowling’s biggest stage, Schroeder knocked down 119,015 pins across 631 games for a career average of 188. He is one of 31 members of the event’s 100,000-Pin Club and ranks fourth on the career pinfall list. USBC Hall of Famer Bill Lillard Sr. tops the list with 124,087 pins.
His lone Open Championships title came at the 1976 Classic Singles event in Oklahoma City, where he posted a 750 series. He also had a runner-up finish in Classic All-Events in 1968.
Schroeder was the first bowler from Buffalo to join a nationally recognized professional team when he signed with the St. Louis Falstaffs and led the team to a world title in 1958.
The following year, he joined the renowned Detroit Stroh’s and helped the team to a city title. The Stroh’s also finished second in the five-man team event in the Classic Division at the Open Championships in 1961.
Beyond the Open Championships, Schroeder was one of the 33 charter members of the Professional Bowlers Association in 1959 and Buffalo’s first member of the PBA Tour.
He won numerous Buffalo Bowling Association City Tournament titles as well as singles, doubles and team titles at the New York State Tournament, earning him inductions into the New York State USBC Hall of Fame in 1985 (Outstanding Ability category) and the Greater Buffalo USBC Association Hall of Fame in 1978 (Bowling Performance category).
Schroeder was also a member of the AMF Staff of Champions for 30 years and served as bowling director for Special Olympics International.
He was instrumental in creating the partnership between the Special Olympics and the Open Championships, which welcomed the first edition of the Special Olympics National Unified Tournament on the championship lanes in 1991. The tournament celebrated its 33rd edition in 2025 at the Raising Cane’s River Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Visitation services will be held Sept. 21 at D. Lawrence Ginnane Funeral Home in Kenmore, New York, with funeral services taking place Sept. 22.
For more information on the USBC Hall of Fame, visit BOWL.com/HallofFame.