PHYLLIS NOTARO, USBC HALL OF FAME MEMBER, DIES AT 91

ARLINGTON, Texas – Phyllis Notaro, a United States Bowling Congress Hall of Fame member from Brant, New York, died Monday, Dec. 30, at Orchard Heights Assisted Living. She was 91.

Elected to the USBC Hall of Fame for Superior Performance in 1979, Notaro won the Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America (BPAA) All-Star Match Play Tournament in 1961 and had three other top-10 finishes at the event.

She teamed with Jessie Miller to capture the 1966 BPAA National Doubles title.

Notaro made the finals at the World’s Invitational Tournament five times, finishing second in 1957 and fifth in both 1958 and 1959.

She competed on the Professional Women’s Bowling Association (PWBA) Tour, with a high finish of second at the 1964 Billy Simon Oak Hill Classic in San Antonio. She had 11 other top-10 finishes in PWBA events, including a fifth-place finish at the 1970 event in Rochester, New York, where she had a 1,412 six-game series to set a then-national women’s record.

She first garnered national attention with a 289 game in singles at the 1952 United States Bowling Congress Women’s Championships, a record that stood until 1962, on her way to a second-place finish. More than two decades later, she captured a Women’s Championships title, winning the 1975 team title as captain of the team sponsored by the Atlanta Bowling Center.

She competed in 55 Women’s Championships, with her final appearance coming at the 2004 event in Wichita, Kansas.

Born March 1, 1928, in Brant, she started her bowling career in the Buffalo suburb in 1946. She won 14 New York State championship titles and 26 Buffalo city titles in her career. She was elected to the All-American Women’s Team in 1958 and 1961, and earned the Women’s International Bowling Congress (now part of USBC) National High Average Award in 1962 with a 201 average.

In addition to the USBC Hall of Fame, she was elected to the Buffalo Women’s Bowling Association (1986) and the Buffalo Sports (1993) Halls of Fame.

Visitation is scheduled for Friday from 3 p.m.- 7 p.m. at the Addison Funeral Home located at 262 North Main Street in Angola, New York, with a service at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. in Most Precious Blood Church in Angola. Flowers gratefully declined, memorial may be made to either Hospice Buffalo, Inc. or Orchard Heights.

United States Bowling Congress
The United States Bowling Congress serves as the national governing body of bowling as recognized by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC). USBC conducts championship events nationwide including the largest participation sporting events in the world – the USBC Open and Women's Championships – and professional events such as the USBC Masters and USBC Queens.

Founded in 1895, today USBC and its 1,638 state and local associations proudly serve more than a million members. USBC is headquartered in Arlington, Texas, working toward a future for the sport. The online home for USBC is BOWL.com.