Jack Jurek

Jack Jurek started bowling when he was 8 years old and was a member of a travel league when he was 13, but it was on the lanes at Lackawanna High School where he started to demonstrate his prowess.

As a sophomore he bowled a 279 and a two-game total of 525, which helped the Steelers set an all-time ECIC team record of 1133. He earned All-Star status that first year, leading WNY with a 206.5 average. He recorded his first 300 in 1980.

After graduating from Lackawanna, he continued his bowling career at West Texas State University, on what became known as one of the greatest teams in college bowling history. As a member of the Buffaloes, Jurek was a two-time Collegiate All-American.

After graduating from West Texas, Jurek continued his career as a successful professional bowler. He was named Bowlers Journal Bowler of the Year in 1984, after winning the AMF World Cup Championship in Sydney, Australia. The following year, he was named to Team USA, winning Team gold, Trios silver, and Doubles bronze medals in the FIQ American Zone Championships in Bogota, Colombia.

Jurek won the 1995 Tums Classic and the 2009 Sharks Championship. In addition to those national titles, he also holds 13 Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Regional titles; 3 PBA50 National titles, including the 2024 Super Senior Classic held in Las Vegas; 3 PBA50 Regional titles; and two George Obenauer Masters titles.

In 2006 and 2011, he was awarded the PBA’s Steve Nagy Sportsmanship Award.

Locally, Jurek is a USBC Silver Certified Coach and currently operates his bowling pro shop, “Bowler’s Choice,” at Transit Lanes. He was named the Greater Buffalo United States Bowling Congress (GBUSBC) Bowler of the Year in 1992, 1994 & 2001.