Joe was born in Georgetown, Guyana on December 30, 1937, the ninth of ten children of Florence and Fitzgerald Erskine. With a family this big, it was only natural that his Mom would be a stay at home Mom while his Dad worked as a tailor. Joe had a normal childhood, playing soccer and cricket while attending school.
After graduating from high school, while his sister wanted to send him to England to further his education, Joe had to follow his heart. At the age of twenty-seven Joe arrived in Toronto in April, to attend school to become either an accountant or an electrician and got married in May. As it turns out, attending night school while working all day wasn’t a good mix for a newlywed and Joe was forced to drop out of school.
Ironically, Joe would find a job working in a ladies’ garment factory and for the next ten years, make the ever-popular “Exquisite Form” brassieres. It was a change of occupation in 1975, to Arrowhead Metal as a machinist that would ultimately lead Joe to the path in the bowling industry. When the company went on strike, unfortunately Joe, due to his seniority, got laid off. It was at this time that Joe approached Jack Fine and asked him for a job.
Jack Fine was the President of one of the largest bowling chains in Ontario. The Bowlerama chain, which had become one of the best-known names in bowling, had many centres in Toronto. It was here at New Sportsman Bowlerama where Joe, who had been hired as an Assistant Manager, began his new career in the bowling business. With his bowling ability and his knowledge of the game, Joe quickly rose through the ranks in the Bowlerama chain.
As a bowler, you could say that Joe was a rebel with a cause. The cause, he loved bowling and was a natural. In the fall of 1965 the workers at the garment factory formed a league that bowled once a week at Brunswick Bowl. After the initial game of 300 Joe quickly expanded his bowling outings. He bowled in the Crosstown Men’s league and the Saturday City Majors leagues with some of the best bowlers at that time and future Hall of Famers. It was only a matter of time when the Open and the Masters would be attractive to someone with a two fifty plus average. In the Open, Joe qualified ten times and in the Masters for his seven years has a lifetime average of 248. Ironically, Joe’s first big win was the Bowlerama Match Play tournament sponsored by Jack Fine, his future boss. After qualifying sixty-fourth he went into the round robin and never lost a match. For his efforts, he walked away with a cheque for eight hundred dollars. In 1974 Joe received a recognition award from the Province of Ontario as a member of the Toronto Mixed team that won the gold medal at the Winter Games in Kingston.
Not only was Joe a prominent five-pin bowler, Joe also became an established ten-pin bowler. You see, New Sportsman Bowlerama, which was a five-pin house used to close up for the summer. It was during this time, Joe was transferred to Plantation Bowlerama, which was both a five-pin and ten-pin centre. In order to get more training Joe also spent time at Thorncliffe Bowlerama, another split house. It was here at Thorncliffe, where Joe started bowling ten-pin. After all, according to Wally Gay, if you wanted to work for Bowlerama, you had better know how to bowl ten- pin. It didn’t take long for Joe to pick up this ten-pin game. There were many friendly challenges with fellow managers and Joe fit right in.
In 1995 Joe transferred to Bowlerama Rexdale and today has the title of General Manager. As fate would have it, through a realignment of the zone boundaries, both Bowlerama Newtonbrook and Bowlerama Rexdale became part of York Simcoe in 1996. In an effort to get the leagues to join the Association, a meeting was set up between the Youth Bowling Council’s Zone Delegate, the York Simcoe Board of Directors and Joe.
Over the years Joe has become the driving force behind the registered leagues that are part of the York Simcoe zone, as well as a dedicated organizer for the Rexdale youth program. Joe has a huge heart when it comes to bowler satisfaction and enjoyment of their five pin bowling experience.
As a family man, Joe has six children. Two boys, Neil and Cliff along with the four girls, Colleen, Carol, Madonna and Michelle. In addition there are seven grandchildren, Wellesley III, Shammarah, Landon, Quaton, Jaedon, Jonathan and Samantha.
We are fortunate to have Joe Erskine as a dedicated employee with the Bowlerama chain and welcome him into the Proprietors division of the Hall of Fame.