 Scollard was born at Clinton, New York on September 28, 1860, son of James Isaac and Mary Elizabeth (Stevens) Scollard.He graduated from Hamilton College in 1881, and later attended Harvard University, where his friends included poets Bliss Carman and Frank Dempster Sherman.At Hamilton, where he was a member of the Chi Psi fraternity, he played varsity baseball and is credited with introducing the curveball to college baseball.