Scully attended the University of Notre Dame, where he played for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team from 1977 to 1980. As a senior in 1980, he was a team captain and was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American as the team's center. He is the writer of the popular Notre Dame anthem "Here Come the Irish."
Professional career
The Atlanta Falcons chose Scully in the fourth round (109th pick overall) of the 1981 NFL draft, and he played for the Falcons from 1981 to 1990. In his ten-year NFL career, he played in 112 games and started eighty-two of them.
In 1989, John played piano and sung Bruce Springsteen's Meeting Across The River, a rather obscure track off the Born To Run album, in a Super Bowl XXIII NFL players Talent Showcase. The event was telecast live on national television prior to game (where San Francisco beat Cincinnati, 20–16).