By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher
Bowling legend Mark Roth has passed away. He was 70.
An official cause of death has not been announced yet. However, some reports suggest he may have passed away from congestive heart failure.
“Just moments ago, I received the phone call from Denise Roth that we’ve all be dreading,” PBA Commissioner Tom Clark said in a Facebook post on Friday. “The Great Mark Roth passed away today. Denise asked me to let you know and to thank you all for your kindness and prayers. I can’t believe he is gone. He was a hero. He changed our game. He inspired millions, for generations.
“Denise said details about a memorial will come. She was by his side, and by his side for the past 12 years of his difficult, painful health issues. We all thank her for that. Mark is at peace now. We have the memories. If you would like to share your thoughts or photos of yourself with Mark, please feel free to do so here, I would be honored. To the PBA players, his contemporaries, the fans, bowling centers, industry people he touched with his unique talent, I am sorry to share this news. We loved Mark Roth.”
He is famously known as the first bowler to convert a 7-10 split on national television.
Roth was active from 1970 through 2009. He has 34 PBA Tour wins, which is sixth all-time.
In addition, Roth was inducted into the PBA and USBC Hall of Fames. Four times, he was named the PBA Player of the Year.
