North American Bowling News
PBA Hall of Famer Roth Suffers Stroke
One of the Professional Bowlers Association's legendary bowlers, 58-year old Mark Roth, suffered a severe stroke on May 31, 2009. The Hall-of-Famer had complained about not feeling very well a few days before being admitted to St. Joseph's hospital in Syracuse, New York. The Roth family is optimistic about his recovery, although the rehabiliation is going to take a lot of time and determination. The stroke left Roth partially paralyzed on his left side, but he vows to walk on his own again, and to return to bowling.
Roth amassed 34 PBA titles during his career, and in 1978 he won a record 8 PBA tours in one year, following it up with 7 in the following year, a truly unprecedented dominance of the game during a peak time--15 PBA TITLES IN A 2-YEAR TIME FRAME! Roth is a 4-time PBA Bowler of the Year, and in 1980 he became the first bowler to convert the 7-10 split on national television.
Roth defined the term 'innovator' in the sport of bowling, as he introduced a high-revolution power game in a plastic-ball era that led to an evolution in bowling technique. The devastating affect on pin action that Mark's demanding style demonstrated completely transformed bowling ball technology into what is present today.
OnTheBallBowling.com has created a unique Mark Roth plastic bowling ball that will be used exclusively by all 64 competitors in the 2010 PBA Mark Roth Plastic Ball Championship, March 23-28 at AMF Babylon Lanes.
A Friends of Mark Roth benefit bowling tournament was held back on July 26, 2009, to assist the family with the substantial cost of medical and rehabilitation expenses.