Randy Pedersen

Randy Pedersen was one of the most beloved figures in professional bowling — a competitor who turned strikes into a career, and a broadcaster who turned a niche sport into must-watch television. Born on May 28, 1962, and raised in Southern California, Randy discovered bowling as a young man and never looked back. His instincts for the game were matched only by the outsized personality he would eventually bring to the broadcast booth. He joined the Professional Bowlers Association Tour in 1984, and over the next two decades established himself as one of the sport's elite competitors. The defining moment of his playing career came in 1987 at the PBA National Championship in Toledo, Ohio, where he defeated a field that included future Hall of Famers David Ozio, Marshall Holman, and Amleto Monacelli to claim the sport's most prestigious title. He recorded his best season in 1989, capturing three titles in a single year, and in 2002 won the Pepsi Open in Springfield, Pennsylvania — his 13th and final PBA Tour title — pushing his career earnings past the $1 million mark and making him the 24th millionaire in PBA history. Along the way, he earned three Bowlers Journal First Team All-American honors and was ranked 35th among the 50 Greatest Players in PBA history in 2008. After relocating to the Orlando, Florida area in the early 1990s, Randy transitioned to television with the same natural ease he once brought to the approach. Starting as a lane reporter on ABC's Pro Bowlers Tour in the late 1990s, he joined ESPN as a color analyst in 2001 and never left the spotlight. For 25 years across ESPN, Fox Sports, and CBS Sports Network, his voice was the sound of professional bowling. Fans knew him for his razor-sharp technical breakdowns, his joyful sense of humor, and catchphrases — "Dead flush perfect," "Winner winner chicken dinner," and "BAD mammal" — that became part of the sport's vocabulary. He called Kelly Kulick's historic 2010 Tournament of Champions title, Pete Weber's electric 2012 U.S. Open, and countless milestones in Jason Belmonte's record-setting career. In 2011, he was inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame, and in 2025 into the USBC Hall of Fame — recognition that spanned both sides of the lane. He was known not just for what he said on air, but for his willingness to mentor younger bowlers and his deep commitment to growing the sport he loved. Randy Pedersen passed away suddenly on September 16, 2026, at the age of 64. He is survived by his children, Chad and Savannah. The PBA posthumously honored him with the Randy Pedersen 43 oil pattern, debuted at the 2026 USA versus The World event. There will never be another voice quite like his.