Recently, Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay (R,C,I-Pulaski) presented Denise Roth, wife of the late great Mark Roth, with a state Assembly resolution posthumously honoring the bowling icon who was said to revolutionize the sport. Denise is shown above holding a portrait of Mark Roth that was created when he was inducted into the Professional Bowling Association (PBA) Hall of Fame in 1987. Roth, originally from Brooklyn, moved to Fulton with his wife who was from the area. 

Roth earned 34 PBA national titles, surpassing $1,000,000 in career winnings – only the second professional bowler to do so – and was inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame. 

As referenced in the resolution, Roth began his career in 1970, when he introduced his trademark, hard-throwing style that created a generation of imitators and is now prevalent throughout the sport. He was also famous for his ability to pick up spares and was the first bowler to pick up a 7-10 split on national television on Jan. 5, 1980. 

In 1996, Roth’s fame transcended the world of bowling and reached Hollywood when he played a professional bowler in the movie Kingpin, starring Woody Harrelson and Dennis Quaid. Mark Roth died on Nov. 26, 2021.