7-10 SPLIT IN BOWLING

Only 3 bowlers have ever picked up the 7-10 split on television. Mark Roth was the first to do so. He did it at the ARC Alameda Open at Mel’s Southshore Bowl in Alameda, California on January 5, 1980. The only other two to convert this split on television are John Mazza and Jess Stayrock, both of which did it in 1991. Roth and Mazza did theirs on ABC broadcasts of the Professional Bowlers Tour and Stayrock did his on an ESPN telecast. Many television shows and movies over the years have depicted the 7-10 split being converted directly by sliding one pin into another. This is not possible because the ball will fall off the lane before it gets far enough aside the 7 or 10 pin to slide it directly across. Whenever the 7-10 conversion is shown by directly sliding one pin into another, the “conversion” was rigged by either moving the sliding pin over on a deck without pin spots (giving the ball extra room to slide the pin sideways and making it look like the pin was spotted correctly) or by having some help (human or mechanical) from the pit to “slide” the pin over.