By Jill Laufer
PBA public relations
The sports world lost one of its greatest competitors on Friday when Mark Roth died at the age of 70.
Roth, one of the all-time greats on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour, had been battling with various health issues for the past few years and had recovered from heart attacks in 2009 and again in 2019.
A few days prior to Roth’s death, his wife, Denise, notified his fans that Mark, who also had diabetes, was suffering from congestive heart failure with complications from pneumonia.
Roth, a Brooklyn, N.Y., native, won 34 PBA titles in his storied carrier, including eight victories in 1978 – a PBA record that still stands. He was voted the Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year on three consecutive years, from 1977-79, and again in 1984. Roth also won the PBA High Average Award six times in his career.
He was inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame in 1987 and to the United States Bowling Congress Hall of Fame in 2009.
Roth dominated the PBA Tour in the 1970s, and is famous for boosting the modern power game with his powerful cranking release. He is credited for revolutionizing the sport and inspired a generation of bowlers with his hard-throwing style.
He won his final career title, the IOF Foresters Open in Canada, in 1984 to cap off another big year. He was the leading money winner ($158,712) and finished the season with four titles, including two majors, the BPAA U.S. Open and the Angle Touring Players Championships. Also, during that year, Roth eclipsed the $1 million mark in career earnings with his victory at the Greater Detroit Open.
In recent years, he was honored by and was a big part of the PBA Tour.
For the PBA’s 50th anniversary, Roth was named the fifth Greatest Player in history. For the PBA’s 60th anniversary, his 7-10 conversion and record eight titles in 1978 were among the PBA’s greatest moments. The Mark Roth/Marshall Holman PBA Doubles Championship has been held in the famed doubles team’s honor, and the PBA League MVP Award annually is named after Mark Roth.
“Mark is an icon,” said Tom Clark, PBA Tour commissioner. “He revolutionized the game with his powerful style, and was a hero to generations of bowlers. He loved bowling and it was an honor to have him involved with the PBA. Our thoughts are with his wife Denise and all that Mark touched with his unique talent.”
Details of a memorial and services have not yet been announced.
HALL OF FAMER SEMIZ DIES
Whether Anthony “Teata” Semiz was on the bowling approach or on the mic singing karaoke, his smooth, fluid, effortless style was always recognizable and on point.
He won three titles on the Professional Bowlers Association tour and eight more on the senior circuit, where he was one of the dominant players after his 50th birthday.
Semiz, a member of both the PBA and USBC Halls of Fame, died Tuesday morning at the Hospice Care facility in Andover, N.J. at the age of 87.
He was inducted into the USBC Hall of Fame in 1991 in the Superior Performance category and into the PBA Hall of Fame in 1998 in the Veterans/Senior category.
Semiz had recently suffered a broken hip, which led to other medical issues.
“About three weeks ago he broke his hip and they had to do surgery,” said his son, Tom. “The surgery came out OK, but then he started having swallowing issues. He couldn’t swallow, so we had to put a feeding tube in him. Then it was really downhill.
“His heart was weak to begin with, and he started bleeding internally. Then his kidneys started shutting down. They finally said there’s nothing else we can do for him. They told us he needed to go on Hospice. And probably five days after that he passed away.”
The elder Semiz, who was living in Hopatcong, N.J., also had been suffering with dementia for the past few years, and had a hard fall about three years ago that made matters even worse, according to his son.
“He fell in the middle of the night, and if I hadn’t been home, he wouldn’t have been around here this long,” Tom Semiz said. “After the rehab (for the fall), the dementia got even worse and I had to make a call to put him in a home.”
That ended Teata’s lengthy career on the lanes, which started when he was 14.
Even though he was never really a full-time player on the PBA Tour, Semiz managed to put together some impressive career numbers.
On the national PBA Tour, he won the 1968 Ebonite Open over Don Johnson, the 1970 Bellows-Valvair Open over Nelson Burton Jr., and the 1977 Burger King Open over Marshall Holman.
As a senior player, Semiz was even better, and at one point had the most career wins (8) and was the oldest player to win a senior title at the time (1997) when he was 63.