1962 – 2026 · aged 64 · Professional bowler; PBA and USBC Hall of Famer; PBA Tour color analyst
“Thirteen-time PBA champion who became bowling's longest-tenured TV voice.”
Portrait: Via Wikimedia Commons
Remember Randy
Latest: Teresa Biggs 
lit a candle 19 Sept 2026
Randy Pedersen was an American professional bowler and sportscaster whose second career as the voice of the PBA Tour lasted a quarter century and made him one of the most familiar figures in the sport. Born on 28 May 1962, he grew up in Southern California, later settled near Orlando,…
Randy Pedersen was an American professional bowler and sportscaster whose second career as the voice of the PBA Tour lasted a quarter century and made him one of the most familiar figures in the sport. Born on 28 May 1962, he grew up in Southern California, later settled near Orlando, Florida, and won 13 PBA Tour titles including the 1987 PBA National Championship. He entered the PBA Hall of Fame in 2011 and the United States Bowling Congress Hall of Fame in 2025.
On the lanes Pedersen broke through with the 1986 AC-Delco Classic and took his lone major the next year in Toledo, beating future Hall of Famers on the way to the National Championship. He won three titles in 1989, finished with 34 top-five finishes and a 13-4 record in title matches, and earned his last Tour title at age 40 in the 2002 Pepsi Open, crossing $1 million in career earnings. He also endured two of the Tour's most famous one-pin heartbreaks, in the 1995 Touring Players Championship and the 2005 Tournament of Champions. In 2008 the PBA ranked him 35th among its 50 greatest players. On the PBA50 Tour he won the first event he entered, the 2013 Dayton Classic.
In 2001 Pedersen moved full-time into the broadcast booth after early work as a lane-level reporter. For 25 years he was the Tour's lead color analyst across ESPN, Fox Sports and CBS Sports Network, plus Xtra Frame, FloBowling and BowlTV webcasts, outlasting partners from Lon McEachern and Mike Jakubowski to Rob Stone, Dave Ryan, John Fanta and Dave LaMont. Fans knew his catchphrases - Dead flush perfect, Winner winner chicken dinner, BAD mammal - as well as calls of Kelly Kulick's 2010 TOC, Pete Weber's 2012 U.S. Open and Jason Belmonte's majors. After Fox's deal ended he was replaced for 2026 telecasts; the PBA later named an oil pattern the Randy Pedersen 43.
Pedersen died on Wednesday, 16 September 2026, at the age of 64. PBA Commissioner Tom Clark called him a force and a giant, and said there will never be another Randy Pedersen. He is survived by children Chad and Savannah from his marriage to ex-wife Becky.
Biography adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); Professional Bowlers Association (Nolan Hughes); USBC / BOWL.com Hall of Fame profile.
“Randy was supremely talented in everything he did. Bowling, golf, comedy, broadcasting, anything. He was a force, a giant in sports and on TV.”
PBA Commissioner Tom Clark, 16 September 2026.
“There will never be another Randy Pedersen. Please hug the people you love.”
Tom Clark, PBA announcement.
“I want to convey to the viewing public that they are watching the best bowlers in the world.”
Pedersen on his role as PBA analyst, quoted on Wikipedia.
Memories, thanks and farewells from the people Randy touched.
Randy Peterson was a very special person. He was also an announcer at Amateur Bowlers Tournaments. These tournaments featured your average bowler on tough tournament conditions. He was a very friendly and humble person. When he would see us struggling on the lanes, he would give us positive encouragement. He was never negative. He would always highlight the best in a bowler. He bowled with us and he even remembered our names. He will be sorely missed at the lanes.
This one hit different. Lost my dad two years ago, same kind of thing, sudden and nobody really talks about what it was. I keep thinking about Randy saying dead flush perfect like it was nothing, twenty five years of that voice in the background of my whole adult life. 64 is nothing.
Watched him call the Pepsi Open with my dad on a Saturday afternoon, both of us half asleep until Randy started yelling. Man could sell a strike like nobody else on television.
Same, my father never missed a broadcast if Randy was in the booth.
My sister called me all the way from Missouri just to tell me Randy Pedersen died, said she knew I'd want to know. I haven't lived in the States in twenty years but Saturday afternoons with the PBA on was still a thing we did together when I visited. That voice saying dead flush perfect is stuck in my head today.
That's a nice way to hear it, from someone who knew you'd care.
25 years in that booth. can't imagine Saturday afternoons without him
42 people are remembering Randy here. Every candle here is someone saying they were glad Randy lived. No account needed; it takes a moment and it stays here.
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16 Sept 2026Randy Pedersen was born on 28 May 1962 and grew up in Southern California before relocating to the Clermont / Orlando area of Florida in the early 1990s, where he lived for about three decades.
Randy Pedersen was born on 28 May 1962 and grew up in Southern California before relocating to the Clermont / Orlando area of Florida in the early 1990s, where he lived for about three decades.
A right-hander, Pedersen won 13 PBA Tour titles between 1986 and 2002. Eleven came in a ten-season stretch from 1986 to 1995. His major was the 1987 PBA National Championship. He posted 34 top-five finishes and went 13-4 in championship matches.
A right-hander, Pedersen won 13 PBA Tour titles between 1986 and 2002. Eleven came in a ten-season stretch from 1986 to 1995. His major was the 1987 PBA National Championship. He posted 34 top-five finishes and went 13-4 in championship matches.
Pedersen lost the 1995 Bayer-Brunswick Touring Players Championship to Ernie Schlegel 237-236 after leaving a stone 8-pin on a pocket shot in the tenth. In 2005 he fell 256-255 to Norm Duke in a Tournament of Champions semifinal after leaving the 7-pin on a fill ball.
Pedersen lost the 1995 Bayer-Brunswick Touring Players Championship to Ernie Schlegel 237-236 after leaving a stone 8-pin on a pocket shot in the tenth. In 2005 he fell 256-255 to Norm Duke in a Tournament of Champions semifinal after leaving the 7-pin on a fill ball.
Joining the senior tour in 2013, he won the PBA50 Dayton Classic in his first career PBA50 title event on 16 May 2013.
Joining the senior tour in 2013, he won the PBA50 Dayton Classic in his first career PBA50 title event on 16 May 2013.
Pedersen became the PBA's full-time color analyst in 2001 and remained lead analyst for 25 years across ESPN, Fox and CBS Sports Network, the longest tenure in PBA broadcast history. He also worked webcasts on PBA Xtra Frame, FloBowling and BowlTV.
Pedersen became the PBA's full-time color analyst in 2001 and remained lead analyst for 25 years across ESPN, Fox and CBS Sports Network, the longest tenure in PBA broadcast history. He also worked webcasts on PBA Xtra Frame, FloBowling and BowlTV.
His booth work mixed technical analysis with humor. Signature lines included Dead flush perfect, He absolutely pure'd it, Winner winner chicken dinner, BAD mammal, and Bartender, make it a double for consecutive strikes.
His booth work mixed technical analysis with humor. Signature lines included Dead flush perfect, He absolutely pure'd it, Winner winner chicken dinner, BAD mammal, and Bartender, make it a double for consecutive strikes.
PBA Hall of Fame (inducted 22 January 2011 after 2010 election); USBC Hall of Fame (elected November 2024, inducted 7 May 2025); ranked 35th on the PBA's 50 Greatest Players list (2008); three-time Bowlers Journal First Team All-American.
PBA Hall of Fame (inducted 22 January 2011 after 2010 election); USBC Hall of Fame (elected November 2024, inducted 7 May 2025); ranked 35th on the PBA's 50 Greatest Players list (2008); three-time Bowlers Journal First Team All-American.
He appeared in the 1996 comedy Kingpin beside Woody Harrelson, in the 2006 documentary A League of Ordinary Gentlemen, and in the 2026 HBO Max documentary Born to Bowl.
He appeared in the 1996 comedy Kingpin beside Woody Harrelson, in the 2006 documentary A League of Ordinary Gentlemen, and in the 2026 HBO Max documentary Born to Bowl.
He and ex-wife Becky have a son, Chad, and a daughter, Savannah. PBA notes said he lived near Orlando for the past 30 years and was also known among friends for golf and comedy.
He and ex-wife Becky have a son, Chad, and a daughter, Savannah. PBA notes said he lived near Orlando for the past 30 years and was also known among friends for golf and comedy.
Pedersen died on 16 September 2026 at age 64. The PBA announced the news the same day. Commissioner Tom Clark said he was our voice and our brother and asked fans to hug the people they love. No cause of death was stated in the association's release.
Pedersen died on 16 September 2026 at age 64. The PBA announced the news the same day. Commissioner Tom Clark said he was our voice and our brother and asked fans to hug the people they love. No cause of death was stated in the association's release.
As both a 13-time champion and the sport's defining modern broadcaster, Pedersen shaped how fans heard professional bowling for a generation. The PBA debuted the Randy Pedersen 43 oil pattern at the 2026 USA versus The World event.
As both a 13-time champion and the sport's defining modern broadcaster, Pedersen shaped how fans heard professional bowling for a generation. The PBA debuted the Randy Pedersen 43 oil pattern at the 2026 USA versus The World event.
Written by People Forever from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0) and the reporting cited. Updated . Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
Randy Pedersen is born.
Wins AC-Delco Classic in Union City, California.
Captures his only major in Toledo.
Wins three Tour titles in one year.
Begins full-time color analyst career.
Wins Pepsi Open; surpasses $1 million career earnings.
Ranked 35th on PBA's all-time list.
Inducted with the 2011 class.
Wins Dayton Classic in first senior title event.
Inducted at the USBC convention.
Dies at age 64; PBA announces the same day.
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