At the tender age of 10, I converted a 7-10 split during a youth league game. Sadly, that remains the highlight of my life.

@ARedMotorcycle

Ай бұрын

Don't feel bad. That's an awesome highlight.

The opening scene where Mark Roth made the 7-10 split. I actually saw him do that in 1980 watching Saturday Afternoon Bowling. Going back to the 1960's there was a TV Show "Make That Spare", where professional bowlers would shoot at very difficult splits. The announcer would open the show be saying, "These are spares that all good bowlers must know how to make." Until on day when one of the professional bowlers said, "That's not true. Good bowlers rarely leave those spares."

@NinetyLegos

10 ай бұрын

Damn

@bt1169

10 ай бұрын

I saw that too.

@IHateNicolasCage

10 ай бұрын

Mark Roth? Ha. He was a local at my bowling alley and my brother dated his daughter for a hot minute. I didn’t know he was a big deal in the bowling world.

@davidlibby5430

4 ай бұрын

Remember when Roth bowled the 299 on TV on the "Pro Bowlers Tour"?

@patrickwall8517

4 ай бұрын

I remember that too, if I'm not mistaken that was the first time it was picked on TV.

Jason and Ryan did AWESOME back to back split conversions in that match! I remember watching that match.

@drcheese3012

11 ай бұрын

He never gets credit for it either. They really didn’t cover it much either. He bounced the 3 and it took out the 7

I made the 7-10 once. It was a lousy game (138.) I made a Strike in the 10th frame. Next ball 7-10 as the ball went right thru the heart. Last ball, last game, last week of the league. Team was middle of the standings. I threw it at the 10 pin. Even though I am right-handed I very rarely miss a 10 pin. The ball stuck to my thumb and spun wildly to left. It caught the 7 pin as it fell into the gutter so gentlly slid across the lane standing up until it hit the 10 pin. Both pins fell as soft as ever. I never laughed so hard in my life.

I could imagine the likes of Murray Walker and John Madden making that call on the "Big 4" conversion. We miss you both.🙏🙏

Thanks mate for the great work. I like how you played out each video with original audio.

When I changed to a different school in 5th grade they had a after hours bowling league at the local bowling alley a few blocks away. I always did pretty good, but never got any trophies till 8th grade. Last game of the year I made the 3-7-10 split, when I threw the ball I tried for the 3&7 pins & turned my back. Everyone watching went nuts, by the time I turned around the sweeper was clear the pins, I didn't even get to see it. It did however turn out to be my best game to that point, and I took high trophy that year. I still remember a hundred years later I bowled a 193 that game.

@RockerSteve73

Ай бұрын

I made the 2-7-10 split once. I watched it happen. My friend that I was bowling with couldn’t believe it and turned around and walked away. I soon as I shot it, I knew I had it. Also, I actually TRY to make any split.

@ZippyThePinhead

Ай бұрын

@@RockerSteve73 Sorry I said 2-7-10, I meant 4-7-10. It's been years since I bowled & didn't think about the layout. I could see I was going to get the 4&7, and turned away certainly not expecting the 10. All these years later I wish I hadn't turned away.

I wish bowling would come back on TV! It's really enjoyable to watch (at least to me it is)!

@paxhumana2015

10 ай бұрын

They still show it on occasion on Fox, and the PBA also has events that they show on KZread.

@kgeiger61

4 ай бұрын

Fox and FS1 cover all the major PBA tournament finals

@josegraziani4657

3 ай бұрын

A

@arthurwild5734

3 ай бұрын

Streaming (for free, Fubi TV?) PBA on Fox...can watch tons of vids...

@paullee3507

2 ай бұрын

I liked it alot more when everyone in the world didnt have 200+ avg.

This was great. Thank you for putting it together for our enjoyment.

Love these breakdown videos keep up the great work mate!!

used to run a bowling alley, the best split pick-up i saw was a 5-7-10 by a little kid using a 6lb ball. hit the 5 into the 7 and and the ball deflected into the 10. it was awesome.

@Joey_Hammer

8 ай бұрын

wow

I remember some of these when my family finally got satellite when rca and starz was around and espn was showing classics bowling .. good times

I made a 4 7 9 10 conversion. It was a nice surprise.

My brother and I were ringers in a night league as teens. I had a 162 avg and he had a 190. He actually bowled a couple open qualifiers in College. Had no clue there was a bowling channel on YT. Subbed. Love this sport.

I'd love to see a challenge where bowlers take on "impossible" leaves; stuff that would almost if not never be left due to the dynamics of the game. For example, everything but the 5 pin left standing. Some may be easier than others but I'd love to see the idea entertained

@astrofive620

10 ай бұрын

Cool idea :)

@flatfingertuning727

5 ай бұрын

Madison WI television station WISC had a locally produced show in the 1980s called I think "Make that Spare", in which contestants would draw cards with a pattern of pins on them, and then have to make the indicated spare.

@BucksCorner101

4 ай бұрын

5 pins stand up constantly on their own. However, if you go to Patrick Hanrahans KZread channel he has a challenge where Mitch Hupe takes on impossible splits over 40 lanes. It's a pretty neat watch!

NICE WORK GUYS!!!!

The great WRWJ has still got it. He won a PBA60 senior's title in Columbus, converting the 4-9 along the way.

@SkateClipsAndTips

11 ай бұрын

My idol

@roygoodhand1301

10 ай бұрын

Oh, Mister Stick-Up-His-Ass? *hambone*

@billybandyk0720

10 ай бұрын

B.A.C.; Speaking of the 4-9 split, I remember Nelson Burton, Jr. successfully converting the 4-9 split during a match on ABC (I believe that he did so on multiple occasions though not all on TV matches).

@binaryanticommunist1882

10 ай бұрын

@@billybandyk0720 Yeah he was a technician.

@billybandyk0720

10 ай бұрын

@@binaryanticommunist1882 Ironically; the Burton 4-9 split that I alluded 2 was from 1980 (the same year of Mark Roth's 7-10 split). Moreso; Burton was originally scheduled 2 work w/Chris Schenkel on the ABC telecast of that particular tournament but somehow qualified (as a bowler) 4 the Top 5. Hence; how he eventually came about the 4-9 split conversion as a4mentioned.

Not sure where these alleys are, but the backstop of those lanes was what made the difference with picking up the 7-10 splits. I haven't seen an alley yet that I've played on where you can bounce the pins against the backstop (or whatever you want to call it) and still stay in play. Once they hit the back, they fall into a recess.

The most interesting part about Walter Ray Williams conversion of the big 4 was that he did it with an odor eaters ball

Incredible video!!

3:37 Mark Williams also made the 4-6-7 split conversion in the 1995 PBA Northwest Classic against John Handegard.

@playdiscgolf1546

10 ай бұрын

Mark Williams is extremely underrated. That guy was on the telecasts all the time in the 80s and 90s

@Joey_Hammer

8 ай бұрын

@@playdiscgolf1546 totaly agree

I like how just walks away like “it ain’t nothing” 😂

I have been bowling for years and left and picked up numerous splits. I have picked up tge 4-7-10 3 times, 6-7-10 four times, the baby splits, the 4-8-10 once, the 5-7-10 once, the 4-6-7 once, but I think the hardest I picked up was the 4-6-7-8-10, and I have picked them all up sanctioned and on the league. For all of these I also don't curve it for them, but I use cross lane for the corner pins and shots like these.

I am 65 I was a pin setter for about 41/2 years at a moose lodge,they had 6 lanes,before work we got to bowl as much as we wanted,we played strikes and spares,you would set the pins until the other guy got a open frame,I have seen and made every possible split,put never on film 😢,kind of like telling the story of the fish that got away,with no one around 😅

@cousinjohncarstuff4568

Ай бұрын

Or the hole in and no one but you saw it!

I've made a 2-8-10 once, but I'm a lefty so my natural hook helped me. My favorite pick up was a 5-7.

@freeguy77

10 ай бұрын

I have made the 3-10 "baby split" a number of times, and I'm a righty, so you can't hook very much on that right edge. But making the 5-7 was my favorite, as you have to hit the 5 just barely on the right side, to slide it into the 7. A memory I'll never forget! I also made the 2-4-7-10 which was harder to make than the center-lane throw to get the 5-7. I think I also made the 5-10 once, but it's been a long time now! That sensational 6-pin (3-4-6-7-9-10) split made by Jason Belmonte (4:45) was the most pins made in a split I've ever seen!

You'd think a sport in which you can literally get a Perfect Score would get boring to watch fast. This is proof enough it never will.

@BillSmith-rx9rm

3 ай бұрын

Literally? Like, gag me with a spoon.

@peterolbrisch8970

Ай бұрын

What's the difference between a perfect score and a "literally" perfect score?

@ShadowOfCicero

Ай бұрын

In golf, a literally perfect score would be 18, while the term "perfect game" refers to a 54.

@BillSmith-rx9rm

Ай бұрын

@@ShadowOfCicero A lot of people that really must not understand the way golf courses are set up say that a perfect score in golf would be 18. But that is a physical impossibility because of the length of the holes. No one as of yet is able to hit a 550-yard drive for a hole in one. So saying 18 is a perfect score is ridiculous, because it is an impossibility. I would say that a perfect score would be an eagle on every hole. That's two under par for each hole for those that don't know what an eagle is. That would mean a hole-in-one on the par threes, two strokes on the par fours and three strokes on the par fives. Although some might argue that because today's hitters can reach par fives in two strokes, that a double eagle on the par fives might be required for a perfect score. However, while some par fives can be reached in two shots, there are still some par fives that cannot be reached until three strokes. So a perfect score kind of depends on the golf course itself. And all that being said, a perfect score in golf is still completely impossible. As far as I know, no one has ever come close. Someone can correct me if I am not correct.

@peterolbrisch8970

Ай бұрын

@@ShadowOfCicero Not all golf courses are par 72 so your number of 54 is only figurative. And a score of 18 can't be a perfect score because it's lower than the total of what is already a perfect score. And a score of 300 isn't a perfect score if the game is tied and goes into an extra frame or frames. I'm not sure how it works in baseball anymore in regards to pitching, but it used to be a lot easier to get no hitter ( I know, not the same as a perfect game ) but they changed the rules on no hitters and I believe those rules would apply to a perfect game.

Love it!

I once made the 3-4-7-9-10 in league play. I was shocked, and pumped, that I pulled it off.

I’ve only completed a 7-10 once. I’ve had upwards of 7-8 of them in my life and they’re are the hardest to ever complete.

Lefty here. I've made the 3-7-9, 2-4-6-7-8-10, 8-10, and 4-6 as far as the near impossible splits go. I've made the 7-10 three times, unfortunately it never counted, as i always somehow took it off the big 4 😅😂

So 2 people have actually made 4-6-7-10 on TV? Wow cool I didn't even know that until seeing this video. Sounds like the hardest split, since it's been made on TV even less than 7-10, 2 times as opposed to 4. We got the 2000 Ten Pin Masters for Tim Mack and 2005 Atlantic Classic where Walter Ray Williams made it. We've been seeing some pretty good spare conversions on TV the last 2-3 years too. This kid Deo Bernard made 2 tough ones last week during the 2024 World Series of Bowling to make the finals of the World Championships. Looks like 2-8-10 is incredibly difficult too, since it might have been only made once on TV.

I made a 5-7-10 about a week ago.

very nice spares🎉

I remember Brian Voss 4 6 7 and any right hander that leaves this knows it's going to be an open. Incredible.

@playdiscgolf1546

10 ай бұрын

BV was awesome. I remember seeing him pick up a 7-10 in match play, back in the day.

I made a 2-4-6-10 once. Never made a split before to that point. Helped me to my first 201 game. Was pretty special.

@Torgo1969

4 ай бұрын

Did you aim for the 4 and send the 2 off to the right to take out the 6 and the 10?

@Xariama

4 ай бұрын

@@Torgo1969 Aimed for the 2-4 to get two. Halfway down, I said "hey, this has a chance", then my team and I all went nuts when it worked.

4-6-7-10. I have made this 3-4 times. Same with 7-10. Gotta throw the ball hard, and get a lucky bounce.

The Tim Mack big 4 conversion was aided by the machine pit curtain being draped over the cross bar instead of it being suspended on it's hanger, Curtains were sometimes hung that way so they could get camera action shots from the pit area.

Those in the know advise me (and why someone shot at 7-10 splits all day and made at least six) is that most conversions are fiddles insofar as the mechanic has set the rear bumper plate forward of its correct position.

“Big Ern is finally above the law!” LOL! 😂

The ball used to pick that up is at Dave’s World of Bowling inside of Crossgate lanes in Blue Ash Ohio.

I've only made one 4-6-7 spare in my whole life. I know it's relatively easy for some, but it's the most difficult for me as a lefty

A bit surprised Billy Oatman's Greek Church conversion wasn't on here

@Best_of_Bowling

4 ай бұрын

When did he convert that, was that on tv?

@Torgo1969

4 ай бұрын

Greek Church...when you have to pray to every god in the pantheon up on Mount Olympus to have any hope of making it.

@leonardhandzlik6008

3 ай бұрын

No video of Billy Oatman's Greek Church conversion. It probably wasn't on tv.

@exodiatenor

3 ай бұрын

@@leonardhandzlik6008It was. Most likely since it was the mid-2000's is probably why there isn't

I've been bowling for 35 years and have yet to make the 7-10. That and a 300 game are my bucket list items. I've made the 8-10 though.

I made the big 4 the same way Walter Ray did last year in league and was so hyped and 2 years ago in league made the Greek church by throwing at the 47. Still haven't made the 7 20 though

I got a patch for making the 4 6 7 10 in once-a-week league bowling. I threw a straight and fast ball as I did not learn how to curve the ball yet.

Best way to pick up the 7-10 on TV Be a lefty

I've always used the Voss technique of throwing at splits: throw it weird and look at the pins threateningly. I picked up a 4-7-10 once, but definitely not on TV. And my overall conversion rate is probably less than 1% lol

That was fun

I made the 4-6-7-10 the first time I broke 200 but looked nothing like WRJ's. I bowled straight down the right gutter and knocked the 6 over to take out the 4 and 7.

@shawnaeby7220

19 күн бұрын

Never made a Big Four, but I have made three 4-6's, two in the '90s and once in the 2000's. All were made the same way you did, by barely touching the 6 on the right to take out the 4. Could have made the Big Four if the other two pins were up, I suppose.

I love voss swagger. He walks so cool

Brian Voss totally got helped out by the slow pin collection. Having dead wood in the back still helped as the pin kicked back far harder off the pins awaiting the elevator.

I'm from Massachusetts, and that 2 and 8 remind me of a saying we have when it's left for a spare leave in candlepin bowling: "It's so easy to knock down the 2 and the 8 when there are 10 pins up and you punch them out for a half-Worcester, but when they're by themselves, they never seem to go."

For my money the Greek Church is one of the hardest to make. It consists of the 4-6-7-9-10 pins and is really difficult to make.

Been bowling since I was 12....33 years now and have NEVER made a 7-10....Yet, when I bowled on String pins last September I picked up 2 7-10s in a single day....

The best I've picked up was a spread eagle (2-3-4-6-7-10) in candlepin in a tournament.

I was bowling with my daughter one day and left a 7 9 10 split. I picked it up by just touching the outside of the 7,sliding it standing up into the 9 before falling over, with the 9 gently falling into the 10 knocking it over. People three lanes over cheered for me.

I think the best split I can recall making is the 4-7-10 split. It was during league and the crowd was quite pleased with it.

Mark Roth was my guy when I was a kid watching bowling every Saturday during the 70s.

7:13 - that screen was incredibly close thus made it much easier for a 7-10 conversion

Roy Munson was an expert at picking up the 7/10 split.

Best pickup I can claim is a 6-7 split. And that was after picking up a 5-10 split in the frame before that. My average is pathetic but for 2 frames I felt like a world champion. 😂

Belmo's 3-4-6-7-9-10 was visually spectacular but I wouldn't say it was all that hard. I've seen it made in league play, and I've done it myself. Of course it's a good shot. The ball has to hit the 3 pin relatively thin on its right to pick up the 4-7, and at the same time the ball has to be driving right to left to pick up the 9, which is exactly what Belmo did. But that's just a hard but makeable shot. There's a small target area and you have to throw it a certain way, but I bet if you left that split out on the lanes and asked a bunch of right handed or 2-handed PBA pros to shoot it, that spare would be made quite often. The 7-10 and the 4-6, or the 4-6-7-10, there are no actual ways to shoot at those. You just have to throw the ball fast and then hope for crazy pin action. Both Walter Ray and Brian Voss did exactly that. Those were nice shots plus a lot of luck. Belmo's split only required a good shot.

@TehDrewsus

10 ай бұрын

As a lefty, I've left the 2-4-6-7-8-10 twice and made it twice in league. It's crazy, you used to see that 4 count split maybe once a season in league back in the early 2000s. Now we see it left by someone almost once a week

Voss' attire is all time bad ass

I made the 2-4-8-10 last time I went bowling. Last I checked on the PBA that's a sub 10% conversion rate. Made me feel pretty good 😂

@ianandersen265

3 ай бұрын

Convert the 5-7-10 and you'll be in a league of your own. Not a single PBA pro has been known to convert that split on national tv!

@racingaerials4493

3 ай бұрын

@@ianandersen265 that's because PBA pros don't leave that split on national TV 🤪

@ianandersen265

3 ай бұрын

@@racingaerials4493 Except Chris Barnes and PDW!

Funny how things work. One one hand, it makes sense that WRWJ, the greatest of his era, would be the one to make the big four. On the other hand, there was nothing exceptional about the way he threw at it, he just got a lucky bounce( the only way to make it), on yet another hand, it ABSOLUTELY MAKES SENSE that he would be the one that got it.

Billy Welu converted the 4-6-10 on championship bowling,the same way Walter Ray Williams made the big four spilt.

The way the 7 dropkicked that 10 pin

In leagues over 20 years ago, I picked up the 4-6-7-10 twice, with sheer power out of anger.

In High School, I converted 7-9 once and that was a good bit of luck there. I have yet to duplicate the shot.

I've picked both the 3-7-10 and the 2-7-10.

In junior league when I was 10 I picked up the 7-9. I won a bag of chips.

It's interesting how three of the four 7-10 conversions have been by left handers

Good shooting. Not Andy Veripapa level, but good.

5:26 it almost looks like the shockwave of the impact knocked over the left pins. I had to watch that again because it happened so fast

Ever made the LH version of the 2-8-10. Being the 3-7-9. Just too rare to leave and gona roll a reverse curl to try!

when i used to bowl ive made the 2-7-10 split two frames in a row i also have made the 4-6 split one time. some of these splits are difficult to make. it takes skill and luck to make some of the harder shots.

Randy has picked up the 7 10 7 times in his life wow that's amazing

Try the 5,7 and 10 😮

Great coaches at 5:01 over Belmonte's shoulders. 🎳

How about Mike Aulby converting the 6-7 in 1998, and Rick Sajek converting the 6-7-10?

Nice

Hardest I’ve made is the 4-6. I clipped the six just enough and it fell over on the four

@jeremycaldwell6477

10 ай бұрын

I've done it twice that way once in a center that is now no more n the other a center that is barely open.

@freeguy77

10 ай бұрын

You have to "thread the needle" to make that 4-6. Congratulations! I made the 5-7 (right throwing), so you have to hit the 5 just barely on that R side to slide it into the 7. One of my favorite splits made, along with the more common 3-10, 2-7 "baby splits."

The best thing about Brian Voss' pick up of the 4-6-7 is that both/either the 4 and 7 would have taken out the 6 pin 😅

And good luck converting with string pins!

Watching bowling is like watching bumper to bumper traffic

Not a bowling fan, but I do like games. Would bowling benefit from having a more reactive wall at the end of the lane so that pins are more likely to bounce back and take out pins or not? By the looks of it, the back area is designed to absorb the force so that it less likely to happen (obviously there's a reason why that is).

I converted the 4-6 split in my junior year on the HS bowling team. I did it my grazing the right side of the 6 pin, causing it to fall over towards the 4 pin and then teetering back up before falling left again, knocking over the 4 pin.

Hey man, you forgot about the legendary Roy Munson dude. 😂

@Joey_Hammer

9 ай бұрын

haha

This is more entertaining than the last 3 NBA All-star games

The Belmo spare is easier than it looks - meaning it is still "pretty hard" - if you can throw a backup ball. Anything that makes the 3-4 on a backup ball trajectory will cover the 9-10 assuming you're throwing 15lbs.

I made the 6-7 and thought it was pretty amazing being I bowl once or twice a year.

Chris Barnes made the 4-6-7-9 split in the 2005 Tusla championship open.

Mark Williams made the 4-6-7 back in 95 I believe against John Handegard.

Recently saw 4-6-7 converted by sliding the 4 into the 6, which I never thought was possible.

Its my understanding it is harder to make the 7-10 split today because they deadened the backstop so the pins are less likely to bounce back.

I remember a girl loudly breaking wind in the lane next to us during a shot she was taking. She burst into tears at the embarrassment when all the guys with me roared out laughing. I felt so sorry for her.😢

You should have also included Pete Weber and Mika Kouvuniemi's 2-8-10 conversions also. Those are the three times I can remember 2-8-10 made in PBA telecasts.

@myoldaccount8917

11 ай бұрын

Dick Allen made one and I’m pretty sure Anthony Simonsen made one as well

@jcookster74

11 ай бұрын

​@myoldaccount8917 I know Weber's and Kouvuniemi's were exactly like Allen's where they threw straight and hit the 2 into the 10 and the the 10 fell into the 8. I honestly don't remember Simonsen making it on TV but I would believe he did especially since he can throw a backup ball which increases the odds of making it significantly.

@jcookster74

11 ай бұрын

I wonder of anyone has made the 8-10 on tv. I don't think it has been made on tv but that would be another one that's rare to make

@linkin46

11 ай бұрын

@@jcookster74 think Lavery-Spahr (if that's his name) made an 8-10 on TV. 2019 TOC I think

@jcookster74

11 ай бұрын

@linkin46 Yes thats right he did. I remember that now.

My dad was a league bowler most of his adult life. His proudest achievement was converting the Big 4. And my "impossible" split conversion was the 4-7-9-10. I wasn't trying to do anything other than take out the 4-7, but the ball moved just enough to clip the Jersey side of the 4 and then take out the 7, while the 4 had just the right angle on in to skitter across the lane and take out the 9-10.

@roygoodhand1301

10 ай бұрын

>Jersey side This man lives in Brooklyn, NYC. Otherwise he would've said 'Brooklyn side'.

@roygoodhand1301

10 ай бұрын

>Jersey side This man lives in Brooklyn, NYC. Otherwise he would've said 'Brooklyn side'.

@roygoodhand1301

10 ай бұрын

>Jersey side This man lives in Brooklyn, NYC. Otherwise he would've said 'Brooklyn side'.

@davidwalter2002

10 ай бұрын

@@roygoodhand1301 Actually, I live closer to New Jersey than I do to Brooklyn or anything NYC.

I bestow upon your video the highest honour I can: watching it while I eat a meal

Great to know Tim Mack made it first, and made it far more convincingly in 2000? How Jr. made it was pure luck, something you'll never see except for that one time. Great way to remind us about Brian Voss making that 4-6-7, as I had forgotten about it but remembered that match after seeing that clip.

@Ironfangzu

11 ай бұрын

Brian Voss aka The Boss is a unicorn. I watched him bowl way way back when almost everyone threw straight balls. He competed with the likes of Marshall Holman and Pete Weber, and was the first bowling star back in the day who looked like an athlete, and he was handsome and charming. Fast forward 30 years, and you can catch him bowling those PBA50 tournaments. He still looks ruggedly handsome and could pass for a guy in his mid 30's. But the man is 64 now. What a legend!

@jcookster74

11 ай бұрын

Brian Voss was always one of my favorites for sure. Probably top 3 favorite along with A couple of lesser known pros Storm Devincent and Michael Haugen Jr. Haugen Jr is because he is from my home town of Victorville and worked at a McDonald's with his grandfather and brother Steve. Voss was on TV alot in the 80's but didn't win alot of tournaments until the late 80's and then he took off. To think that if he could have managed to win just a few of those tournaments in the 80's he would have been knocking on the door for 30 titles. Still a gem and absolutely classic style to watch. He kinda had a similar career to Duke in that neither won alot early and then late 80' into the 90's they started winning. Granted Duke went alot Longer and is a top 5 all time player I think.