John Mazza (born February 23, 1964) is a left-handed ten-pin bowler and former touring player for the

Professional Bowlers Association The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) is the major sanctioning body for the sport of professional ten-pin bowling in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, the PBA membership consists of over 3,000 members worldwide. Member ...

(PBA). Mazza won eight titles on the

PBA Tour The PBA Tour is the major professional tour for ten-pin bowling, operated by the Professional Bowlers Association. Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, over 3,000 members worldwide make up the PBA. While most of the PBA members are Regional profess ...

and collected over $850,000 in earnings. He also won 11

PBA Regional Tour The PBA Regional Tour is a series of "mini tours", run by the Professional Bowlers Association, spanning across seven regions within the United States. The Tour allows PBA members and qualifying non-member amateurs to compete in weekend events. The ...

titles.

Professional career

Mazza became a PBA member in 1982, joining the full-time

in the late 1980s. He finally hit his stride in 1991. That season, he won his first three PBA titles and the Harry Smith PBA Points Leader award, while cashing nearly $150,000 in earnings. He won multiple titles again in the 1994 season. Mazza is most notable, however, for being the second player (and first left-hander) to convert the nearly-impossible 7–10 split on national television.

Mark Roth Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Finn ...

was the first to make this split on TV (in 1980), and

Jess Stayrook Jess Stayrook (born 1959) is an American professional bowler. He is mainly known for being the third bowler to convert the 7-10 split on television after John Mazza (1991) and Mark Roth (1980). Stayrook's conversion took place during a tournament ...

accomplished the feat shortly after Mazza during the same season (1991). The split would not be converted again on a PBA telecast until 2021, by Anthony Neuer.

PBA Tour titles

# 1991 Florida Open (

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) # 1991 Fresno Open (

Fresno, CA Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...

) # 1991 Celebrity Denver Open (

Denver, CO Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

) # 1993 True Value Open (

Peoria, IL Peoria ( ) is the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and the largest city on the Illinois River. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 113,150. It is the principal city of the Peoria Metropolitan Area in Cent ...

) # 1994 Hilton Hotels Classic (

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) # 1994 AMF

Dick Weber Richard Anthony Weber (December 23, 1929 – February 14, 2005) was a ten-pin bowling professional and a founding member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA). Along with Don Carter, Weber is widely regarded as professional bowling's fi ...

Classic (

Richmond, VA (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

) # 1997 Brentwood Classic (

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) # 1998 Ebonite Challenge 3 (

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, IN)

Personal

In some ABC-TV ''

Professional Bowlers Tour The Professional Bowlers Tour, also known as Pro Bowlers Tour, is a broadcast of the Professional Bowlers Association that aired on ABC from 1962 to 1997. In the telecasts, sportscaster Chris Schenkel and the graphics displayed during the show ...

'' broadcasts during the early- to mid-1990s, Mazza served as a lane-level reporter. After developing his bowling skills and turning pro while living in

Bay City, Michigan Bay City is a city and county seat of Bay County in the U.S. state of Michigan, located near the base of the Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 34,932, and it is the principal city of the Bay City Metropol ...

, Mazza relocated to

Shelby Township, Michigan Shelby is a civil township of Oceana County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,951 at the 2000 census. The village of Shelby is located within the township. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the township ...

References

External links

YouTube Video of John Mazza's 7-10 split conversion
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mazza, John American ten-pin bowling players 1964 births Living people Sportspeople from Bay City, Michigan