Randy Pedersen (May 28, 1962 – September 16, 2026) was an American sportscaster and professional bowler as a member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA). He earned 13 PBA Tour titles (one major) during his playing career. He then became the full-time color analyst for PBA Tour broadcasts on ESPN, Fox and CBS Sports Network from 2001 to 2025, as well as handling webcasts on PBA Xtra Frame, FloBowling and the BowlTV YouTube channel. This made him the longest-tenured bowling color commentator in PBA history, two years longer than Nelson Burton Jr. served in that capacity on ABC Sports. During the 2025 PBA Tour, he worked alongside play-by-play announcers Rob Stone, Dave Ryan, John Fanta and Dave LaMont, having previously worked with Lon McEachern and Mike Jakubowski.
Pedersen grew up in Southern California, but relocated to Clermont, Florida in the early 1990s. He resided in Florida ever since.
Pedersen is a member of the PBA and USBC Halls of Fame.
As a bowler, Pedersen won 13 PBA Tour titles, with 11 of them coming in a ten-season stretch between 1986 and 1995, when he was one of the top players on tour. Pedersen captured the prestigious PBA National Championship crown in 1987 for his first and only major title. He won three titles in the 1989 season, but was beaten out for PBA Player of the Year honors by Amleto Monacelli, who won four titles that year.
In 1991, Pedersen converted the 7-10 split on national television. The feat occurred in the 1991 Miller High Life Pins Game, an exhibition event featuring PBA players.
Pedersen won his last PBA Tour title at age 40 in the 2002 Pepsi Open. Having started his ESPN broadcast career a year earlier, he jokingly walked out during the player introductions with a microphone, then handed the microphone to an audience member as he made his way to the lanes. This title pushed him over the $1 million career earnings mark, making him the 24th career millionaire in PBA history at the time. He made it to the final match of the 2003 PBA Tournament of Champions, but lost the title to Patrick Healey Jr.
He is also known for having suffered from two of the worst breaks in PBA Tour history. Both came in major tournaments, and both times he lost by one pin. He lost the 1995 Bayer-Brunswick Touring Players Championship to veteran Ernie Schlegel by a scoreline of 236–237. Needing a strike on the first ball of the tenth frame to have a chance to win, Pedersen left what's known as a "stone 8-pin" standing on what appeared to be a perfect 1-3 pocket shot. That match is also remembered for Schlegel's reaction to the shot. In a thrill-of-victory/agony-of-defeat moment, Schlegel ran around in front of the crowd with his fists raised yelling, "I don't believe it! Yeah, yeah, yeah! For the old people!", while Pedersen fell down onto the approach and covered his face in disappointment. Pedersen was also knocked out of the 2005 Dexter Tournament of Champions after he left the 7-pin on his tenth frame fill shot to close out the semifinal against Norm Duke, losing 255–256.
Among his 34 career top-five finishes, Pedersen made it to the final match 17 times, compiling an impressive 13–4 record in those matches.
Pedersen was ranked #35 on the PBA's 2008 list of "50 Greatest Players of the last 50 years." He was elected to the PBA Hall of Fame in October 2010, and was inducted with the 2011 class on January 22, 2011.
He joined the PBA50 Tour (formerly PBA Senior Tour) in 2013, and on May 16 of that year he won the very first tournament he entered: the PBA50 Dayton Classic.
In November 2024, Pedersen was elected to the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) Hall of Fame. He was officially inducted with the 2025 class in a ceremony at the USBC convention on May 7.
The PBA debuted the Randy Pedersen 43 (43 feet in length) oil pattern at the 2026 USA versus The World event.
1986 AC-Delco Classic (Union City, California)
1987 Toledo Trust PBA National Championship (Toledo, Ohio)
1987 Fair Lanes Open (Washington, D.C.)
1988 Senior/Touring Pro Doubles Championship w/Carmen Salvino (Cheektowaga, New York)
1989 AC-Delco Classic (Torrance, California)
1989 Budweiser Classic (Miami, Florida)