Professional Bowlers Association

Rolling strikes in eight of his first nine shots, Del Ballard Jr. of Richardson, Texas, knocked off Walter Ray Williams Jr., 254-218, to capture the 25th annual Firestone of Champions.

Ballard collected $50,000, his second jewel in bowling's "Triple Crown" and his third PBA title of the year, after topping the elite 52-man field.

Starting the championship with five strikes, Ballard never let Williams in the match and sailed to his fifth PBA crown.

"I feel like the champion of champions because the Firestone is the greatest tournament we have," Ballard said.

Although Ballard averaged 245 for his two games on the ABC-TV national telecast, he had trouble striking during practice.

"I didn't really have a great shot in practice, but I got lined up against Mike (Aulby) and stayed with it," Ballard said.

Indianapolis' Aulby, the Tour's leading money winner then with $194,055, fell to Ballard, 236-223, in the semifinal match and earned $20,000.

W. Williams, who was consoled with the $28,000 runnerup money, admitted Ballard's ability to strike in the semifinal game against Aulby affected his mental game.

"I didn't feel like I bowled a very good game. I think I let Del's (ball) reaction influence me too much. There's no reason why I couldn't hit the pocket every shot, but I'm not sure I could have kept up with Del," the Stockton, Calif., native said.

Aulby advanced to a semifinal berth by eliminating defending champion Mark Williams of Beaumont, Texas, 213-190. M. Williams, who also won here in 1985, finished in fourth place and earned $15,000.

M. Williams opened the stepladder finals by outscoring a hapless Dave Husted of Milwaukie, Ore., 189-154, in front of a capacity crowd at host Riviera Lanes. Husted, whose six PBA victories include a U.S. Open, received $10,000.

Ten of the past 17 Firestone champions competed in the tournament and Firestone Tire & Rubber Company invited the seven non-participants - Billy Hardwick, Wayne Zahn, Mike Berlin, Dave Davis, Don Johnson, Jim Godman and Earl Anthony - to the Silver Anniversary tournament.

CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND

PLAYOFF RESULTS - M. Williams defeated Husted, 189-154; Aulby defeated M. Williams, 213-190; Ballard defeated Aulby, 236-223; and in the championship game, Ballard defeated Williams Jr., 254-218.

48-GAME TOTALS

		Name, City		Pins		Avg		WLT		+		Tot		Amt
1		Walter Ray Williams Jr., Stockton, Calif.		10267		213.9		16-8-0		480		10747
2		Del Ballard Jr., Richardson, Texas		10129		211.0		15-9-0		450		10579
3		Mike Aulby, Indianapolis		10121		210.9		15-9-0		450		10571
4		Mark Williams, Beaumont, Texas		10109		210.6		14-10-0		420		10529
5		Dave Husted, Milwaukie, Ore.		10044		209.3		13-11-0		390		10434
6		Jimmie Pritts Jr., Methuen, Mass.		9981		207.9		14-10-0		420		10401		$8,500
7		Hugh Miller, Everett, Wash.		9948		207.3		15-9-0		450		10398		7,300
8		Bob Handley, Pompano Beach, Fla.		10005		208.4		13-11-0		390		10395		6,300
9		Pete Weber, Florissant, Mo.		9985		208.0		13-11-0		390		10375		5,500
10		Mats Karlsson, Gothenburg, Sweden		9973		207.8		12-12-0		360		10333		5,000
11		David Ozio, Vidor, Texas		9919		206.6		13-11-0		390		10309		4,500
12		Randy Pedersen, Santa Maria, Calif.		9854		205.3		11-13-0		330		10184		4,000
13		Ron Palombi Jr., Erie, Pa.		9873		205.7		10-14-0		300		10173		3,500
14		Johnny Petraglia, Manalapan, N.J.		9836		204.9		11-13-0		330		10166		3,200
15		Ernie Schlegel, Vancouver, U.S.A.		9824		204.7		11-13-0		330		10154		3,000
16		George Pappas, Charlotte, N.C.		9729		202.7		13-11-0		390		10119		2,800
17		Tom Crites, Tampa, Fla.		9751		203.1		11-13-0		330		10081		2,650
		Don Genalo, Perrysburg, Ohio		9751		203.1		11-13-0		330		10081		2,650
19		Joe Berardi, Wellington, Fla.		9726		202.6		11-13-0		330		10056		2,500
20		Ron Williams, Cahokia, III.		9802		204.2		8-16-0		240		10042		2,400
21		Jim Stefanich, Joliet, III.		9711		202.3		11-13-0		330		10041		2,300
22		Brian Voss, Seattle, Wash.		9671		201.5		11-13-0		330		10001		2,200
23		Butch Soper, Tustin, Calif.		9694		202.0		9-15-0		270		9964		2,150
24		Wayne Webb, Beaumont, Texas		9477		197.4		7-17-0		210		96872100

Pos.		Name, City/State	Amount
25		Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela	$1,930
26		Scott Devers, Centerville, Ind.	1,900
*27		Marshall Holman, Medford, Ore.	2,020
28		Tom Baker, Buffalo, N.Y.	1,900
29		Mark Baker, Garden Grove, Calif.	1,850
30		Pete McCordic, Houston	1,850
31		Dale Eagle, Evansville, Ind.	1,850
		Charlie Tapp, Kalamazoo, Mich.	1,850
33		Gary Dickinson, Edmond, Okla.	1,800
34		Steve Cook, Roseville, Calif.	1,800
35		Sam Maccarone, Glassboro, N.J.	1,800
36		Palmer Fallgren, Lake Worth, Fla.	1,800
37		Bryan Alpert, Las Vegas, Nev.	1,750
38		Ron Bell, Akron, Ohio	1,750
39		Bruce Carter, Las Vegas, Nev.	1,750
40		Art Trask, Fresno, Calif.	1,750
41		Jeff Bellinger, Columbia, S.C.	1,700
42		Carmen Salvino, Chicago	1,700
43		Mal Acosta, Manteca, Calif.	1,700
44		Mark Roth, Spring Lake Hts., N.J.	1,700
45		Mike Durbin, Chagrin Falls, Ohio	1,650
46		Dave Ferraro, Kingston, N.Y.	1,650
47		Steve Martin, Kingsport, Tenn.	1,650
48		Guppy Troup, Edmond, Okla.	1,650
49		Dick Weber, St. Louis	1,600
50		Randy Lightfoot, St. Charles, Mo.	1,600
51		Dave Soutar, Leawood, Kan.	1,600
52		Bob Chamberlain, Auburn Hills, Mich.	1,600