Professional Bowlers Association

It was no April Fool's joke when Danny Wiseman emerged from the highest-scoring TV finals in PBA history with his fifth title at the $180,000 SpIitFire Spark Plug Open before more than 4,000 screaming fans at the Erie (Pa.) Civic Center. Third-seeded, Wiseman upended leading qualifier Steve Jaros, 231•224, for the $39,000 winner's check and his first tour victory since 1991.

After sparing in his opening frame of the championship match, Wiseman launched a six-bagger, while Jaros spared, tripled, spared again and doubled to trail by 17 after seven frames. Wiseman allowed Jaros to close the gap when he left the 4-6-7-10 in his eighth frame, but after sparing in his own eighth, Jato s then chopped the 2-pin off the 2-5 leave. Despite Jaros striking out in his 10th frame, Wiseman needed only to spare for victory, which he did, and struck.

An emotional Wiseman said "This is the best. It's entertainment. The money's not that important. Since my dad died in 1992 it seems to have been one thing offer another. I got divorced more than a year ago and have been on the verge of quitting and getting a real job, Sin-- Now I've gotten all the distractions of my life out of the way."

Jaros said, "When Danny left his spit, I still had a good chance to shoot 240, but I just threw a bad shot." The Bolingbrook, Ill., pro earned $20,000 as runnerup. Ironically, Wiseman became the first non-Californian to triumph in Erie's five-year PBA tournament hosting.

In the opening game of the ABC Sports telecast, Mike Edwards ousted Walter Ray Williams Jr., 268-237. Williams, Stockton, Celli now has finished first (1993), second (1991), third (1994) and fourth (1992), plus his most recent fifth place showing worth $7,000, in his five Erie visits.

Edwards, Oklahoma City, left the 2-8 on his last ball against Wiseman to fall, 278-277. Wiseman's momentum continued against Mark Williams of Beaumont, Texas, whom he conquered, 277-235. All told, the TV finalists established a PBA record 253.37 average over their eight games bowled breaking the 251-plus average of Fresno, Calif., in 1979.

Mark Williams earned $12,000 for third place and Edwards collected $9,000 for fourth.

CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND

PLAYOFF RESULTS-Edwards defeated W.R. Williams Jr., 268-237; Wiseman defeated Edwards, 278-277; Wiseman defeated Williams, 277-235; and in the championship game, Wiseman defeated Jaros, 231-224.

42-GAME TOTALS

		Name, City		Pins		Avg		WLT		+		Tot		Amt
#1		Steve Jaros, Bolingbrook, IL		10090		240.2		16-8-0		480		10570
#2		Mark Williams, Beaumont, TX		10022		238.6		15-9-0		450		10472
3		Danny Wiseman, Baltimore		9850		234.5		13-11-0		390		10240
4		Walter Ray Williams Jr., Stockton, CA		9698		230.9		14-9-1		435		10133
5		Mike Edwards, Oklahoma City		9580		228.1		18-6-0		540		10120
6		David Traber, Woodstock, IL		9663		230.1		15-9-0		450		10113		$6,000
7		Roger Bowker, Ocala, FL		9631		229.3		15-9-0		450		10081		5,250
#8		Brian LeClair, Hudson, NY		9677		230.4		13-11-0		390		10067		4,500
9		Bill Oakes, Lawton, OK		9662		230.1		13-11-0		390		10052		4,000
10		Joe Firpo, Lake Worth, FL		9661		230.0		13-11-0		390		10051		3,600
11		Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela		9648		229.7		13-11-0		390		10038		3,200
12		Ed Richardson, Corpus Christi, TX		9567		227.8		11-12-1		345		9912		3,000
13		Ernie Schlegel, Vancouver, WA		9526		226.8		12-11-1		375		9901		2,800
14		Ross Caruana, Erie, PA		9436		224.7		15-9-0		450		9886		2,600
15		Butch Soper, Lake Havasu City, AZ		9539		227.1		10-14-0		300		9839		2,400
16		Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, NY		9438		224.7		13-11-0		390		9828		2,300
17		Martin Letscher, Bel Air, MD		9432		224.6		12-12-0		360		9792		2,200
18		Gary Schluchter, Fremont, OH		9490		226.0		9-14-1		285		9775		2,100
19		Bryan Goebel, Merriam, KS		9489		225.9		9-14-1		285		9774		2,000
20		Mike Taylor, San Diego		9493		226.0		8-16-0		240		9733		1,900
21		Philip Ringener, Big Spring, TX		9243		220.0		10-14-0		300		9543		1,800
22		John Mazza, Selby Township, MI		9226		219.7		8-16-0		240		9466		1,700
23		Dave Dobrzykowski, Toledo, OH		9101		216.7		7-17-0		210		9311		1,650
24		Mike Miller, Albuquerque, NM		9159		218.1		3-20-1		105		9264		1,600

Pos.		Name, City/State	Amount
*25		Russ Mills, Auburn, NY	$1,550
26		Brian Voss, Atlanta	1,400
27		Bob Spaulding, Greenville, SC	1,370
28		Bob Learn Jr., Erie, PA	1,340
29		Jim Johnson, Wilmington, DE	1,310
30		Tommy Delutz Jr., Jamaica, NY	1,280
31		Mike Aulby, Indianapolis	1,250
32		Jess Stayrook, TPa, AZ	1,220
		Dave Wodka, Las Vegas	1,220
34		David Ozio, Vidor, TX	1,180
		Bill Swanson, Palatine, IL	1,180
36		Ken McNeely, Morganton, NC	1,160
37		Dave Ferraro, Kingston, NV	1,150
38		Jeff Zaffino, Warren, PA	1,140
39		Ron Williams, Fort Worth, TX	1,130
40		Larry Oxendine, Joplin, MO	1,120
#41		Dave Husted, Milwaukie, OR	1,105
		Robby Porter, Portland, OR	1,105
43		Brad Snell, Itasca, IL	1,090
44		Norm Duke, Edmond, OK	1,075
		Marc McDowell, Madison, WI	1,075
46		Doug Kent, Canandaigua, NY	1,060
#47		Jeff Morin, Rockaway, NJ	1,050
48		Brian Davis, Casselberry, FL	1,040
49		Scott Alexander, Seattle	1,030
50		Adam Colton, Coral Springs, FL	1,020
51		Tim Criss, Bel Air, MD	1,010
52		Parker Bohn III, Jackson, NJ	1,000
53		Hugo McGroty, Schenectady, NV	498
		Bob Vespi, Coral Springs, FL	498