Wayne Zahn "came back from the dead" to capture the $100,000 Firestone Tournament of Champions at Riviera Lanes in Akron, Ohio. Hopelessly out of it during the third match of the televised (color) finals, the Atlanta belter was about ready to offer congratulations to one of the other three in the finals . . . Dick Weber, Tom Harnisch or Dave Davis. But, "lightning struck" when Harnisch popped a 6-7 split against Davis. This resulted in a tie between Zahn and Davis and a two-frame rolloff was in order. Davis threw a washout (1-2-4-10) and got nine. Zahn split for a nine count before striking and sparing for a score of 29. Davis dittoed and another two-framer was necessary. Zahn started with a strike, Davis threw two, got seven on his next ball and spared for 47. Zahn pumped two strikes for 50 and gained the right to meet the 48-game leader, Dick Weber, for the $25,000 and championship trophy. For the second straight year Weber had led through the first 48 and was seeded into the title go. But the 130-pound St. Louis great didn't have it in the big one and Zahn rolled to a 203-170 victory. A nationwide TV audience of some 20,000,000 made this the biggest bowling show in history. Some 50 sports writers from all over the country and a bulging Riviera Lanes crowd lived the experience with the 53 champions who started the five-day showdown. CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND | Pos. |  | Name, City/State | Amount | | | 1 | | Wayne Zahn, Atlanta, Ga. | $25,000 | | 2 | | Dick Weber St. Louis, Mo. | 12,600 | | 3 | | Dave Davis. Phoenix, Ariz. | 6,260 | | 4 | | Tom Harnisch, Buffalo, N.Y. | 3,126 | |
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: Zahn defeated Weber, 203-170. ROUND ROBIN, Harnisch defeated Zahn, 193-190; Zahn defeated Davis, 202-197; Davis defeated Harnisch, 196-191. Zahn won the second rolloff with Davis, 60-47, to "thrill" his way into the title match against Weber.
48 GAMES | | | Name, City/State | | Pins | | + | | Tot | | Amt | | | 5 | | Dick Hoover, Akron, Ohio | | 9771 | | 850 | | 10621 | | $2,660 | | 6 | | Mike McGrath, EI Cerrito, Calif. | | 9907 | | 660 | | 10567 | | 2,000 | | 7 | | Tommy Tuttle, King, N.C. | | 9803 | | 700 | | 10603 | | 1,600 | | 8 | | Harry Smith, Redwood City, Calif. | | 9890 | | 600 | | 10490 | | 1,460 | | 9 | | Bob Strampe, Detroit, Mich. | | 9826 | | 660 | | 10476 | | 1,426 | | 10 | | Buzz Fazio, Detroit, Mich. | | 9782 | | 676 | | 10467 | | 1,400 | | 11 | | Bill Bunetta, Fresno, Calif. | | 9834 | | 600 | | 10434 | | 1,376 | | 12 | | Gene Rhoda, Valparaiso, Ind. | | 9810 | | 600 | | 10410 | | 1,360 | | 13 | | Ray Bluth, St. Louis, Mo. | | 9639 | | 700 | | 10339 | | 1,325 | | 14 | | Bill Tucker, Los Angeles, Calif. | | 9730 | | 600 | | 10330 | | 1,300 | | 15 | | Jim St. John, San Jose, Calif. | | 9776 | | 560 | | 10325 | | 1,276 | | 16 | | Les Schissler, Denver, Colo. | | 9742 | | 526 | | 10267 | | 1,260 | | 17 | | Bill Allen, Orlando, Fla. | | 9714 | | 626 | | 10239 | | 1,226 | | 18 | | Roy Lown, El Paso, Texas | | 9706 | | 626 | | 10230 | | 1,200 | | 19 | | Dennis Chapis, St. Louis, Mo. | | 9746 | | 476 | | 10221 | | 1,176 | | 20 | | Vern Downing, Rodeo, Calif. | | 9721 | | 426 | | 10146 | | 1,150 | | 21 | | Glenn Allison, Los Angeles, Calif. | | 9605 | | 600 | | 10106 | | 1,125 | | 22 | | Skee Foremsky, El Paso, Texas | | 9618 | | 360 | | 9968 | | 1,100 | | 23 | | Billy Welu, St. Louis, Mo. | | 9491 | | 450 | | 9941 | | 1,075 | | 24 | | Norm Meyers, Los Angeles, Calif. | | 9614 | | 460 | | 9939 | | 1,060 | |
24 GAMES | Pos. | | Name, City/State | Total | Amount | | | 25 | | Bobby Jacks, New Orleans, La. | 4831 | $1,050 | | 26 | | Andy Marzich, Torrance, Calif. | 4817 | 1,000 | | 27 | | Bob Collatos, Santa Monica, Calif. | 4812 | 1,000 | | 28 | | Jack Biondolillo, Houston, Texas | 4809 | 1,000 | | 29 | | Darylee Cox, Seattle, Wash. | 4806 | 1,000 | | 30 | | Jerry Hale, Richmond, Calif. | 4806 | 1,000 | | 31 | | Earl Johnson, St. Paul, Minn. | 4799 | 1,000 | | 32 | | Johnny King, Chicago, Ill. | 4798 | 1,000 | | 33 | | Carmen Salvino, Chicago, Ill. | 4797 | 1,000 | | 34 | | Johnny Guenther, Seattle, Wash. | 4793 | 1,000 | | 35 | | Don Carter, St. Louis, Mo. | 4784 | 1,000 | | 36 | | Joe Joseph, Lansing, Mich. | 4777 | 1,000 | | 37 | | Billy Golembiewski, Detroit, Mich. | 4776 | 1,000 | | 38 | | Don Johnson, Kokomo, Ind. | 4762 | 1,000 | | 39 | | Pete Tountas, Tucson, Ariz. | 4739 | 1,000 | | 40 | | Billy Hardwick, Louisville, Ky. | 4723 | 1,000 | | 41 | | Dave Soutar, Detroit, Mich. | 4710 | 1,000 | | 42 | | Ed Lubanski, Detroit, Mich. | 4697 | 1,000 | | 43 | | Tom Hennessey, St. Louis, Mo. | 4690 | 1,000 | | 44 | | Bill Lillard, Dallas, Texas | 4679 | 1,000 | | 45 | | Nelson Burton Jr., St. Louis, Mo. | 4666 | 1,000 | | 46 | | Gary Martineau, Nashville, Tenn. | 4669 | 1,000 | | 47 | | Sam Baca, Hayward, Calif. | 4663 | 1,000 | | 48 | | Johnny Meyer, Lake Ronkonkoma. N.Y. | 4631 | 1,000 | | 49 | | Fred Lening, Fairless Hills, Pa. | 4609 | 1,000 | | 50 | | George Howard, Detroit, Mich. | 4591 | 1,000 | | 51 | | Jim Godman, Hayward, Calif. | 4588 | 1,000 | | 52 | | Jerry McCoy, Ft. Worth, Texas | 4534 | 1,000 | | 53 | | Mike Limongello, N. Babylon, N.Y. | 4461 | 1,000 | |
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