Professional Bowlers Association

Mike Durbin's professional bowling career reached its zenith when he fired a threegame 775 series to win the $125,000 Firestone Tournament of Champions, professional bowling's richest and most prestigious tournament.

In the championship game, Durbin triumphed over Timmy Harahan, Canoga Park, Calif., 258-187, to climax the tournament and grab off the $25,000 first prize.

Durbin, who had left the tour to become a house pro at Chagrin Falls, set one Professional Bowlers Association record enroute to his big victory and then had to fight his way from third place in the nationally televised finals to win this richest of all competitions.

Throughout the earlier part of the week, he had battled for the lead with Nelson Burton Jr. and Harahan. He also faced challenges from Larry Laub, George Pappas and Teata Semiz.

Terry Booth, Mountain View, Cal., got the tournament off to a great start with a 300 game right out of the box, while Laub and Mike Lemongello also chipped in with perfect games to the vast enjoyment of the huge crowds which jammed Riviera Lanes all week. But all the while Durbin was setting a faster pace than any in the 52-man field. For the first 16 games, Durbin totalled 4006 pins which broke the old PBA record of 3926 pins set by Jim Stefanich at these same lanes in 1967.

He slowed down slightly during match game play, alternating between first and second place with Harahan, until the position-round when he slipped to third place under a 258-147 defeat by Harahan. That dropped Durbin to third for the finals, along with Harahan, Laub, Pappas and Semiz. Harahan was top seeded.

In the first match, Pappas had 268 to Semiz' 248. Against Durbin, Pappas got his bad ball in the sixth frame when he left the 4-6-7-10 split and Durbin coasted in with a 248-226 victory. That sixth frame also proved fatal for Laub, who was the next to face Durbin. Laub left an 8-10 split in the sixth frame and he went down to defeat 269-224.

In the championship game, Harahan couldn't duplicate his fine bowling of all week. Durbin chopped the six-pin off the 10 in the very first frame, but Harahan just couldn't put any pressure on Durbin, because the former Californiancame right back with a double and then added six more strikes while Harahan dropped steadily behind.

TELEVISED FINALS

PLAYOFF RESULTS-Pappas defeated Semiz, 268-248; Durbin defeated Pappas, 248-226; Durbin defeated Laub, 269-224, and in the championship game Durbin defeated Harahan, 258-187.

48-GAME TOTALS

		Name, City/State		Pins		WLT		+		Tot		Amt
1		Tim Harahan, Canoga Park, Calif.		11111		19-5-0		570		11681
#2		Larry Laub, San Francisco, Calif.		10939		16-8-0		480		11419
3		Mike Durbin, Chagrin Falls, Ohio		11016		12-11-1		375		11391
4		Teata Semiz, River Edge, N.J.		10905		14-10-0		420		11325
5		George Pappas, Charlotte, N.C.		10787		13-10-1		405		11192
*#6		Mike Lemongello, N. Babylon, N.Y.		10824		11-12-1		345		11169		$3,350
7		Johnny Petraglia, Brooklyn, N.Y.		10718		13-11-0		390		11108		3,000
8		Jim Godman, Lorain, Ohio		10762		11-12-1		345		11107		2,800
9		Bill Beach, Sharon, Pa.		10706		13-11-0		390		11096		2,600
10		Allie Clarke, Akron, Ohio		10688		13-11-0		390		11078		2,500
11		Bobby Meadows, Houston, Texas		10624		13-11-0		390		11014		2,400
12		Nelson Burton Jr., St. Louis, Mo.		10645		12-12-0		360		11005		2,300
13		Bobby Cooper, Houston, Texas		10682		10-14-0		300		10982		2,200
14		Don McCune, Munster, Ind.		10709		9-15-0		270		10979		2,100
15		Jack Biondolillo, Houston, Texas		10627		11-12-1		345		10972		2,000
16		Dick Weber, St. Louis, Mo.		10529		14-9-1		435		10964		1,900
17		Don Johnson, Akron, Ohio		10598		11-12-1		345		10943		1,800
18		Johnny Guenther, Seattle, Wash.		10518		11-13-0		330		10848		1,700
19		Carmen Salvino, Chicago, Ill.		10495		10-13-1		315		10810		1,650
20		Curt Schmidt, Ft. Wayne, Ind.		10497		10-14-0		300		10797		1,600
21		Les Schissler, Denver, Colo.		10489		10-14-0		300		10789		1,550
22		Les Zikes, Palatine, Ill.		10403		10-13-1		315		10718		1,500
23		Butch Gearhart, Houston, Texas		10338		11-12-1		345		10683		1,450
24		Larry Lichstein, Suffield, Conn.		10429		6-18-0		180		10609		1,400

Pos.		Name, City/State	Total	Amount
*25		Tye Critchlow, Los Angeles, Calif.	5198	$1,075
26		Gus Lampo, Endicott, N.Y.	5197	1,000
27		Jim Stefanich, Joliet, Ill.	5196	1,000
28		Don Helling, St. Louis, Mo.	5170	1,000
29		Barry Asher, Costa Mesa, Calif.	5165	1,000
30		Dave Soutar, Tarzana, Calif.	5154	1,000
31		Dick Ritger, Hartford, Wis.	5153	1,000
32		Bob Strampe, Detroit, Mich.	5131	1,000
33		Don Glover, South Bend, Ind.	5095	1,000
34		Wayne Zahn, Tempe, Ariz.	5081	1,000
#35		Terry Booth, Mountain View Calif.	5058	1,000
36		Bill Welu, Houston, Texas	5031	1,000
37		Bud Horn, Los Angeles, Calif.	5017	1,000
38		J. B. Blaylock, Alamogordo, N.M.	4963	1,000
39		Harry Smith, Rochester, N.Y.	4962	1,000
40		Mike McGrath, EI Cerrito, Calif.	4959	1,000
41		Bill Tucker, Detroit, Mich.	4949	1,000
42		Ed Bourdase, Fresno, Calif.	4940	1,000
43		Skee Foremsky, Houston, Texas	4931	1,000
44		Dick Battista, Astoria, N.Y.	4926	1,000
45		Roy Buckley, Columbus, Ohio	4896	1,000
46		Lou Scalia, Hollywood, Fla.	4891	1,000
47		Jim Chestney, Salt Lake City, Utah	4888	1,000
48		Earl Anthony, Tacoma, Wash.	4878	1,000
49		Tommy Tuttle, King, N.C.	4863	1,000
50		Ray Bluth, St. Louis, Mo.	4815	1,000
51		Dave Davis, Miami, Fla.	4734	1,000
52		Bill Hardwick, Louisville, Ky.	4732	1,000