Professional Bowlers Association

The Firestone Tournament of Champions has its first repeat champion.

Jim Godman, a strong-armed pro bowler from Lorain, Ohio, won the $125,000 tournament here, duplicating the triumph he first registered in 1969 and taking with him professional bowling's richest first prize, $25,000.

The victory was almost a virtual repeat in that Godman used the same style as he did in '69-a straight hard line to the pocket.

That style paid off from the very beginning of the tournament when he recorded a 266 in his very first game. Then he battled through 49 more games of competition until he defeated Barry Asher, Costa Mesa, Calif., 224-200, in the championship game.

Asher was one of three Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) champions in the exclusive 52-man field who nearly upset the victory-minded Godman.

Godman surrendered the tournament lead to Asher in the position round game when Asher fired a 290 game at Roy Buckley, Columbus, Ohio, and took over the number one seeded spot in the nationally televised finals.

Dave Davis, Don McCune and Dick Weber also held the lead briefly, but Godman never let himself drop lower than fourth in the game-by-game standings and he had it when the chips were down.

Larry Laub, a third-place finisher in the 1972 Firestone, also made it to the finals by coming up with a 216-205 victory over Paul Colwell, Tucson, Ariz., in that position-round game the night before.

Riviera Lanes was packed for the finals, just as it had been all week, and the crowd had picked Weber, pro bowling's all-time leading money winner, as its favorite.

And for a time it looked as though he might turn the trick.

He waited one game while McCune disposed of Laub, 232-217, then Weber strung four strikes in the middle of the game and added three more at the end to oust McCune, 235-218.

But Godman was not to be denied. He had been waiting nervously on the sidelines, watching his potential opponents on a television monitor and he decided then, just as he did four years earlier, to go with the same hard-line ball.

It worked. He knocked Weber out, 227-192, with strikes from the fourth through the seventh frames, and Weber's four closing strikes couldn't offset splits in the fourth and eighth frames.

In the championship game, Asher just couldn't find a line while Godman put together a three-bagger in the middle of the game. A double in the ninth frame clinched the big victory for Godman, the ninth of his professional career. His wife, Joyce, was on hand to receive the check from A. E. "Scotty" Brubaker, Firestone vice president.

Asher received $14,000 for second, Weber $8,000 for third, McCune $6,000 for fourth and Laub $4,000 for fifth. McCune, thus retains his money lead with official earnings of $39,960.

TELEVISED FINALS

PLAYOFF RESULTS-McCune defeated Laub, 232-217; Weber defeated McCune, 235-218; Godman defeated Weber, 227-192; and in the championship game Godman defeated Asher, 224-200.

48-GAME TOTALS

		Name, City/State		Pins		WLT		+		Tot		Amt
1		Barry Asher, Costa Mesa, Calif.		10141		15-9-0		450		10591
2		Jim Godman, Lorain, Ohio		10139		14-10-0		420		10559
3		Dick Weber, St. Louis, Mo.		10164		12-12-0		360		10524
4		Don McCune, Munster, Ind.		10078		13-11-0		390		10468
5		Larry Laub, San Francisco, Calif.		10050		13-10-1		405		10455
*6		Dave Davis, Miami, Fla.		10046		13-11-0		390		10436		$3,350
7		Roy Buckley, Columbus, Ohio		9938		16-8-0		480		10418		3,000
8		Paul Colwell, Tucson, Ariz.		9890		16-8-0		480		10370		2,800
9		Johnny Petraglia, Brooklyn, N.Y.		9937		12-12-0		360		10297		2,600
10		Dick Ritger, Hartford, Wis.		9821		14-10-0		420		10241		2,500
11		Skee Foremsky, Houston, Texas		9897		11-13-0		330		10227		2,400
12		Johnny Guenther, Seattle, Wash.		9803		12-11-1		375		10178		2,300
13		Wayne Zahn, Tempe, Ariz.		9812		12-12-0		360		10172		2,200
14		Bob Strampe, Detroit, Mich.		9710		15-9-0		450		10160		2,100
15		Don Helling, St. Louis, Mo.		9798		12-12-0		360		10158		2,000
16		Carmen Salvino, Chicago, Ill.		9850		10-14-0		300		10150		1,900
17		Mike McGrath, EI Cerrito, Calif.		9869		9-15-0		270		10139		1,800
18		Mike Lemongello, Islip, N.Y.		9821		10-14-0		300		10121		1,700
19		George Pappas, Charlotte, N.C.		9784		11-13-0		330		10114		1,650
20		Gus Lampo, Endicott, N.Y.		9804		10-14-0		300		10104		1,600
21		Don Johnson, Akron, Ohio		9694		12-12-0		360		10054		1,550
22		Gary Dickinson, Ft. Worth, Texas		9765		9-14-1		285		10050		1,500
23		Tommy Tuttle, King, N.C.		9612		7-16-1		225		9837		1,450
24		Dave Soutar, Gilroy, Calif.		9502		8-16-0		240		9742		1,400

Pos.		Name, City/State	Total	Amount
*25		Mike Durbin, Chagrin Fall, Ohio	4832	$1,075
26		Billy Hardwick, Louisville, Ky.	4830	1,000
27		Larry Lichstein, Suffield, Conn.	4825	1,000
28		Bobby Cooper, Houston, Texas	4811	1,000
29		Bill Beach, Sharon, Pa.	4806	1,000
		Butch Gearhart, Houston, Texas	4806	1,000
31		Jim St. John, Sacramento, Calif.	4803	1,000
32		Jim Stefanich, Joliet, Ill.	4792	1,000
33		Nelson Burton Jr., St. Louis, Mo.	4789	1,000
34		Bobby Knipple, Long Beach, Calif.	4786	1,000
35		Les Schissler, Denver, Colo.	4777	1,000
36		Ray Robinson, Los Angeles, Calif.	4756	1,000
37		Earl Anthony, Tacoma, Wash.	4754	1,000
38		Les Zikes, Palatine, Ill.	4741	1,000
39		Curt Schmidt, Ft. Wayne, Ind.	4738	1,000
40		Harry O'Neale, Charleston, S.C.	737	1,000
41		Norm Meyers, St. Louis, Mo.	4699	1,000
42		Bob Collates, Miami, Fla.	4680	1,000
43		Lou Scalia, Hollywood, Calif.	4676	1,000
44		Matt Surina, Longview, Wash.	4674	1,000
		Terry Booth, Mountain View, Calif.	4674	1,000
46		Teata Semiz, River Edge, N.J.	4664	1,000
47		Don Glover, South Bend, Ind.	4653	1,000
48		Bill Tucker, Detroit, Mich.	4643	1,000
49		Gary Mage, Seattle, Wash.	4640	1,000
50		Dick Battista, Astoria, N.Y.	4636	1,000
51		Allie Clarke, Akron, Ohio	4621	1,000
52		Tim Harahan, Canoga Park, Calif.	4507	1,000