Butch Gearhart joined a select group of professional bowlers when he won the $50,000 Brut Open at Skylark Bowl in St. Louis. He topped all four opponents in a televised step-ladder elimination format to win the championship, topping number one seeded Skee Foremsky, another Houstonian, 245-181, in the title game. The 245 was icing on the cake for Gearhart, who totalled 954 pins for his four games, an average of 238, to capture the first prize of $5,000. The victory was the fifth of his career and represented a personal triumph for him, also, as he was just recovering from a back injury suffered in an auto accident early in the summer. TELEVISED FINALS | Pos. |  | Name, City/State | Total | Amount | | | 1 | | Butch Gearhart, Houston, Texas | 954 (4 games) | $5,000 | | 2 | | Skee Foremsky, Houston, Texas | 181 (1 game) | 2,800 | | 3 | | Don Helling, St. Louis, Mo. | 212 (1 game) | 2,200 | | 4 | | Earl Anthony, Tacoma, Wash. | 174 (1 game) | 1,800 | | 5 | | Johnny Petraglia, Brooklyn, N.Y. | 246 (1 game) | 1,600 | |
PLAYOFF RESULTS -Gearhart defeated Petraglia, 259-246; Gearhart defeated Anthony, 236-174; Gearhart defeated Helling, 214-212, and in the championship game Gearhart defeated Foremsky, 245-181.
42-GAME TOTALS | | | Name, City/State | | Pins | | WLT | | + | | Tot | | Amt | | | 1 | | Skee Foremsky, Houston, Texas | | 9370 | | 13-11-0 | | 390 | | 9760 | | | | 2 | | Don Helling, St. Louis, Mo. | | 9312 | | 14-10-0 | | 420 | | 9732 | | | | 3 | | Earl Anthony, Tacoma, Wash. | | 9216 | | 16-8-0 | | 480 | | 9696 | | | | 4 | | Butch Gearhart, Houston, Texas | | 9143 | | 18-6-0 | | 540 | | 9683 | | | | 5 | | Johnny Petraglia, Brooklyn, N.Y. | | 9225 | | 11-13-0 | | 330 | | 9555 | | | | *6 | | Paul Colwell, Tucson, Ariz. | | 9042 | | 15-9-0 | | 450 | | 9492 | | $1,500 | | 7 | | Mark Roth, Brooklyn, N.Y. | | 9054 | | 14-10-0 | | 420 | | 9474 | | 1,400 | | 8 | | Don Russell, San Diego, Calif. | | 9019 | | 14-9-1 | | 435 | | 9454 | | 1,300 | | 9 | | Jim Godman, Lorain, Ohio | | 9071 | | 12-12-0 | | 360 | | 9431 | | 1,200 | | 10 | | Steve Neff, Sarasota, Fla. | | 8989 | | 14-10-0 | | 420 | | 9409 | | 1,150 | | 11 | | Don Glover, Del Ray Beach, Fla. | | 8936 | | 14-9-1 | | 435 | | 9371 | | 1,100 | | 12 | | Mike McGrath, St. Louis, Mo. | | 9036 | | 11-13-0 | | 330 | | 9366 | | 1,050 | | 13 | | Bobby Cooper, Mexico City, Mexico | | 9038 | | 10-13-1 | | 315 | | 9353 | | 1,000 | | 14 | | Dick Ritger, Hartford, Wis. | | 8828 | | 12-11-1 | | 375 | | 9203 | | 950 | | 15 | | Gary Patterson, St. Louis, Mo. | | 8868 | | 11-13-0 | | 330 | | 9198 | | 900 | | 16 | | Louie Moore, Columbus, Ohio | | 8851 | | 11-13-0 | | 330 | | 9181 | | 850 | | 17 | | Don Johnson, Akron, Ohio | | 8977 | | 6-17-1 | | 195 | | 9172 | | 800 | | 16 | | Louie Moore, Columbus, Ohio | | 8851 | | 11-13-0 | | 330 | | 9181 | | 850 | | 17 | | Don Johnson, Akron, Ohio | | 8977 | | 6-17-1 | | 195 | | 9172 | | 800 | | 18 | | Ernie Schlegel, New York, N.Y. | | 8862 | | 10-14-0 | | 300 | | 9162 | | 750 | | 19 | | Alex Seymore, Kannapolis, N.C. | | 8828 | | 10-14-0 | | 300 | | 9128 | | 725 | | 20 | | Carmen Salvino, Chicago, Ill. | | 8759 | | 11-12-1 | | 345 | | 9104 | | 700 | | 21 | | Teata Semiz, River Edge, N.J. | | 8803 | | 10-14-0 | | 300 | | 9103 | | 675 | | 22 | | Ted Malicki Cleveland, Ohio | | 8809 | | 8-16-0 | | 240 | | 9049 | | 650 | | 23 | | Bob Perry, Ft. Wayne, Ind. | | 8675 | | 12-12-0 | | 360 | | 9035 | | 625 | | 24 | | Tim Harahan, Canoga Park, Calif. | | 8726 | | 8-16-0 | | 240 | | 8966 | | 600 | |
18-GAME TOTALS | Pos. | | Name, City/State | Total | Amount | | | *25 | | Joe Berardi, New York, N.Y. | 3808 | $565 | | 26 | | Les Zikes, Palatine, Ill. | 3805 | 475 | | 27 | | Mike Durbin, Chagrin Falls, Ohio | 3802 | 460 | | 28 | | Don McCune, Munster, Ind. | 3797 | 450 | | 29 | | Bob Strampe, Detroit, Mich. | 3796 | 435 | | | | George Fejes, Akron, Ohio | 3796 | 435 | | 31 | | Bill Tucker, Detroit, Mich. | 3792 | 420 | | 32 | | Ralph Hartmann, New Hyde Park, N.Y. | 3787 | 410 | | 33 | | Vic Pettit, Tampa, Fla. | 3780 | 400 | | 34 | | Paul Aarestad, Minneapolis, Minn. | 3776 | 390 | | 35 | | Gary Dickinson, Ft. Worth, Texas | 3771 | 380 | | 36 | | Arnold Goldman, Southfield, Mich. | 3767 | 365 | | | | Dale Glenn, Los Angeles, Calif. | 3767 | 365 | | 38 | | Gil Sliker, Washington, N.J. | 3766 | 350 | | 39 | | Nelson Burton Jr., St. Louis, Mo. | 3764 | 345 | | 40 | | Curt Schmidt, Ft. Wayne, Ind. | 3758 | 337.50 | | | | Allie Clarke, Akron, Ohio | 3758 | 337.50 | | 42 | | Dick Thompson, Youngstown, Ohio | 3755 | 330 | | 43 | | Roy Buckley, Columbus, Ohio | 353 | 322.50 | | | | Mike Lemongello, St. Paul, Minn. | 3753 | 322.50 | | 45 | | Mike Somers, East Meadow, N.Y. | 3751 | 307.50 | | | | Dave Soutar, Kansas City, Mo. | 3751 | 307.50 | | 47 | | Sandy Finkelstein, Cortland, N.Y. | 374 | 305 | | 48 | | Fred Jaskie, Milwaukee, Wis. | 3741 | 300 | | 49 | | Tom Hudson, Akron, Ohio | 3735 | 300 | | 50 | | Jay Robinson, Los Angeles, Calif. | 3732 | 300 | | 51 | | Ron Lisher, San Francisco, Calif. | 3730 | 300 | | 52 | | Tom Franklin, Gahanna, Ohio | 3725 | 300 | | 53 | | Norm Friedmeyer, St. Louis, Mo. | 3722 | 300 | |
*Alternate. 18-game qualifying leader-Don Johnson 4137. 24th low-Bob Perry 3815. PRO-AM CASHERS-$50 each-Don Johnson, Johnny Petraglia, Carmen Salvino, Larry Laub, Skee Foremsky, Steve Neff.
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