Professional Bowlers Association

Usually calm and collected Earl Anthony finally broke down when it was all over . . . a shaken and happy winner of professional bowling's richest tournament . . . the $125,000 Firestone Tournament of Champions.

He had just defeated top-seeded Johnny Petraglia, Brooklyn, N.Y., 216-213, in the championship game, and he told newsmen, "I was real loose out there on the lanes, but now it has hit me and I just can't believe it."

It was a scratching, clawing victory for the 36-year-old Tacoman, who since 1970 has established himself as one of the finest professional bowlers in the world.

His victory came after a week of spectacular competition at Riviera Lanes among 52 champions. For a time, it looked like it would be either Dick Ritger or Petraglia, both of whom bowl well at Riviera, who would lay claim to the title.

Ritger jumped out to a quick early lead after the first day, but then it was Petraglia, who won the Firestone in 1971, who took over the lead and raced away to a 92-pin lead after 24 games of qualifying.

Larry Laub in the televised finals of the Tournament of Champions for the third straight year, but once again he was not to win the title. He ran into a red-hot Curt Schmidt in the first game and the diminutive Hoosier rang up a 259-244 win when Laub left an 8-10 split in the sixth frame.

Then it was Anthony's turn. He netted seven game-ending strikes to oust Schmidt, 248-200, and set up another thriller, this one with Roy Buckley. They were never more than four pins apart and Anthony's double in the ninth frame won it for him, 215-213.

The championship game was another cliff-hanger. Petraglia opened with a double, then left a 4-6 split and fell behind by 12 pins in the seventh frame. A double in the closing frames gave him his 213 total, but Anthony's three strikes from the sixth through the eighth frames resulted in a 216 and the title.

TELEVISED FINALS

PLAYOFF RESULTS-Schmidt defeated Laub, 259-244; Anthony defeated Schmidt, 248-200; Anthony defeated Buckley, 215-213, and in the championship game Anthony defeated Petraglia, 216-213.

48-GAME TOTALS

		Name, City/State		Pins		WLT		+		Tot		Amt
1		Johnny Petraglia, Brooklyn, N.Y.		10646		13-10-1		405		11051
2		Roy Buckley, Columbus, Ohio		10235		17-6-1		525		10760
3		Earl Anthony, Tacoma, Wash.		10172		15-9-0		450		10622
4		Curt Schmidt, Ft. Wayne, Ind.		10208		12-11-1		375		10583
5		Larry Laub, Santa Rosa, Calif.		10045		17-7-0		510		10555
*6		Dave Davis, Atlanta, Ga.		10417		13-10-1		405		10552		$3,350
7		Paul Colwell, Tucson, Ariz.		10035		15-9-0		450		10485		3,000
8		Larry Lichstein, Suffield, Conn.		10090		12-12-0		360		10450		2,800
9		Don Glover, Delray Beach, Fla.		9952		15-8-1		465		10417		2,600
10		Norm Meyers, St. Louis, Mo.		10048		12-12-0		360		10408		2,500
11		Marty Piraino, Syracuse, N.Y.		10016		12-11-1		375		10391		2,400
12		Dick Ritger, Hartford, Wis.		10100		9-14-1		285		10385		2,300
13		Skee Foremsky, Houston, Texas		10029		11-12-1		345		10374		2,200
14		George Pappas, Charlotte, N.C.		10031		11-13-0		330		10361		2,100
15		Alex Seymore, Kannapolis, N.C.		10041		10-13-1		315		10356		2,000
16		Mike Limongello, St. Paul, Minn.		9904		14-10-0		420		10324		1,900
17		Dick Battista, Astoria, N.Y.		9957		11-11-2		360		10317		1,800
18		Bill Allen, Orlando, Fla.		9895		10-14-0		300		10195		1,700
19		Les Schissler, Denver, Colo.		9832		10-13-1		315		10147		1,650
20		Johnny Guenther, Seattle, Wash.		9802		10-13-1		315		10117		1,600
21		Don Helling, St. Louis, Mo.		9862		8-16-0		240		10102		1,550
22		Bob McGregor, Dallas, Texas		9802		8-15-1		255		10057		1,500
23		Matt Surina, Longview, Wash.		9749		5-17-2		180		9929		1,450
#24		Dave Soutar, Kansas City, Mo. (includes 27-pin penalty)		9544		10-14-0		300		9817		1,200

Pos.		Name, City/State	Total	Amount
25		Tim Harahan, Canoga Park, Calif.	4819	$1,200
*26		Gary Dickinson, Ft. Worth, Texas	4809	1,075
27		Les Zikes, Palatine, Ill.	4791	1,000
28		Dick Weber, St. Louis, Mo.	4778	1,000
29		Jay Robinson, Los Angeles, Calif.	4771	1,000
30		Lou Scalia, Hollywood, Fla.	4766	1,000
31		Barry Asher, Costa Mesa, Calif.	4736	1,000
		Don Johnson, Akron, Ohio	4736	1,000
33		Nelson Burton Jr., St. Louis, Mo.	4726	1,000
34		Jim Stefanich, Joliet, Ill.	4723	1,000
35		Billy Hardwick, Louisville, Ky.	4719	1,000
36		Mike Durbin, Chagrin Falls, Ohio	4696	1,000
37		Tommy Tuttle, King, N.C.	4657	1,000
38		Bobby Knipple, Long Beach, Cal.	4652	1,000
39		Jim Godman, Lorain, Ohio	4641	1,000
40		Teata Semiz, River Edge, N.J.	4635	1,000
41		Bob Perry, Paterson, N.J.	4622	1,000
42		Wayne Zahn, Tempe, Ariz.	4616	1,000
43		Bobby Cooper, Dallas, Texas	4599	1,000
44		Bill Tucker, Detroit, Mich.	4583	1,000
45		Bob Strampe, Detroit, Mich.	4567	1,000
46		Gus Lampo, Endicott, N.Y.	4560	1,000
47		Ed Ressler, Allentown, Pa.	4530	1,000
48		Don McCune, Munster, Ind.	4526	1,000
49		Allie Clarke, Akron, Ohio	4513	1,000
50		Carmen Salvino, Chicago, Ill.	4509	1,000
51		Bill Beach, Sharon, Pa.	4494	1,000
52		Mike McGrath, Lake St. Louis, Mo.	4474	1,000