PBA Doubles Classic



$70,000 PBA DOUBLES CLASSIC
Saratoga Lanes, San Jose, Calif., Jul 7-11, 1976
Paul & Don Team Up

Don Johnson and Paul Colwell teamed up to defeat Eddie Ressler and Steve Neff, 447-414, for the title in the $70,000 PBA Doubles Classic.

In winning, the talented tandem swept through three opponents to gain equal $5,000 shares of the $10,000 first prize.

And for Johnson, it was the 25th crown of his PBA career. For Colwell, it was his eighth PBA crown, and second in three weeks.

The win also kept alive a streak of 11 straight years in which Johnson has won at least one national title.

During the 36 games prior to the four-team finals, Johnson averaged five pins a game more than Colwell. But in the televised finals, it was Colwell who had the hot hand, shooting 235-239-239. Johnson also bowled well but had problems carrying, especially the corner pins.

Their victory against Ressler and Neff, who had led the qualifier by 552 pins, seemed to be cinched early as they jumped to a 62-pin lead after six frames. When Neff and Ressler finally got lined up they closed the gap, but too late and not enough.

TELEVISED FINALS

Pos.Name, City/StateTotalAmount
1Paul Colwell
Don Johnson		1338 (3 games)$10,000
2Ed Ressler
Steve Neff		414 (1 game)6,400
3Ed DiTolla
Craig Mueller		414 (1 game)5,000
4Tom Wright
Mike Matosich		393 (1 game)4,000

PLAYOFF RESULTS-Colwell (235) and Johnson (226) defeated Wright (198) and Matosich (195), 461-393; Colwell (239) and Johnson (191) defeated DiTolla (182) and Mueller (232), 430-414, and in the championship game, Colwell (239) and Johnson (208) defeated Ressler (211) and Neff (203), 447-414.

36-GAME TOTALS

 Name, City/StatePins  WLT+TotAmt
1Ed Ressler (7872)
Steve Neff (8198)		 16070 14-4-0 840 16910 
2Ed DiTolla (7833)
Craig Mueller (7805)		 15638 12-6-0 720 16358 
3Paul Colwell (7677)
Don Johnson (7867)		 15544 11-7-0 660 16204 
4Tom Wright (7711)
Mike Matosich (7511)		 15222 12-6-0 720 15942 
*5Bill Spigner (7512)
Dennis Lane (7695)		 15207 11-7-0 660 15867 $3,700
6Matt Surina (7323)
Bill Straub (7959)		 15282 9-9-0 540 15822 3,300
7Jay Robinson (7925)
Dale Glenn (7402)		 15327 8-10-0 480 15807 3,000
8Les Zikes (7637)
Bill Beach (7620)		 15257 9-9-0 540 15792 2,800
9Norm Meyers (7555)
Dan Roche (7566)		 15121 9-8-1 570 15691 2,600
10George Pappas (7727)
Gary Dickinson (7480)		 15207 8-10-0 480 15687 2,400
11Les Schissler (7511)
Mike Durbin (7637)		 15148 8-10-0 480 15628 2,200
12Mark Roth (7424)
Joe Berardi (7692)		 15116 8-10-0 480 15596 2,000
13Dave Soutar (7383)
Wayne Zahn (7635)		 15018 9-9-0 540 15558 1,800
14Larry Gray (7463)
Randy Neal (7373)		 14836 6-11-1 390 15226 1,600
15Greg Baderdeen (7310)
Dave Frame (7502)		 14812 4-14-0 240 15052 1,400
16Jim Jones (7298)
Kevin Gannon (7352)		 14650 5-13-0 300 14950 1,200

18-GAME TOTALS

Pos.Name, City/StateTotalAmount
*17Tommy Hudson, Akron, Ohio3898$575
 John Wilcox, MontoursvillePa3694575
18Dennis Murphy, Great Falls, Mont.3697450
 Bob Aleksinski, Great Falls, Mont.3991450
19Rick Minier, Akron, Ohio3769400
 Dave Jones, Charleston, S.C.3804400
20Jimmy Certain, Huntsville, Ala.3943350
 Bobby Jacks, New Orleans, La.3618350
21Palmer Fallgren, Sacramento, Calif.3631300
 Larry Laub, San Francisco, Calif.3911300

*Alternates. 18-game qualifying leaders (team) Ressler-Neff, 7923. 18-game qualifying leader (individual)Straub, 4134, 16th place (team) Gray-Neal, 7595. 16th place (individual) Surina, 3593. PRO-AM CASHERS-$50 each-Butch Soper, Wayne Zahn, Fred Conner, Bill Straub, Cliff McNealy, Sal Bongiorno.