Professional Bowlers Association

Earl Anthony, professional bowling's all-time top title-holder and money-winner, joined select company when he won his second Firestone Tournament of Champions at Akron's Riviera Lanes.

By capturing the $30,000 title in the rich $150,000 event, Anthony became just the third two-time Firestone winner, joining past champions Jim Godman (I969 and 1973) and Dave Davis (1968 and 1975). Earl's other Firestone title came in 1974.

The victory, his 30th in PBA competition, helped the Tacoma, Wash., southpaw raise his career earnings to better than $600,000.

Anthony never dropped below third place during the six rounds of competition, qualifying second for match play behind Nelson Burton Jr., St. Louis.

Anthony immediately surged into the lead and never let up for the 24 games of match play. He increased his lead from 90 pins to 197 sticks to 232 at the end of the 48-game test to determine the five TV finalists.

As the No. 1 seed, Anthony waited in the wings until just one challenger emerged from a group of four.

Fourth-seeded Mark Roth, bidding to become the first person to win $100,000 in the Winter Tour, defeated No. 5 Wayne Zahn, 228-205, in the opening TV match, but Roth was no match for roommate Teata Semiz, who emerged with a 247-210 victory.

Next for Semiz was second-seeded Burton. In a closely fought battle, Semiz captured the victory, but he had to convert the 3-10 split in the 10th frame for his 193-190 verdict.

Seemingly drained from that emotional contest, Semiz was little competition for Anthony who began the championship game with a double and added another pair in the fourth and fifth frames. When Semiz opened in the eighth frame, Anthony was home free and wound up with a 237-192 victory.

"I figured that if I could get out of the gate well and put some pressure on Teata, I'd have an advantage because the lanes were tougher on the right side," Anthony said later.

"I had an advantage in the lane conditions today, and I'm grateful."

Semiz earned his biggest paycheck of his career by taking home the $17,000 second prize. Burton earned $10,000, Roth, $7,500 and Zahn, $5,000.

TELEVISED FINALS

PLAYOFF RESULTS: Roth defeated Zahn, 228-205; Semiz defeated Roth, 247-210; Semiz defeated Burton, 193-190; Anthony defeated Semiz, 237-192.

48-GAME TOTALS

		Name, City		Pins		Avg		WLT		+		Tot		Amt
1		Earl Anthony, Tacoma, Wash.		10570		220.2		13-11-0		390		10960
2		Nelson Burton, St. Louis, Mo.		10398		216.6		11-13-0		330		10728
3		Teata Semiz, River Edge, N.J.		10124		210.9		16-7-1		495		10619
4		Mark Roth, Staten Island, N.Y.		10215		212.8		13-11-0		390		10605
5		Wayne Zahn, Tempe, Ariz.		10139		211.2		15-9-0		450		10589
6		Tommy Hudson, Akron, Ohio		10190		212.2		13-11-0		390		10580		$4,000
7		Steve Westberg, Cot. Grove, Ore.		10096		210.3		15-9-0		450		10546		3,500
8		Palmer Fallgren, Sacramento, Calif.		10041		209.1		15-9-0		450		10491		3,200
9		Dave Davis, Hackensack, N.J.		10048		209.3		13-10-1		405		10453		3,000
10		Curt Schmidt, Ft. Wayne, Ind.		10069		209.7		12-12-0		360		10429		2,900
11		Bill Spigner, Hamden, Conn.		10042		209.2		12-11-1		375		10417		2,800
12		Gary Dickinson, Ft. Worth, Tex.		10019		208.7		11-11-2		360		10379		2,700
13		Dave Frame, Baldwin Park, Calif.		9981		207.9		13-11-0		390		10371		2,600
14		Jim Godman, Waukegan, Ill.		10011		208.5		11-13-0		330		10341		2,500
15		George Pappas, Charlotte, N.C.		10049		209.3		9-15-0		270		10319		2,400
16		Bill Straub, Lincoln, Neb.		9924		206.7		13-11-0		390		10314		2,300
+17		Matt Surina, Longview, Wash.		9871		205.6		14-10-0		420		10267		1,775
18		Butch Soper, Santa Ana, Calif.		9861		205.4		9-14-1		285		10146		2,100
19		Mike Berlin, Muscatine, Iowa		9798		204.1		11-13-0		330		10128		2,000
20		Louie Moore, Indianapolis, Ind.		9788		203.9		10-13-1		315		10103		1,900
21		Marshall Holman, Medford, Ore.		9770		203.5		10-13-1		315		10085		1,800
22		Dennis Lane, Kingsport, Tenn.		9764		203.4		9-15-0		270		10034		1,700
23		Johnny Guenther, Seattle, Wash.		9691		201.8		8-16-0		240		9931		1,600
24		Jay Robinson, Van Nuys, Calif.		9615		200.3		8-16-0		240		9855		1,500

Pos.		Name, City/State	Amount
+25		Larry Laub, San Francisco, Calif.	$1,775
26		Bill Coleman, Campbell, Calif.	1,350
*27		Dick Ritger, River Falls, Wis.	1,425
28		Dave Soutar, Kansas City	1,350
29		Paul Moser, Medford, Mass.	1,300
30		Don Johnson, Las Vegas, Nev.	1,300
31		Steve Jones, Independence, Mo.	1,300
32		Roy Buckley, Columbus, Ohio	1,300
33		Pete Couture, Windsor Lakes Conn.	1,250
34		Carmen Salvino, Chicago, Ill.	1,250
35		Dick Weber, St. Louis, Mo.	1,250
36		Steve Neff, Sarasota, Fla.	1,250
37		Mike Durbin, Chagrin Falls, Ohio	1,200
38		Don Helling, St. Charles, Mo.	1,200
39		Bill Beach, Sharon, Pa.	1,200
40		Fred Jaskie, Greendale, Wis.	1,200
41		Tom Wright, Millbrae, Calif.	1,150
42		Don McCune, Munster, Ind.	1,150
43		Johnny Petraglia, Staten Island, N.Y.	1,150
44		Ed Ressler Jr., Allentown, Pa.	1,150
45		Paul Colwell, Tucson, Ariz.	1,100
46		Randy Lightfoot, St. Charles	1,100
47		John Denton, Midland, Texas	1,075
48		Jim Frazier, Spokane, Wash.	1,050
49		John Wilcox, Shavertown, Pa.	1,050
50		Tim Harahan, Hawthorne, Calif.	1,000
51		Dale Glenn, Northridge, Calif.	1,000
52		Jim Stefanich, Joliet, Ill.	1,000