Roy Buckley broke an eight-week winless drought for the top-seeded players when he nailed down his first PBA title in two years by topping Craig Mueller, 233-215, in the finals of the Firestone "721" Classic in Miami. Buckley claimed the top-seeded position by 352 pins and watched as Ron Lisher began the finals with a 260-214 victory over Butch Soper before being ousted by Dick Weber. Weber, going for his 27th PBA win, was then taken out of the picture by Craig Mueller, 214-199, going to his initial title. Mueller came up short, 233-215, in the final game, as the supposedly unemotional Buckley, nicknamed "the Sphinx" on the PBA Tour, ran out the game clinching 10th frame strike into the settee area, becoming the first topseeded player to win in 1979. TELEVISED FINALS | Pos. |  | Name, City/State | Total | Amount | | | 1 | | Roy Buckley, Columbus, Ohio | 233 (1 game) | $15,000 | | 2 | | Craig Mueller, Union, N.J. | 429 (2 games) | 8,000 | | 2 | | Dick Weber, St. Louis | 435 (2 games) | 6,000 | | 4 | | Ron Lisher, Santa Rosa, Calif. | 458 (2 games) | 5,000 | | 5 | | Butch Soper, Whittier, Calif. | 214 (1 game) | 4,000 | |
PLAYOFF RESULTS: Lisher defeated Soper, 260-214; Weber defeated Lisher, 236-198; Mueller defeated Weber, 214-199, and in the championship game, Buckley defeated Mueller, 233-215.
42-GAME TOTALS | | | Name, City | | Pins | | Avg | | WLT | | + | | Tot | | Amt | | | 1 | | Roy Buckley, Columbus, Ohio | | 9829 | | 234.0 | | 20-4-0 | | 600 | | 10429 | | | | 2 | | Craig Mueller, Union, N.J. | | 9627 | | 229.2 | | 15-9-0 | | 450 | | 10077 | | | | 3 | | Dick Weber, St. Louis | | 9594 | | 228.4 | | 15-8-1 | | 465 | | 10059 | | | | 4 | | Ron Lisher, Santa Rosa, Calif. | | 9701 | | 230.9 | | 11-13-0 | | 330 | | 10031 | | | | &5 | | Butch Soper, Whittier, Calif. | | 9491 | | 225.9 | | 15-8-1 | | 465 | | 9956 | | | | *6 | | Bill Walden, Troy, Mo. | | 9491 | | 225.9 | | 15-8-1 | | 465 | | 9956 | | $3,250 | | 7 | | Louie Moore, Indianapolis | | 9444 | | 224.8 | | 15-9-0 | | 450 | | 9894 | | 2,800 | | 8 | | Sam Flanagan, Parkersburg, W. Va. | | 9437 | | 224.6 | | 13-10-1 | | 405 | | 9842 | | 2,700 | | #9 | | Marshall Holman, Medford, Ore. | | 9472 | | 225.5 | | 11-13-0 | | 330 | | 9802 | | 2,600 | | 10 | | Norm Meyers, St. Louis | | 9346 | | 222.7 | | 14-10-0 | | 420 | | 9776 | | 2,500 | | 11 | | George Pappas, Charlotte, N.C. | | 9408 | | 224.0 | | 11-13-1 | | 345 | | 9753 | | 2,400 | | 12 | | Johnny Petraglia, Staten Island, N.Y. | | 9280 | | 220.9 | | 15-9-0 | | 450 | | 9730 | | 2,300 | | 13 | | Ed Ressler, Allentown, Pa. | | 9365 | | 222.9 | | 11-13-0 | | 330 | | 9695 | | 2,200 | | 14 | | Cliff McNealy, San Lorenzo, Calif. | | 9330 | | 223.5 | | 10-14-0 | | 300 | | 9690 | | 2,100 | | 15 | | Gary Dickinson, Ft. Worth | | 9290 | | 221.1 | | 11-12-1 | | 345 | | 9635 | | 2,000 | | #16 | | Guppy Troup, Columbia, S.C. | | 9323 | | 221.9 | | 10-14-0 | | 300 | | 9623 | | 1,900 | | 17 | | Frank Ellenburg, Mesa, Ariz. | | 9211 | | 219.2 | | 13-11-0 | | 390 | | 9601 | | 1,800 | | 18 | | Mal Acosta, Fremont, Calif. | | 9142 | | 217.6 | | 13-11-0 | | 390 | | 9532 | | 1,700 | | 19 | | Joe Nuzzo, Youngstown, Ohio | | 9173 | | 219.2 | | 10-13-1 | | 350 | | 9523 | | 1,600 | | 20 | | Les Zikes, Palatine, Ill. | | 9163 | | 218.1 | | 11-13-0 | | 330 | | 9493 | | 1,500 | | 21 | | Randy Lightfoot, St. Charles, Mo. | | 9101 | | 216.6 | | 7-17-0 | | 210 | | 9311 | | 1,400 | | 22 | | Jeff Mattingly, Tacoma, Wash. | | 8972 | | 213.6 | | 8-16-0 | | 240 | | 9212 | | 1,300 | | 23 | | Lamar Bramblett, Marietta, Ga. | | 8973 | | 213.6 | | 7-16-1 | | 225 | | 9198 | | 1,200 | | 24 | | Sal Bongiorno, Hollywood, Fla. | | 8834 | | 210.0 | | 3-21-0 | | 90 | | 8924 | | 1,100 | |
18-GAME TOTALS | Pos. | | Name, City/State | Amount | | | 25 | | Dave Davis, Hackensack, N.J. | $990 | | **26 | | Mark Roth, N. Arlington, N.J. | 1,055 | | 27 | | Don Johnson, Las Vegas, Nev. | 970 | | 28 | | Jay Robinson, Van Nuys, Cal. | 960 | | 29 | | Mike Orlovsky, Johnson City, N.Y. | 950 | | 30 | | Neil Button, St. Louis | 935 | | | | Roger Tramp, Phillipsburg, Kan. | 935 | | 32 | | Steve Neff, Sarasota, Fla. | 920 | | 33 | | Tom Nevitt, Jacksonville, Fla. | 910 | | 34 | | Dan Roche, Downey, Calif. | 900 | | 35 | | Art Trask, Miami, Fla. | 890 | | 36 | | Dave Frame, Baldwin Park, Calif. | 880 | | 37 | | Dave Soutar, Kansas City, Mo. | 870 | | 38 | | Jay Tartaglia, Port Chester, N.Y. | 860 | | 39 | | Mike Berlin, Muscatine, Iowa | 850 | | 40 | | Alvin Lou, EI Cajon, Calif. | 840 | | 41 | | Kenny Hall, Albany, N.Y. | 830 | | 42 | | Rich Carrubba, Las Vegas, Nev. | 820 | |
*- TV Alternate. ** - Match Play Alternate. 18-game qualifying leader - Lisher 4,267. 24th Place Petraglia, 4,009. # Guppy Troup and Marshall Holman rolled 300 games. PRO-AM CASHERS - Jim Godman, Neil Burton, Jay Tartaglia, Jim Maxey, David Ozio, Sam Flanagan, Pete McCordic, Roy Buckley, Alvin Lou, Joe Nuzzo, Jeff Mattingly, Joe Hutchinson, Tom Laskow, Jim Stefanich, Steve Cook and Paul Colwell. & Soper won one-game rolloff with Walden for fifth spot in televised finals.
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