Professional Bowlers Association

Johnny Petraglia decided not to waste an opportunity to control his own destiny and fired four tension packed strikes to defeat Gary Dickinson, 235-223, for the PBA National Championship to reach yet another milestone in his remarkable pro career.

The winner of the Firestone Tournament of Champions in 1971 and the BPAA U.S. Open in 1977, Petraglia claimed the mythical Triple Crown of pro bowling with the victory, the only player other than Billy Hardwick to achieve such.

The Nationals, shifted to the Winter Tour for the first time in its 21-year history, was led in the early going by 1961 champion Carmen Salvino who set a 16-game national tour record when he totaled 4,015--a 251 average--through the first two rounds.

When Salvino slipped out of the lead in match play, Petraglia was there to take over, averaging 231 over 56 games while Jay Robinson, John Denton, Sam Zurich and Dickinson occupied positions two through five.

Petraglia waited to bowl the championship match aware that more than one of his most sought after performance goals was on the line. The 33-year-old lefthander wanted to win title No. 14, wanted to win a tournament in the 1980s and most of all wanted to complete the circuit of major championships.

It all came down to 10 frames of action that dramatized all the skill, talent and experience that put the top-seeded Staten Island, N.Y., pro in position to once again nail down one of the most prestigious titles the sport offers.

Dickinson, looking for his second title of the year, slipped past Zurich in the first match, 186-185, and then handled fellow-Texan Denton, 220-216. Denton had set a PBA record of his own during the event, rolling 56 straight games of better than 200 after opening the tournament with a score of 191.

Dickinson proceeded to trounce Robinson, 242-214 in the semi-final match. After opening in the first frame of the title game the lanky right-hander gave chase right to the end when the gritty Petraglia closed him out with four finishing strikes.

The victory was worth $15,000 to Petraglia at Sunnybrook Lanes in Sterling Heights, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, where the Motor City throngs turned out in overflow numbers to watch, cheer and appreciate the greatest bowlers in the world.

TELEVISED FINALS

PLAYOFF RESULTS--Dickinson defeated Zurich, 186-185; Dickinson defeated Denton, 220-216; Dickinson defeated Robinson, 242-214, and in the championship game, Petraglia defeated Dickinson, 235-223.

56-GAME TOTALS

		Name, City		Pins		Avg		WLT		+		Tot		Amt
1		Johnny Petraglia, Staten Island, N.Y.		12954		231.3		16-7-1		495		13449
2		Jay Robinson, Van Nuys, Calif.		12893		230.2		16-7-1		495		13388
3		John Denton, Midland, Tex.		12806		228.6		19-5-0		570		13376
#4		Sam Zurich, Centerport, N.Y.		12910		230.5		14-10-0		420		13330
5		Gary Dickinson, Ft. Worth, Tex.		12801		228.5		15-9-0		450		13251
**6		Tom Baker, Buffalo, N.Y.		12793		228.4		15-9-0		450		13243		$3,450
#7		Mike Aulby, Indianapolis, Ind.		12741		227.5		13-11-0		390		13131		3,000
#8		Dale Glenn, Alta Loma, Calif.		12627		225.4		14-10-0		420		13047		2,600
9		Nelson Burton Jr., St. Louis, Mo.		12595		224.9		15-9-0		450		13045		2,400
#10		Mal Acosta, Fremont, Calif.		12656		226.0		12-12-0		360		13016		2,200
#11		Charlie Tapp, So. St. Paul, Minn.		12630		225.5		12-12-0		360		12990		2,100
12		Teata Semiz, River Edge, N.J.		12515		223.4		13-11-0		390		12905		2,000
13		Les Shirwindt, Long Beach, N.Y.		12512		223.4		13-11-0		390		12902		1,900
14		Denny Campbell, Alsip, Ill.		12434		222.0		14-10-0		420		12854		1,800
15		Dave Frame, Baldwin Park, Calif.		12542		223.9		9-14-1		285		12827		1,700
16		Carmen Salvino, Chicago, Ill.		12577		224.5		7-16-1		225		12802		1,600
17		Earl Anthony, Dublin, Calif.		12510		223.3		9-14-1		285		12795		1,500
18		Paul Moser, Somerset, Mass.		12456		222.4		10-14-0		300		12756		1,400
19		Tom Laskow, Commack, N.Y.		12381		221.0		11-12-1		345		12726		1,300
20		Bill Coleman, Springfield, Ore.		12298		219.6		12-12-0		360		12658		1,200
21		Frank Ellenburg, Mesa, Ariz.		12342		220.3		9-15-0		270		12612		1,150
22		Hugh Miller, Mercer Island, Wash.		12117		216.3		8-16-0		240		12357		1,100
#23		Art Trask, Miami, Fla.		12165		217.2		6-18-0		180		12345		1,050
24		Jim Lipsitz, St. Louis, Mo.		12176		217.4		3-21-0		90		12266		1,000

Pos.		Name, City/State	Amount
*25		Ralph Hartmann, New Hyde Park, N. Y.	$990
26		Jim Plessinger, State College, Pa.	875
27		Dick Weber, St. Louis, Mo.	840
28		John Weltzien, Huntley, Ill.	820
29		Ron Lisher, Santa Rosa, Calif.	810
30		Guppy Troup, Jacksonville, Fla.	800
31		Tom Nevitt, Jacksonville, Fla.	780
		George Pappas, Charlotte, N.C.	780
		Dave Soutar, Kansas City, Mo.	780
34		Kent Wagner, Allentown, Pa.	760
35		Butch Soper, Whittier, Calif.	750
36		Bus Oswalt, Muncie, Ind.	740
37		John Voso Jr., Euclid, Ohio	730
38		Louie Moore, Columbus, Ohio	720
39		Gil Sliker, Washington, N.J.	710
40		Joe Hutchinson, Scranton, Pa.	700
41		Joe Berardi, Pearl River, N.Y	690
42		Bob Strampe, Warren, Mich.	680
43		Joe Staton, Anaheim, Calif.	670
44		Matt Surina, Longview, Wash.	660
45		Cliff McNealy, San Lorenzo, Calif.	645
		Ron Young, Youngstown, Ohio	645
47		Dave Beckmann, Bellevue, Wash.	630
48		David Jones, South Boston, Va.	620
49		Ray Shackelford, Hartwood, Pa.	610
50		Jeffrey Bellinger, Columbia, S.C.	600
51		Arnie Goldman, Chicago, Ill.	590
52		Mike Babb, Glen Burnie, N.D.	580
53		Roy Buckley, Columbus, Ohio	570
54		Tom Hinz, Joliet, Ill.	560
55		Don Johnson, Las Vegas	550
56		Boysie Huber, St. Louis, Mo.	540
57		Steve Cook, Roseville, Calif.	530
58		Al Stonum, San Francisco, Calif.	520
59		Steve Tripp, Wethersfield, Conn.	510
60		Mike Samardzija, Southfield, Mich.	500
61		Les Zikes, Palatine, Ill.	490
62		Alvin Lou, EI Cajon, Calif.	480
63		Joseph Greco, Jacksonville, Fla.	470
64		Ernie Schlegel, Vancouver, U.S.A.	460
65		Mike Durbin, Chagrin Falls, Ohio	450
66		Ralph Fricke, Jacksonville, Fla.	440
67		Mark Roth, North Arlington, N.J.	430
68		Jack Calhoun, Cincinnati, Ohio	420
69		Dave H Husted, Milwaukie, Ore.	410
70		Tom Eder, N. Vernon, Ind.	400
71		Jim Godman, Lorain, Ohio	400
72		Eddie Worth, Sterling Heights, Mich.	400
73		Danny Morton, Jacksonville, Fla.	400
74		Paul Vorisek, Bedford, Ohio	400
75		Jimmy Certain, Peoria, Ill.	400