1970 PBA Tour season

PBA Bowling Tour: 1970 Season
LeagueProfessional Bowlers Association
SportTen-pin bowling
DurationJanuary 6 – December 14, 1970
PBA Tour
Season MVPNelson Burton, Jr.
PBA Tour seasons

This is a recap of the 1970 season for the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. It was the tour's 12th season, and consisted of 35 events. Dave Soutar had the most titles on the 1970 Tour (5), but it was Nelson Burton, Jr., winner of four titles and the George Young High Average award, who claimed the Sporting News PBA Player of the Year award.[1]

Mike McGrath successfully defended his 1969 title at the PBA National Championship.[2] Don Johnson nearly made history in winning the Firestone Tournament of Champions, firing a 299 game in the finale to upend Dick Ritger, 299-268.[3]

Dick Weber won the season-ending Hawaiian Invitational to become the first player to reach 20 career PBA Tour titles.[4] This season also saw the debut of PBA legend Earl Anthony, a 31-year old rookie. Anthony would win the first of his 43 titles on June 7 at the Heidelberg Open.

Tournament schedule

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Event Bowling center City Dates Winner
Wichita Centennial Open Crestview Bowl Wichita, Kansas Jan 6–10 Skee Foremsky (5)
Greater Los Angeles Open Bowling Square Arcadia, California Jan 13–17 Ed Bourdase (1)
Showboat Invitational Showboat Lanes Las Vegas, Nevada Jan 20–24 Dave Soutar (6)
San Jose Open Saratoga Lanes San Jose, California Jan 27–31 Dave Davis (12)
Denver Open Colorado Bowl Denver, Colorado Feb 3–7 Nelson Burton, Jr. (4)
Ebonite Open King Louie West Kansas City, Missouri Feb 10–14 Jim Stefanich (10)
Miller High Life Open Bowlero Lanes Milwaukee, Wisconsin Feb 17–21 George Pappas (1)
Buckeye Open Imperial Lanes Toledo, Ohio Feb 24–28 Nelson Burton, Jr. (5)
Greater Buffalo Open Fairlanes Buffalo, New York Mar 3–7 George Pappas (2)
Don Carter Classic Madison Square Garden Center New York, New York Mar 10–14 Mike Limongello (4)
Cougar Open Coliseum Lanes Coral Gables, Florida Mar 17–21 Mike McGrath (4)
New Orleans Lions Open Pelican Lanes New Orleans, Louisiana Mar 24–28 Don Johnson (10)
Firestone Tournament of Champions Riviera Lanes Akron, Ohio Mar 31 – Apr 4 Don Johnson (11)
National Pro-Am Classic East Point Triangle Lanes Atlanta, Georgia Apr 11–12 Wayne Zahn (12)
Heidelberg Open Ballinger Bowl Seattle, Washington Jun 4–7 Earl Anthony (1)
Portland Open Valley Lanes Portland, Oregon Jun 11–14 Don Glover (5)
Bellows-Valvair Open Mel's Bowl Redwood City, California Jun 18–21 Mike Durbin (4)
Fresno Open Cedar Lanes Fresno, California Jun 26–29 Marty Piraino (3)
Tucson Centurion Open Cactus Bowl Tucson, Arizona Jul 2–5 Larry Laub (1)
El Paso Open Freeway Lanes El Paso, Texas Jul 10–13 Nelson Burton, Jr. (6)
Houston-Sertoma Open Stadium Bowl Houston, Texas Jul 17–20 Don McCune (2)
Fort Worth Open Meadowbrook Lanes Fort Worth, Texas Jul 23–26 Nelson Burton, Jr. (7)
Grand Rapids Open Westgate Bowl Grand Rapids, Michigan Aug 14–17 Dick Battista (1)
Waukegan Open Bertrand Bowl Waukegan, Illinois Aug 20–23 Dave Soutar (7)
Gansett Open Cranston Bowl Cranston, Rhode Island Aug 28–31 Jim Stefanich (11)
Bellows-Valvair Open N. Versailles Lanes Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Sep 4–7 Johnny Petraglia (2)
Blue Mountain Open Blue Valley Lanes Windgap, Pennsylvania Sep 10–13 Curt Schmidt (1)
Japan Gold Cup Starlanes Tokyo, Japan Sep 24 – Oct 12 Dick Ritger (9)
11th Annual PBA National Championship Garden City Bowl Garden City, New York Oct 17–24 Mike McGrath (5)
Bellows-Valvair Open Dick Weber Lanes St. Louis, Missouri Oct 30 – Nov 2 Dave Soutar (8)
Lincoln Open Hollywood Bowl Lincoln, Nebraska Nov 6–9 Dave Soutar (9)
Mercury Open Hilander Bowling Palace Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Nov 13–16 Bud Horn (2)
American Airlines Open Hartfield Lanes Detroit, Michigan Nov 20–23 Dave Soutar (10)
Bellows-Valvair Open Maiden Lanes Rochester, New York Nov 27–30 Teata Semiz (2)
Hawaiian Invitational Honolulu Bowl Honolulu, Hawaii Dec 3–14 Dick Weber (20)

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Nelson Burton Jr. bio". imdb.com.
  2. ^ "Mike McGrath". mcubed.net.
  3. ^ "1970 Firestone Tournament of Champions". PBA.
  4. ^ "1970 3rd Annual Hawaiian Invitational". PBA.
[edit]