1968 PBA Tour season

Last updated
PBA Bowling Tour: 1968 Season
League Professional Bowlers Association
Sport Ten-pin bowling
DurationJanuary 2 – December 6, 1968
PBA Tour
Season MVP Jim Stefanich
PBA Tour seasons

This is a recap of the 1968 season for the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. It was the tour's tenth season, and consisted of 34 events. Jim Stefanich won five titles on the season and was the Tour's leading money winner, earning him Sporting News PBA Player of the Year honors. [1] Wayne Zahn won the PBA National Championship, [2] while Dave Davis captured the title at the Firestone Tournament of Champions. [3]

Contents

Tournament schedule

EventBowling centerCityDatesWinner
North Phoenix OpenSquaw Peak Lanes Phoenix, Arizona Jan 2–6 Dick Ritger (4)
Showboat InvitationalShowboat Lanes Las Vegas, Nevada Jan 9–13 Bill Allen (10)
San Jose OpenSaratoga Lanes San Jose, California Jan 16–20Bill Allen (11)
Denver OpenBroadway Bowl Denver, Colorado Jan 23–27 Dave Soutar (4)
Cougar OpenKing Louie West Kansas City, Missouri Jan 30 – Feb 3 Mike Limongello (3)
Tampa Bay-Sertoma OpenEast Gate Lanes Tampa, Florida Feb 20–24 Jim Stefanich (5)
Buckeye OpenImperial Lanes Toledo, Ohio Feb 27 – Mar 2Jim Stefanich (6)
Miller High Life OpenBowlero Lanes Milwaukee, Wisconsin Mar 5–9 Johnny Guenther (3)
Buffalo OpenFairlanes Buffalo, New York Mar 12–16 Bob Strampe (4)
Ebonite Gold CupEcho Lanes Mountainside, New Jersey Mar 19–23 Teata Semiz (1)
New Orleans Lions OpenPelican Lanes New Orleans, Louisiana Mar 26–30Dick Ritger (5)
Firestone Tournament of Champions Riviera Lanes Akron, Ohio Apr 1–6 Dave Davis (9)
Ebonite InvitationalEllisville Bowl St. Louis, Missouri Apr 3–6 Don Glover (1)
Mobile-Sertoma OpenFlorida Bowl Mobile, Alabama Apr 9–13Jim Stefanich (7)
Seattle OpenBallinger Bowl Seattle, Washington Jun 6–9 Billy Hardwick (10)
Portland OpenValley Lanes Portland, Oregon Jun 13–16Jim Stefanich (8)
Fresno OpenCedar Lanes Fresno, California Jun 20–23Jim Stefanich (9)
Tucson OpenCactus Bowl Tucson, Arizona Jun 27–30 Tim Harahan (2)
El Paso OpenBowlero Lanes El Paso, Texas Jul 4–7 Mike Durbin (3)
Fort Worth OpenMeadowbrook Lanes Fort Worth, Texas Jul 11–14 Don McCune (1)
Houston-Sertoma OpenStadium Bowl Houston, Texas Jul 18–21 Wayne Zahn (8)
Coast Guard OpenStarlite Lanes Grand Haven, Michigan Aug 8–11Bill Allen (12)
Waukegan OpenBertrand Bowl Waukegan, Illinois Aug 15–18Bob Strampe (5)
Canadian OpenLaurentian Lanes Montreal, Quebec Aug 22–25 Skee Foremsky (3)
Rochester OpenClover Lanes Rochester, New York Aug 30 – Sep 2Tim Harahan (3)
Portsmouth-Norfolk OpenMiracle Lanes Portsmouth, Virginia Sep 5–8 Don Johnson (5)
Altoona OpenHoliday Bowl Altoona, Pennsylvania Sep 12–15 Jim Godman (3)
Newark OpenValley Bowl Lanes Newark, Ohio Sep 19–22Bill Allen (13)
Mercury OpenEdison Lanes Edison, New Jersey Sep 22–29Wayne Zahn (9)
Japan Gold CupStarlanes Tokyo, Japan Oct 1–17Don Johnson (6)
Green Bay OpenWestern Lanes Green Bay, Wisconsin Oct 30 – Nov 2 Mike McGrath (2)
Joliet OpenTown & Country Lanes Joliet, Illinois Nov 7–10Don Glover (2)
Durham OpenVillage Bowl Durham, North Carolina Nov 14–17Dave Davis (10)
Ninth Annual PBA National Championship Madison Square Garden Center New York, New York Dec 1–6Wayne Zahn (10)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norm Duke</span> American professional bowler

Norm Duke is an American professional bowler who previously competed on the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour and now competes on the PBA50 Tour. He has won 40 titles on the PBA Tour, including seven major championships, and another six titles on the PBA50 Tour. A member of both the PBA and USBC Halls of Fame, Duke is one of only three players in history to reach 40 career PBA Tour titles. He has bowled 73 perfect 300 games in PBA competition, including the 16th televised 300 game in PBA Tour history on January 5, 2003. Duke is a member of the Storm pro staff.

The USBC Masters is a championship ten-pin bowling event conducted by the United States Bowling Congress. The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) began recognizing it as a title event in 1998, and it was designated one of the four majors in 2000. A PBA rule change in 2008 retroactively awarded a PBA title to any Masters winners prior to 1998 who were PBA members at the time of the victory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Belmonte</span> Australian professional ten-pin bowler (born 1983)

Jason Belmonte is an Australian professional ten-pin bowler. He plays on the PBA Tour in the United States and in world events. He is known for being one of the first bowlers to gain media attention for using the two-handed approach style to deliver his shot. He has won 31 PBA titles, including a record 15 major championships; he is only one of eight bowlers in PBA tour history to achieve 30 wins, making him the only 30-time winner in PBA Tour history who is not currently a member of the PBA Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mika Koivuniemi</span>

Mika Juhani Koivuniemi is a Finnish bowling coach and semi-retired professional ten-pin bowler. He competed on the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) tour in the United States, and won bowling titles in 21 different countries during his career. He is a two-time PBA Player of the Year, one of only three players born outside the USA to win that award. Koivuniemi is the second international player and first European ever elected to the PBA Hall of Fame; he was inducted in 2019. He is also a member of the World Bowling Writers Hall of Fame and Finland Bowling Hall of Fame.

The PBA Tour is the major professional tour for ten-pin bowling, operated by the Professional Bowlers Association. Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, over 3,000 members worldwide make up the PBA. While most of the PBA members are Regional professionals, a small percentage of the bowling membership competes at the national and international level, forming the PBA Tour. Founded in 1958, the PBA Tour has been in continuous operation since the inaugural 1959 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parker Bohn III</span> American professional ten-pin bowler

Parker Morse Bohn III is a left-handed American professional ten-pin bowler. He has been a member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) since 1984, and is a member of the PBA and USBC Halls of Fame. Bohn is one of only eight players in PBA history to accumulate at least 30 career PBA Tour titles, currently ranking fifth all-time with 35. He has ten more titles on the PBA50 Tour. He is a two-time PBA Player of the Year and has one a PBA50 Player of the Year award (2022). Bohn has also earned 27 PBA Regional Tour titles, nine PBA50 Regional titles, and two European Bowling Tour (EBT) titles.

The U.S. Open is one of the five major tournaments in the Professional Bowlers Association. Despite its status as a PBA Tour major, the tournament is open to qualifying amateurs as well as PBA members. The U.S. Open is considered one of the most difficult tournaments to bowl in today, due to its long format and demanding oil pattern, which differs from most oil patterns the PBA employs.

<i>Professional Bowlers Tour</i> American bowling telecast

The Professional Bowlers Tour, also known as Pro Bowlers Tour, is a broadcast of the Professional Bowlers Association that aired on ABC from 1962 to 1997. In the telecasts, sportscaster Chris Schenkel and the graphics displayed during the show would refer to the show as "The Professional Bowlers Tour", possibly to disambiguate from the NFL's use of the term "pro bowler" when referring to players who were selected for the Pro Bowl—an event also televised on ABC for many years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Professional Bowlers Association</span> Organization

The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) is the major sanctioning body for the sport of professional ten-pin bowling in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, the PBA membership consists of over 3,000 members worldwide. Members include "pro shop" owners and workers, teaching professionals and bowlers who compete in the various events put on by the Association.

Patrick Allen is a left-handed ten-pin bowler on the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. He has won 13 PBA titles, including two majors, and is a member of the PBA Hall of Fame.

This is a recap of the 1967 season for the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. It was the tour's ninth season, and consisted of 33 events. Dave Davis was the runaway winner of the Sporting News PBA Player of the Year award, as he won six titles during the season and became the first multiple winner of the PBA National Championship. Jim Stefanich captured his first major title at the Firestone Tournament of Champions. The ToC included the first-ever nationally televised 300 game, rolled by Jack Biondolillo in the opening match of the live finals.

This is a recap of the 1973 season for the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. It was the tour's 15th season, and consisted of 33 events. Don McCune amassed six victories during the year, winning PBA Player of the Year honors along the way. McCune became known on tour this season for chemically softening his bowling balls to give them extra hooking power. The practice, which was completely legal at the time, was soon followed by several other bowlers in what would later be dubbed "The Year of the Soaker". This eventually led to new ABC and PBA rules related to altering bowling ball surfaces, while prompting bowling ball manufacturers to develop new, softer cover stocks.

This is a recap of the 1974 season for the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. It was the tour's 16th season, and consisted of 31 events. Earl Anthony won back-to-back majors among his six victories during the year, easily winning PBA Player of the Year honors. Anthony also joined Mike McGrath as the only PBA players to successfully defend a PBA National Championship.

This is a recap of the 1992 season for the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. It was the tour's 34th season, and consisted of 35 events.

The 56th season of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour was played in 2015. There were 27 singles title events, three doubles title events, and two team events on the 2015 schedule.

2016 is the 57th season of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. There were 26 singles title events, two doubles title events, and two team events on the 2016 schedule.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jesper Svensson (bowler)</span> Swedish professional bowler (born 1995)

Jesper Svensson is a Swedish professional bowler. He has been a member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) since 2014, and also competes on the European Bowling Tour (EBT). He has won eleven PBA Tour titles overall, including a major title at the 2016 PBA Tournament of Champions. He also owns six EBT titles and one PBA Regional title. He is known for using the two-handed shovel style delivery with a dominant left hand. He uses non-reactive urethane bowling balls almost exclusively. Svensson is a member of the Storm and Vise Grips pro staffs.

Jim Stefanich is a retired American right-handed ten-pin bowler most known for his years in the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA). Stefanich won 14 PBA Tour titles, including two major championships, and rolled the third-ever televised perfect 300 game in a PBA Tour event. He is a member of the PBA and USBC Halls of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dotty Fothergill</span> American ten-pin bowler

Dorothy Ann Fothergill is an American former left-handed ten-pin bowler who competed in the Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA). In a brief career that was cut short by injury, she won 12 titles on the PWBA Tour, including six major championships. She was named the Woman Bowler of the Year in 1968 and 1969, and defeated many top men's competitors in exhibition play. She sued the Professional Bowlers Association in 1970 when her application to compete in men's tournaments was rejected. She was inducted into the Women's International Bowling Congress (WIBC) Hall of Fame in 1980. She was also one of the charter inductees into the PWBA Hall of Fame in 1995.

Donald McCune, originally from Munster, Indiana and now of Las Vegas, Nevada, is a retired American right-handed ten-pin bowler most known for his years in the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA). McCune won eight PBA Tour titles in his career. Six of his eight titles came in the 1973 season, during which he was credited with unwittingly initiating a major change in the sport of bowling. He is a member of the PBA and USBC Halls of Fame.

References

  1. "Jim Stefanich profile". oocities.org.
  2. "PBA World Championship History". About.com.
  3. "PBA ToC winners". About.com.