PBA Bowling Tour: 1974 Season

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 (in the Firestone Tournament of Champions and Brunswick PBA National Championship) 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.[1]

PBA Bowling Tour: 1974 Season
LeagueProfessional Bowlers Association
SportTen-pin bowling
DurationJanuary 1 – December 12, 1974
PBA Tour
Season MVPEarl Anthony

The other major title of the season, the BPAA U.S. Open, was won by Larry Laub for his first major and sixth title overall.

In the 1974 season opener in Alameda, CA, a live national TV audience witnessed the PBA Tour's third televised 300 game, rolled by Jim Stefanich in a semi-final match.[2] Earl Anthony nearly duplicated the feat when he fired a 299 game in the final match of the season-ending Winston-Salem Hawaiian Invitational.[3]

Tournament schedule
EventBowling centerCityDatesWinner
Midas Open Mel's Bowl Alameda, California Jan 1–5 Dick Ritger (14)
Don Carter Classic Bowling Square Arcadia, California Jan 8–12 Larry Laub (4)
Showboat Invitational Showboat Lanes Las Vegas, Nevada Jan 16–19 Jim Stefanich (12)
King Louie Open King Louie West Lanes Overland Park, Kansas Jan 22–26 George Pappas (3)
Cleveland Open Buckeye Lanes North Olmsted, Ohio Jan 29 – Feb 2 Larry Laub (5)
Fair Lanes Open Fair Lanes Towson, Maryland Feb 5–9 Dick Ritger (15)
BPAA U.S. Open Madison Square Garden New York, New York Feb 10–16 Larry Laub (6)
Winston-Salem Classic Major League Lanes Winston-Salem, North Carolina Feb 19–23 Ed Ressler (1)
STP Classic Bird Bowl Miami, Florida Feb 28 – Mar 2 Alex Seymore (1)
New Orleans Open Pelican Lanes New Orleans, Louisiana Mar 5–9 Paul Colwell (5)
Lincoln-Mercury Open Colorado Bowl Denver, Colorado Mar 12–16 Johnny Guenther (8)
Miller High Life Open Red Carpet-Bowlero Milwaukee, Wisconsin Mar 19–23 Johnny Guenther (9)
Ebonite Open Imperial Lanes Toledo, Ohio Mar 26–30 Wayne Zahn (13)
Firestone Tournament of Champions Riviera Lanes Akron, Ohio Apr 2–6 Earl Anthony (8)
Brunswick PBA National Championship Brunswick Wonderbowl Downey, California Jun 2–9 Earl Anthony (9)
Seattle Open Ballinger Bowl Seattle, Washington Jun 14–18 Ed Bourdase (3)
Winston-Salem Open Valley Lanes Portland, Oregon Jun 22–26 Gary Dickinson (3)
Home Box Office Open Saratoga Lanes San Jose, California Jun 28 – Jul 2 Earl Anthony (10)
Fresno Open Cedar Lanes Fresno, California Jul 5–8 Earl Anthony (11)
Home Box Office Open Cactus Bowl Tucson, Arizona Jul 12–16 Bob Hood (1)
Houston-Sertoma Open Stadium Bowl Houston, Texas Jul 19–23 Tommy Hudson (1)
Home Box Office Open Bradley Bowl Windsor Locks, Connecticut Aug 2–6 Nelson Burton, Jr. (11)
New Jersey Open Edison Bowl Edison, New Jersey Aug 9–13 Carmen Salvino (11)
Home Box Office Open Thruway Lanes Buffalo, New York Aug 16–20 Dave Soutar (14)
Starlanes-Ebonite Open Bertrand Lanes Waukegan, Illinois Aug 22–26 Dick Ritger (16)
Canada Dry Open Hartfield Lanes Detroit, Michigan Aug 29 – Sep 2 Steve Neff (1)
Buzz Fazio Open Nottke Bowl Battle Creek, Michigan Oct 18–21 Don Johnson (23)
Canada Dry Open Westgate Lanes Cleveland, Ohio Oct 25–28 Earl Anthony (12)
Columbia 300 Open Strike 'n Spare Lanes Syracuse, New York Nov 1–4 Skee Foremsky (6)
Brunswick World Open Brunswick Northern Bowl Glendale Heights, Illinois Nov 10–16 Johnny Petraglia (9)
Winston-Salem Hawaiian Invitational (Multiple Centers) Honolulu, Hawaii Dec 2–12 Earl Anthony (13)

References
  1. "1974 Brunswick-PBA National Championship". PBA.
  2. "1974 Midas Open". PBA.
  3. "1974 Winston-Salem Hawaiian Invitational". PBA.
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