1985 Firestone Tournament Of Champions
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$200,000 FIRESTONE TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS
Riviera Lanes, Akron, Ohio, Apr 16-20, 1985
Firestone "Rookie" Mark Williams Wins T Of C For 2nd Straight Title
A year ago Mark Williams was ready to call it quits on the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. He then became the champion of champions by knocking off top-seeded Bob Handley, 191-140, to capture the prestigious $200,000 Firestone Tournament of Champions.
The 27-year-old Texan worked his way past three opponents for the second consecutive week to claim the $40,000 first prize. He captured the $150,000 Pat Boone Open in Windsor Locks, Conn., a week earlier.
Williams watched Brian Voss eliminate 13-year Firestone veteran Gary Dickinson, 198-173, in the opening game of the nationally televised (ABC Sports) finals.
Williams appeared to be the loser in the second game against Voss, who needed to convert the 2-4-5 spare to win the match. Voss, however, chopped the 2-4 and left the 5-pin standing to leave the score at 211 and force a two-frame roll-off. The error proved costly for Voss, as Williams won the roll-off, 38-29.
In the semifinal match against Pete Weber, Williams had five strikes in his first seven frames while Weber failed to double. Williams won the match, 214-197, to advance to the finale.
Williams thrilled the capacity crowd at Riviera Lanes by converting the 4-7-10 split to open the title match. Handley responded by suffering through opens in his first three frames to fall behind by 44 pins.
Despite a missed 10-pin in the sixth frame, Williams held on for the win, as Handley managed only one strike in the game.
"When I picked up that split, I figured it was so early in the match that I had to go for it," said Williams, who almost quit the Tour to run a bowling center near his home in Beaumont. When the job fell through, the redhead decided to try the Tour again despite four years without a profit. It turned out to be a good decision.
The victory, which was the first for a Firestone "rookie" since Mike Berlin turned the trick in 1977, earned Williams a seven-year berth in the tournament, which is one of pro bowling's "Triple Crown" events.
Handley, who had not won a title in two years, said he never got lined up on the championship pair. "On my first practice ball I picked off three pins on the left," he recalled. "I started using different balls in the title game out of desperation. I'm not taking anything away from Mark, because he bowled a good game," he added. "But I wouldn't have felt better if I had lost with a 210. Losing is losing."
CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND
Pos. Name, City/State Total Amount
1 Mark Williams, Beaumont, Texas 616 (3 games) $40,000
2 Bob Handley, Pompano Beach, Fla. 140 (1 game) 22,000
3 Pete Weber, St. Louis 197 (1 game) 15,000
4 Brian Voss, Tacoma, Wash. 409 (2 games) 10,000
5 Gary Dickinson, Burleson, Texas 173 (1 game) 7,000
PLAYOFF RESULTS - Voss defeated Dickinson, 198-173; Voss and Williams tied at 211 and Williams won the roll-off, 38-29; Williams defeated Weber, 214-197; and in the championship match, Williams defeated Handley, 191-140.
Пікірлер: 59
I will never understand why the noise from the pinspotters does not bother a pro bowler but someone bats an eyelash in the cheap seats and they go into orbit
In loved the pro bowlers tour on abc! It was must watch tv. Chris Shenkel is one of my all time favorite broadcasters. His voice taps into great memories. Great stuff.
@riptaylor5862
3 жыл бұрын
Btw…why is bowling on tv such a circus today? They’ll do anything to get people to watch I guess.
Congratulations to Mark Williams under tough land conditions. If anyone watched the 1986 FTOC, the 10-pin being left was the problem with the bowlers after making pocket hits. In 1985, it was open frames by either splits or just plain misses. Mrs. Williams was a babe. Lucky Mark.
...at 12:00..."Jump!" by Van Halen...deserves an automatic "like" !
Gary Dickinson always reminded me a bit of Barry Switzer.
Pink Floyd's "One of These Days" before the tip of the week!
Heck of a tournament. No one could have predicted the outcome easily. I felt the same way.
Man those were tough lane conditions. Nice little cut in the middle of game 4 with Canadian ads on CBC Windsor and a couple of minutes of Carol Burnett
Thanks for uploading this one! Ive been asking Mark to show me the tournament but he doesnt have it! lol... he made it interesting needsless to say!
Bring the TOC back to Riverea Lanes!!!!!!!!
@russkline2357
3 жыл бұрын
I agree 100%
Mark Williams puts a tremendous amount of roll on the ball.
Great, Historical.
Nice little Carol Burnett break there.
@ 2:29 here's a man who is on quite a hot streak
Are there any late 60’s, early 70’s videos? Mike Limongello, Jimmy mchugh?
If you took Jack Nicholson and Carrot Top and mix them up, you get Mark Williams.
@beeemm2578
Жыл бұрын
He's Beavis
the first, second, and semi final matches were exciting and very close
@douglasharris5216
4 жыл бұрын
Andrew Phillips Mark Roth and Earl Anthony have bowled some exciting matches George N. Pappas and Ernie Schlegel have bowled some awesome matches
Crankin Bob Handley
Great tournament.
A little break in the action at 56:00min to 60:00 min mark but overall a good video
Mark Williams has made the 3 10 and the 4 7 10 splits as he was in command to win the Firestone Tournament of Champions
Handley, 2" from a bunch of strikes. Gets a bunch of 2-5 combinations instead. Close but no cigar!
PETE WEBER'S WORST BREAK 51:03
@anandguruji83
7 жыл бұрын
PETE WEBER'S WORST BREAK 51:03
Mark Williams wife looks like Marcy aka married with children
Commentators showing us how to make the splits. How dumb do they think we are?
Weber is a spoiled brat. He still behaves like this today. Any excuse other than face it that he threw a bad shot. He is supposed to be a professional.
@railfanmedia7286
5 жыл бұрын
Yeah especially with his “who do you think you are, I am”
@thestime
5 жыл бұрын
Yes even in 2019 he still acts like a conceited, big headed, idiot. How people can root for him is beyond me. Nothing like the gentleman his father was. I guess Dick didn't lay down enough law on how to act and be thankful for his talent.
@ckersh74
4 жыл бұрын
It's because nobody kicked his ass anywhere along the way.
Willaims was terrible...
@beeemm2578
4 ай бұрын
I dont know how he had as much success as he did with the way his delivery was. That shovel shot looked as goofy as he did. Lol
boy, the pros are sure a whole lot better these days.
@glenandbrandy
9 жыл бұрын
No, they really aren't better. Back in 1985, you actually had to MAKE the ball hook. Today, you buy hook in a box, and you don't have to be particularly talented to roll it.
@DowntownCanon
9 жыл бұрын
Glen Alsobrook Agreed. As far as I'm concerned, there is no more pro tour. I started watching in 1977 and now it's just shot after shot that destroys the rack.
@leopoldmozart1449
9 жыл бұрын
***** I agree with the other comments on this thread. Another way you can tell that the pros are not nearly as good is that it's almost impossible to make a good living as a pro bowler nowadays versus 35 years ago. Fewer tournaments and, adjusting for inflation, the payoffs are about 1/4 what they used to be. That means we're not getting nearly as large a pool of talented people. The big tipoff this is happening is that we have several bowlers in their 50s still winning tournaments, something that I don't think ever happened in the 70s. Also, we have women making it to the championship round, again something unthinkable in the 70s. (Although I have to say, I think Kelly Kulick's style would have made her a profitable pro in the 70s.) The conditions and equipment make it easier to hit the pocket even if you miss your mark by a couple of boards, and to carry the bad hits. In the 70s, Jason Belmonte would have been a 190 bowler.
@DowntownCanon
9 жыл бұрын
leopold mozart The difficulty in making a living as a pro these days has nothing to do with the talent of the players. The entire industry is in a downward spiral. Centers going belly up, league membership declining. They can't provide value to sponsors for their advertising dollar.
@leopoldmozart1449
9 жыл бұрын
DowntownCanon I'm sorry, I wasn't clear in my comment. My point wasn't that the payoffs for professional bowlers were lower because the pros aren't as good; my point was that BECAUSE the payoffs are bad (for the reasons you mentioned), otherwise talented bowlers never go pro because it's so hard to make a good living. In the 70s you could have someone like "Hooking" Bob Handley leave his $13,000/year teaching job (average salary 1976) and go pro knowing that he could make that much placing in the top 24 once a month. Now the average teacher salary is around $51,000. Do you know how many pros earned $51,000 on the (PBA, World and Regional combined) tours last year? 17. Wes Malott made $85,000 last year, and he was the 9th best bowler in America. My brother is a high school math teacher and he made $88,000 last year. So, fewer people wanting to go pro means fewer really good bowlers. But, anyway, I agree with you about the "downward spiral." Bowling will probably be dead in 20 years, replaced by computer games and gym memberships.
Oh for the days before two handed SJW bowlers ruined the sport.
Dickinson says “ Couple of three reasons” A PHIL LEOTARDO LINE” 😂😂😂😂🤡🤡🤡🤡😎
@beeemm2578
Жыл бұрын
Haha..hell yeah. I missed that. Good catch and great line.
@ 2:29 here's a man who is on quite a hot streak