1968 PBA Season

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Originally written by JohnnyO

There were 13 tournaments on the PBA TV schedule in 1968. The season began with 5 five weeks of ABC coverage, then two weeks off for the Olympics (as noted by ku528808), then 8 more weeks on ABC to conclude the season (I will post the tournaments here as I find them)...WTAE-4 in Pittsburgh, PA pre-empted ABC's telecasts, airing the bowling on tape delay, usually at 12:45 AM or 12:50 AM, but sometimes later; 1:30 AM (January 6); 2:20 AM (March 23).

Saturday, January 6, 1968

Phoenix Open; Squaw Peak Lanes, Phoenix, AZ

ABC; 3:30 PM ET; ; Bud Palmer, Billy Welu

Bowlers (Winner in Bold); Don Glover, Dick Weber, Billy Hardwick, Dick Ritger ($6,000), Eddy Patterson

Saturday, January 20, 1968

San Jose Open; Saragota Lanes, San Jose, CA

ABC; 3:30 PM ET; Bud Palmer, Billy Welu

Bowlers (Winner in Bold); Bill Allen ($7,000), John Geunther, Billy Harwdick, Mike Limongello, Sam Baca

A 300 game would have been worth a $10,000 cash bonus, and a Mercury Cougar.

Saturday, January 27, 1968

Denver Open; Broadway Bowl, Littleton, CO

ABC; 3:30 PM ET; Bud Palmer, Billy Welu

Bowlers (Winner in Bold); Jimmy Certain, Earl Johnson, Don Johnson, Dave Soutar ($6,000), George McDonald

Saturday, February 3, 1968

Cougar Open; King Louie West, Overland Park, KS

ABC; 3:30 PM ET; Bud Palmer, Billy Welu

Bowlers (Winner in Bold); Bud Horn, Buzz Fazio, Les Schissler, Ed Bourdase, Mike Limongello ($10,000)

A 300 game on this telecast would have been worth $10,000 from ABC, $10,000 from Lincoln/Mercury, and a new Cougar...Limongello also won a brand new 1968 Mercury Cougar, and Schissler's second place finish also included use of a new Cougar for a year.

Saturday, March 9, 1968

Miller High Life Open; Bowlero, Wauwatosa, WI

ABC; 3:30 PM ET; Chris Schenkel, Billy Welu

Bowlers (Winner in Bold); Fred Lening, Joe Joseph, Don Carter, Jim Stefanich, Johnny Guenther ($10,000)

Saturday, March 16, 1968

Greater Buffalo Open; Fairlanes Buffalo, Depew, NY

ABC; 3:30 PM ET; Chris Schenkel, Billy Welu

Bowlers (Winner in Bold);  Bob Strampe, ($6,000), Teata Semiz, Nelson Burton Jr., Therm Davis, Bobby McMillin

A 300 game on this telecast would have been worth $10,000 from ABC, $10,000 from Lincoln/Mercury, and a new Cougar.

Saturday, March 23, 1968

Ebonite Gold Cup; Echo Lanes, Mountainside, NJ

ABC; 3:30 PM ET; Chris Schenkel, Billy Welu

Bowlers (Winner in Bold); Ed Bourdase, Ray Bluth, Don Johnson, Wayne Zahn, Teeta Semiz ($8,000)

The venue for this telecast was a large 64 lane center, and is now the site is a movie theater (2011)...A portion of this telecast (as Schenkel adjusted his ear piece before interviewing Semiz at the end of the telecast) was used during ABC's farewell montage in 1997.

Saturday, March 30, 1968

New Orleans Lions Open; Pelican Lanes, New Orleans, LA

ABC; 3:30 PM ET; ; , Billy Welu

Bowlers (Winner in Bold); Don Glover, Ray Bluth, Dick Ritger ($6,000), Don Johnson, Don Helling

Saturday, April 6, 1968

Firestone Tournament Of Champions; Riviera Lanes, Akron, OH

ABC; 3:30 PM ET; ; Chris Schenkel, Billy Welu

Bowlers (Winner in Bold); Don Johnson, Dick Weber, Bill Tucker, Jim Stefanich, Dave Davis ($25,000)

Saturday, April 13, 1968

Mobile-Sertoma Open; Mobile Municipal Auditorium, Mobile, AL

ABC; 3:30 PM ET; ;

Bowlers (Winner in Bold); Bill Johnson, Dick Battista, Dan Freeman, Ralph Engan, Jim Stefanich ($6,000)

Qualifying for this telecast was held in Florida Bowl in Mobile, AL...This may be the first PBA telecast held in an arena setting