Fantastic finishes: our list of the top 10 finals spans the decades��from heroes to goats, from bitter revenge to bittersweet ends

"HOW ABOUT THE 10 MOST exciting men's bowling tournament finishes?" the boss suggested.

Yeah, sure. No problem. Until you get to thinking about it. In sports, what is excitement? An outfielder sliding across the grass to make a game-ending catch? A receiver outleaping a pack of defenders to grab the winning touchdown pass? A 50-foot three-pointer for a basketball victory?

Hmm. There's nothing like that in bowling. In our game, you get paid for the same old, same old. For being able to make a perfect shot in the 10th frame and then maybe doing it again and again. Even in golf, another sport for individuals, there is a possibility of a spectacular, heart-stopping moment, like clinching first place by lifting the ball out of a sand pile and into the cup.

In bowling, most of the time, spectators have to be more heavily involved in the game situation to appreciate a bowler's courage and skill under fire. You have to know what went before: What emotions were involved? What distractions had to be blocked out before a final flurry of strikes?

Placing ourselves in those pros' shoes, we've pieced together our list of the 10 best finishes ever. Take a look:

1 Frank Ellenburg Breaks "The Machine"

The biggest shocker was the 1978 ABC Masters in St. Louis, when little-known Frank Ellenburg upset Earl Anthony in the championship round.

History-minded tenpinners scanning the illustrious career of the great Anthony--whose consistency earned him the nickname "The Machine" still are baffled by what took place that night on the ABC Tournament lanes at Cervantes Convention Center. Anthony had established his superiority in an earlier round of the two-losses-and-out Masters by thumping the 25-year-old Ellenburg by an even 100 pins, 868-768. Nice try, kid.

"After I beat Dave Soutar in the semifinals I said to myself, 'The worst I can finish now is third place,'" Ellenburg told the ABC's Ed Baur. "I knew Earl would be my next match, and against him you have only two chances--slim and none."

Ellenburg, a 6'5" righthander from Mesa, Ariz., qualified for the title round by skimming past Paul Moser, 781-767. Only about 1,000 spectators showed up for the Anthony-Ellenburg rematch. To win the Masters, the Arizona kid would have to outscore Anthony in two successive four-game duels.

Fat chance!

Anthony had won the Masters a year earlier, and just before the '78 renewal, he had won the Firestone Tournament of Champions. But Ellenburg hung in, and with a 217-198 victory in the fourth game, he beat Anthony, 820-817. A disbelieving crowd applauded the youngster and began watching more intently.

It couldn't happen again, could it?

Ellenburg took a 21-pin lead with a 201-180 score in the first game and never trailed.

"I was so nervous I must have drank four gallons of water," Ellenburg said after his 805-791 win. The top prize that year was $7,000, and it allowed Ellenhurg to just about break even for his first two years on the PBA tour.

Ellenburg later won one PBA tournament, but stayed on the tour for just a few more seasons. That Masters trophy on the mantle, though, will always remind him that one night he beat the best there was--not once, but twice.

2 The Revenge of Pete Weber

Revenge was the No. 1 element when Pete Weber took on first-seeded Marshall Holman in the final of what still stands as the richest tournament in PBA history: The $500,000 Seagram's Coolers U.S. Open in 1988.

Weber had talked only a little about it, but much of the bowling world knew how angry he was that despite his winning the Firestone Tournament of Champions the previous season, longtime rival Holman, who failed to win an event in 1987, was named PBA Player of the Year. PBA members did the voting, which clearly was a slap at Weber for a series of rules transgressions.

Weber, son of legendary Dick Weber (who finished 39th and earned $2,350), placed No. 4 in the qualifying and ousted fifth-seeded Dave Husted, 245-201, in the TV opener. Holman, the qualifying leader, watched from the sidelines.

Against Mark Baker in game No. 2, Weber steamed when he missed in the opening frame, but then he strung eight strikes and won, 245-205. Ryan Shafer was next, and Weber raged as he hammered the pins for a 236-179 victory.

In the long-sought duel with Holman, the tension obviously affected both of the great bowlers; Weber settled for a 203-171 win--and $100,000. (Weber, then 25, further annoyed PBA officials four months later by withdrawing in the middle of a tournament without notifying anybody.)

3 Bill Lillard Wins the All-Star

Another of the game's most dramatic finishes occurred in a totally different era, when a star's honors might include victories in the 1927 Chicago Stockyards meet or the Toledo Pot-O-Gold. Wins in the Stockyards and Toledo were on the resume of 50-year-old Joe Wilman when he took on Bill Lillard, 27, in the final of the only national tournament played in 1955, the All-Star.

The All-Star, a BPAA event that determined the national match game championship, was staged in the ancient Chicago Coliseum. Bowlers rolled eight-game blocks in the afternoon and night and virtually lived in a paddock area in between.

Wilman--a balding, gum-chewing Chicagoan--was a favorite of the Windy City crowd, but the boyish Lillard, from Houston, was also popular. The game that decided it all came down to the 10th, and Wilman needed only a spare to win. He left the 1-2-10 washout, however, failed to convert it, and Lillard won by seven pins.

The prize was $2,500--more than a letter carrier earned in a year--and a contract for a series of $100 exhibitions for Brunswick.

4 Mark Roth Plays Through Pain

The great bowlers have their places in the sun--including Don Carter, Dick Weber, Earl Anthony, and Walter Ray Williams Jr.--but one of the best, Mark Roth, sometimes gets overlooked. Roth certainly showed his toughness early on.

In the TV final of the Lite Classic in Torrance, Calif., in January 1978, Roth fought off the pain of an infected right ring finger through two games to win.

When a concerned PBA official wondered if Roth wanted to withdraw from the TV round, Roth answered with a quick, "Nah!" He then defeated Joe Nuzzo, 236-181, and Lee Taylor, 213-192, for his ninth title. Roth sat out the next tournament, finished 40th in the following meet, then captured the Quaker State Open by beating Marshall Holman in the final. A tough guy.

5 Don Carter Ousts Dick Weber

The majority of bowling fans who marveled at Don Carter's skill as a quiet executioner aren't around now, but he was awesome from the mid-'50s to the mid-'60s. Because of his traditionally slow starts, virtually every one of Carter's tournament finishes could qualify as exciting.

The 1956 All-Star, in that old stone fortress of a Chicago Coliseum that Carter loved, may have been the most spectacular. Carter had to pull out of the meet because of a knee injury a year earlier, so his '56 comeback was all the sweeter.

As a story the following day reported: "From the same Chicago Coliseum where just one year ago he "had limped painfully to the sidelines with the cheers of admiring crowd filling the hall, Don Carter strode proudly to a victory celebration last night. The cheers were greater than ever for Don, who came from behind on the final day to win his third national match game championship."

It was Carter's Budweiser teammate. Dick Weber. who made it uncomfortably close for him. Sixteen men qualified for the final round-robin of matches. each being four-game duels. The Petersen point system was used, and it gave bowlers one point for every game won and a point for every 50 pins.

Weber closed fast on the final night and could have knocked Carter out of the title by outscoring him by 33 pins in the All-Star meet's 100th game. The shuffling, bentelbowed Carter turned back his buddy, however, to win. 224-202.

6 A Raw Rookie Shocks the World

O'DROBINAK O'BLITERATES GIANTS was the headline on the PBA account of the happenings on February 1, 1986, in Grand Prairie, Texas. On that day a babylaced rookie, Jon O'Drobinak, scored one of the most stunning upsets in PBA history.

The 21-year-old qualified No. 4 in the Quaker State, and in the opening TV match he ousted fellow unknown Jim Harvey, 241-191. The Hammond, Ind., youngster stunned everybody when he beat multiplechampion Wayne Webb, 218-177, and followed with a gutsy 210-207 upset of Marshall Holman.

Mark Roth was the last hope of the Old Guard, but O'Drobinak stopped Roth, 202-190, and accepted a $27,000 check.

As it turns out, it was O'Drobinak's 15 minutes of fame. His earnings for the year were $36,000. The PBA win in Texas is O'Drobinak's only one ... so far.

7 Dave Davis Record Win at the Garden

The 1967 PBA National was staged in the brand-new Madison Square Garden Bowling Center, a 5,100-seat auditorium alongside the 20,000-seat main arena. And the winner was a popular lefthander from Phoenix, Dave Davis, the year's hottest shooter.

Davis, going for a record sixth PBA title for the year, placed second in the qualifying by topping Mike Limongello, 205-195. That put Davis in a regionally televised title bout with No. 1 qualifier Pete Tountas.

Tountas upped the pocket early and was 21 pins ahead of Davis after four frames. But in the stretch, the Tucson pro ran into a series of splits: the 5-7 in the 7th frame, the 4-6 in the 8th, and a crushing 5-7 in the 10th. Davis topped Tountas, 216-191. This was Davis' second PBA National win, and his prize, $10,000, made him the year's leading money winner. His total: $45,165.

The attempt to have a profitable bowling establishment in Madison Square Garden, by the way, never quite caught on. After a few years, it was dismantled.

8 Joe Berardi Sprints Up the Ladder

There have been many references to "The Firestone" here, and maybe young readers (and old) should be told about the glamour of the event held each spring for three decades in Akron. Only 52 bowlers were eligible--all of the PBA titlists of the past year, plus some of the recent multiple winners.

The Firestone--which actually was held at Riviera Lanes in the Akron suburb of Fairlawn after its first year--was bowling's nearest thing to the World Series. Announcer Chris Schenkel made repeated references to it on the ABC-TV coverage of the spring tour. And when the bowlers arrived, they saw a city dressed up for the occasion with bowlers' names and flags on light standards. The local newspapers and broadcasters made it No. 1 all the way.

That's why nobody probably enjoyed a Firestone victory more or worked harder to achieve it than Brooklyn-born Joe Berardi in 1983. Luck and pluck played a role, as they do in most contests, but Berardi was the first bowler in the 19-year history of the Firestone to win four matches on the national telecast.

First game: Bob Handley started with two strikes, then somehow left one of the weirdest splits in Firestone history, the 3-4-6-7-9-10. Three stanzas later. Handley was able to regain the lead from Berardi, but the good-natured Brooklyn kid could only smile as he carried two cross-over ("Brook-lyn") strikes in the 10th to win 214-196.

Second game: Mike Durbin, trying for a second consecutive Firestone title, was unable to convert a 5-7 split in the 8th frame, and Berardi rolled five strikes in the last three frames for a 234-224 win.

Third game: Mark Roth left the 4-6-7-10 "double pinochle" split in the opening frame but closed with four strikes to force Berardi into a must-mark situation in the 10th. Berardi spared and won, 231-224.

Fourth game: Both Berardi and No. 1 seed Henry Gonzalez got lost. Berardi hung on just enough for a Firestone victory, 186-179. Give that man $40,000 and a lifetime of memories, please.

9 Earl Anthony's 41st--and Last

This memorable moment is odd because at the time, nobody realized that it was significant. It was just another PBA championship for Earl Anthony--but it turned out to be his 41st and last win on the regular tour.

The scene was Landmark Recreation Center in Peoria, III., in February 1983, and Anthony had just led the qualifying in the True Value Open. Anthony seemed to have a satisfied expression as he waited for four other TV qualifiers to determine whom he would meet in the final game.

There had been some concern about Anthony's skill because he hadn't done much in the past six weeks on the rich winter tour. Was he losing his desire?

But after finishing 36th at Dick Weber's place near St. Louis the week before, Anthony let it be known that he had practiced for 100 games, as though he knew he could bowl his best if he really wanted to.

Mal Acosta beat Walter Ray Williams Jr. in the Peoria semifinal and got ready to take on the legendary Anthony. The match was tense, but Anthony won, 224-220, and added $27,000 to his account.

Anthony stayed sharp that year, with five more TV appearances, and led the PBA in average (216.6) and earnings ($135,000). It sent shock waves through the PBA ranks, therefore, when he announced that he was retiring. Weariness from the frequent travel and a desire to fine-tune his golf game were his reasons. Anthony was 45 years old.

At 50, Anthony joined the PBA Senior tour, winning four more titles, but again retired after a few years.

10 Del Ballard Jr.'s Gutter Ball

Our final exciting finish is one of the most unexpected in tenpin history: Del Ballard Jr.'s gutter ball.

In March 1991, in the Fair Lanes Open in Randallstown, Md., Ballard needed just seven pins on his final ball to beat Pete Weber and win the tournament. Instead, Ballard's shot wound up in the gutter, and an astounded Weber had Iris 16th PBA title.

The mistake caught the attention of newscasters around the nation who rarely mentioned bowling. The host of a New York TV show said, "How could it happen? Why, even I could keep the ball on the "alley!"

So could Ballard, of course. "I didn't want to get beat if I only got six pins," Ballard explained. "I had been getting strikes all week by firing the ball to within inches of the edge, so I went for my best shot. Unfortunately, I didn't pause long enough before my delivery, and everybody "knows the result."

The goofy ending didn't damage Ballard's confidence, as he won three PBA meets after that and had a shot at Bowler of the Year. But it was Ballard's March shot that was heard 'round the world, even though it didn't make much noise at all.

And, a Worst Finish

WHEN THE FINAL ROUND OF THE 1960 ALL-STAR TOURNAMENT CAME on ABC-TV, little-known Bill Tucker was so far ahead of superstar Dick Weber that it would have been virtually impossible for Weber to win. To save the show, the network had Tucker and Weber bowl two one-game matches for $1.000 each. (Both won one.)

From that point on, ABC-TV insisted that every TV final must guarantee drama in the title match, and thus was born the PBA stepladder format that is still in use.

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