December 2, 1984 – The Tampa Tribune – This Day in Bowling History
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (UPI) — Mark Roth, Spring Lake Heights, N.J., all but sealed PBA Player of the Year honors Saturday when he defeated close friend Marshall Holman, 194-177, to win the $150,000 Angle Touring Players Championship. It was the fourth victory of the year for Roth and the 32nd of his 14-year career on the Professional Bowlers Association circuit.
The $27,000 first prize also gave Roth the 1984 earnings title with $158,712, second highest in PBA history.
Holman, Jacksonville, Oregon, finished second in the money race with 118,920, including the 15,000 he collected Saturday.
Pete Weber, St. Louis, another contender for Player of the Year honors going into the championship round, finished third, followed by Dale Eagle, Chicago, and Rickie Sajek, Tamarac. Fla.
Holman defeated Weber. 206-204, in the semifinal contest. Earlier, Weber had eliminated Sajek, 230-215, and Eagle, 200-167.
In the finale. Roth, 33, took command late in the game when he rolled strikes in the seventh and eighth frames — the only double in the match.
“Marshall is a good friend and a great bowler,” said Roth, who also won three consecutive Player of the Year honors from 1977-79. “But I just got lucky today and knocked down more pins. “Of course, you hate to lead a tournament and then lose it on TV.”
Weber, who earned $9,000 for third, finished the year No. 3 on the money list with $115,735. Eagle collected $7,000 for fourth and Sajek, a two-time winner this year, $6,000 for fifth. Sajek finished the year sixth on the money list with $103,455.