Tuesday, March 11, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
Petraglia
Last week, one of bowling's all-time greats hit 50. The big five-o. Half a century. Two score and 10 years.
But don't expect to be seeing Hall of Famer Johnny Petraglia frequenting the PBA Senior Tour just yet.
Petraglia, just eight days removed from his 50th, now is eligible to join the senior circuit. But his magnetic presence will continue to be felt on the main tour, where he has been a fixture for more than 30 years.
"I enjoy it when I'm bowling well," said Petraglia on Monday after the first round of the 38th annual Showboat Invitational. "I just don't bowl as well as much as I used to."
Monday was not an especially memorable day for Petraglia, the current PGA president and one of only four bowlers to win each of the sport's recognized triple-crown events -- the U.S. Open, the PBA National Championship and the Tournament of Champions.
Petraglia was in 132nd place, almost 400 pins behind the leader, Wichita's Rick Steelsmith, who set a blistering early pace.
Petraglia is planning on bowling in just four senior events in 1997, much to the dismay of the senior tour, which could definitely benefit from his participation.
"I'm gonna bowl out here most of the time," he said. "That's the way Brunswick (his sponsor) wants it."
Petraglia hasn't earned more than $23,000 in a season since 1983, with the exception of 1994, when he won $115,070. He threw a 300 on national TV one afternoon, which automatically carries with it a $100,000 bonus. Then Petraglia provided one of the best moments in bowling's television history when he said he could now pay for his children to go to college.
After Uncle Sam took his chunk, Petraglia stuck the remaining $65,000 where it can draw interest until his kids -- John, 12, and Jamie, 6, are old enough.
Bits and pieces
* TRIVIA TIME: Petraglia was the second of the four bowlers to win the triple crown. Who are the other three? And in what order did they complete the triple crown? The answers appear at the end of the story.
* MONDAY'S ACTION: Steelsmith knocked down 1,954 pins and averaged 244.3 on Monday in his eight games. He led Jeff Lizzi of Sandusky, Ohio, by 28 pins. Tommy DeLutz, Jr., of Jamaica, N.Y., and Eugene McCune of Munster, Ind., were tied for third, 38 pins behind Steelsmith. Pete Weber, the hottest player on tour, is fifth with 1,913 pins. Other notables: Defending champion Walter Ray Williams, Jr., is sixth; Amleto Monacelli, a former winner here, is 10th; Brian Voss is 18th; Mike Aulby is 24th; Parker Bohn III, the winner last week at the AC-Delco Classic, is 25th; and Norm Duke is 35th. Two-time Showboat champion Dave Husted struggled and is 118th. Dave Wodka was the top Las Vegan, in 44th place (1,750 pins). Wayne Webb was right behind in 47th place (1,742) and Rick Benard was in 52nd (1,729). Bill Kaiser was in 110th place, Joe Salvemini in 114th place and Pat Nolan in 138th place. Those last three are in grave danger of missing the first cut, which comes after today's second round. The top half of the field advances to Wednesday morning for another eight games of qualifying. Then the field is cut in half again, and those bowlers come back Thursday morning for the final eight games of qualifying. The top 24 advance to match-play, which starts Thursday night.
* ADULT PRO-AM WINNERS: George Schaeffer and Peter Mazzanti were Sunday's pro-am winners. Each took home $1,000. Schaeffer had a terrific 765 series in his squad, Mazzanti 760 during his squad.
* TRIVIA ANSWER: Billy Hardwick was the first man to capture the elusive triple crown of bowling. Petraglia was next; he won the Tournament of Champions in 1971, the U.S. Open in 1977 and the PBA National Championship in 1980. That was the last of his 14 titles. Weber joined this elite group in 1989 when he added the PBA National Championship to the T of C (1987) and the U.S. Open (1988). Mike Aulby is the fourth member, having finally nailed down the Tournament of Champions in 1995 after coming so close in other years. Aulby is the only bowler of the four who also has won the Masters, bowling's unofficial fourth major. Aulby did it twice (1989 and 1995).
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