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Semi-final match from the 1979 Showboat Invitational. Earl Anthony, having defeated Mark Roth in Match 2 of the stepladder finals, meets Emmett Shutes, making his first appearance on the TV finals. Shutes, a protégé of legendary bowling instructor Bill Taylor, buries Anthony under an avalanche of strikes, most coming in what can only be described as unconventional fashion, prompting Bo Burton to utter the funniest line of his broadcasting career when he dubbed Shutes' lucky string as "a repertoire of strikes." Shutes would go on to defeat tournament leader Paul Moser for his first (and I believe his only) PBA title in what would prove to be an otherwise unheralded career (although he was later inducted into the Pennsylvania State Bowling Association Hall of Fame, so I guess it wasn't all that unheralded). Chris Schenkel on play-by-play. Nelson Burton, Jr. on color. Showboat Lanes, Las Vegas, NV. Jan. 13, 1979.
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Fixed. Thanks.
It didn’t look like after Earl’s second frame the pins reset, which is why during Earl’s spare shot in the third the 7-pin is all alone. (One is one and all alone, and ever more shall be so)
Shutes made a show before this, I believe – the 1977 World Open.
At 5:15, check out alternate Tommy Hudson doing the sign of the cross after Shutes carries a nose hit!
Schlegel would’ve had an aneurism. Holman or P. Weber wouldn’t have been thrilled either.
That was a pretty powerful hit I must admit!!! hehe : D
Guess you need to throw it through the nose more often!!!!
And he crossed himself again at 5:28, rstp!!!
These must be 3 lb. 2 oz. pins.
Earl got the 4 pounders…lol
And I chuckled watching the woman on the lower-right portion of the screen at 7:41, shaking her head following Emmett’s 6th strike. lol!
what the bowling world didn’t know back then was how a spinner ball can create pin action. emmet’s seemingly lucky strikes are common nowadays in the asian bowling community, where bowlers with low physical attributes use the spinner (along w/ a light ball) to create pin action. emmet may be ahead for his time!
Ok, they both got some breaks, but that shot @7:30 takes the cake!
Moser is still living in MA. I was actually his roommate when this tournament was held. Great bowler who didn’t get as much credit as he deserved.
Before the match, Earl was thinking to himself “I’m gonna bag me a rabbit!” After the seventh frame he was thinking “oh f*ck!” Also, did anyone else notice Alice from the Brady Bunch in the gallery @1:12 on the right side?
+Gary Brice Yeah Alice drove Mike’s pea-green station wagon
I’ll always regret the fact that I gambled at the showboat plenty of times and watched the pros there but never bowled there.
Bo included Shutes’ 4th frame wall shot as one of his great breaks; that was an excellent shot, and nowhere near lucky.
If the ball doesn’t take the 5 out it’s a a lucky shot, Don’t know how long you been in the game I got 50+ years in it.
44 years, pal. 206 average
Deflection matters.
The classic old school spinner ball with all that deflection pin action.
The lanes actually seemed pretty dry and Earl’s ball was hitting like a bean bag while Moser’s was retaining much more energy because his ball was spinning and not creating much friction.
Shutes had to be quite relaxed. If he were tight, he wouldn’t have carried that many strikes.
If Marshall Holman was bowling against him instead of Earl Anthony, there would have been more damage to that bowling establishment then just a broken foul light.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone beat the piss out of Earl like that before.