Don Johnson

Don Johnson (May 19, 1940 – May 3, 2003) was born in Kokomo, Indiana, but spent most of his adult life in Akron, Ohio and Las Vegas, Nevada. He was an American ten-pin bowler who spent many years on the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) tour. He won 26 PBA titles (tenth most all-time), including two major championships, and is a member of the PBA and USBC Halls of Fame. PBA career Don Johnson, a right-handed bowler, joined the PBA Tour in 1964. He captured at least one PBA title every season from 1966–1977, on his way to 26 PBA titles in all. That total places him tenth on the all-time titles list. Johnson was voted PBA Player of the Year in 1971 and 1972. But perhaps his shining moment came in 1970, when he won the prestigious Firestone Tournament of Champions and nearly achieved perfection in the process. In the televised final, he left a single 10-pin on the final ball for a 299 game. Leaving the 10-pin wasn't as famous as Johnson's reaction to it; he dropped on the floor and left his face down for several seconds before getting up to a thunderous ovation (Johnson's wife Mary Anne was shown in the audience, crying). The 10-pin denied Johnson $10,000 and a new Mercury Cougar automobile, which were offered as bonuses that season for any televised 300 game. In his post-tournament interview with Chris Schenkel, Johnson downplayed the bad break, stating, "I'm just thankful that I finally won this dadgum thing." (He had finished second in two previous Tournament of Champions events.)