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 ninth 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). 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.)^[1]

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