We’d like to thank Jeff Haines for sharing his Bassmaster Tournament Patch Collection with us here on the Bass Fishing Archives. Below you’ll find the Tournament Patches for the 1969 Season. Click on the first image to open the gallery.
1972 Bassmaster Florida National Bass Tournament, Kissimmee Chain March 9-11. Photo Jeff Haines.
1972 Bassmaster South Carolina National Bass Tournament, Lake Keowee, SC April 13-15. Photo Jeff Haines.
1972 Bassmaster Arkansas National Bass Tournament, Lake Ouachita, AR May 18-20. Photo Jeff Haines.
1972 Bassmaster Tennessee National Bass Tournament, Watts Bar, TN June 22-24. Photo Jeff Haines.
1972 Bassmaster Rebel Invitational Bass Tournament, Ross Barnett, MS August 24-26. Photo Jeff Haines.
1972 Bassmaster All-American Bass Tournament, Lake Eufaula, OK September 28-30. Photo Jeff Haines.
1972 Bass Master Classic II, Percy Priest, TN October 25-27. Photo Jeff Haines.
After the resounding success of Bass Masters Classic I, Ray Scott and the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society were on a roll. Bassmaster Magazine was taking hold and the membership of the organization was experiencing exponential growth.
Membership wasn’t the only thing growing within B.A.S.S. The tournaments were now drawing close to 200 contestants. You could say critical mass was being achieved.
Instead of fishing four events like he’d done in 1971, Scott upped the schedule back to six plus the Classic. He also implemented live release this year and encouraged the boat builders to start placing livewells in the boats. This year also marked the first year Scott went away from the 10-points per ounce system of scoring to just weight.
Here’s the tournament schedule for 1972:
- Florida National Bass Tournament, Kissimmee Chain March 9-11
- South Carolina National Bass Tournament, Lake Keowee, SC April 13-15
- Arkansas National Bass Tournament, Lake Ouachita, AR May 18-20
- Tennessee National Bass Tournament, Watts Bar, TN June 22-24
- Rebel Invitational Bass Tournament, Ross Barnett, MS August 24-26
- All-American Bass Tournament, Lake Eufaula, OK September 28-30
- Bass Master Classic II, Percy Priest, TN October 25-27
At the end of the season, Roland Martin was crowned Angler of the Year, his second in two consecutive seasons. The Bass Masters Classic then headed to Percy Priest Reservoir, where Don Butler, after a day and a half of flailing the water, pulled into a cove in the fate Sanders area of the lake and commenced to winning the Classic, beating Ricky Green by over 14-pounds.
You can find the full tournament reports at the links below.
- Season at a Glance: 1972 Bass Master Trail – Part One
- Season at a Glance: 1972 Bass Master Trail – Part Two
- Season at a Glance: 1972 Bass Master Trail – Part Three
The patches presented above are the patches the angler received at each of the events in the 1972 season. This is a complete set and we’re thankful to Jeff Haines for sharing them with us.
