America's greatest ever? You Decide!

Who is America's best ever pool player? The poll on the top right of this page lists some all-time favorites, including recent Hall of Fame inductee Johnny Archer. I've left Willie Hoppe off the list because he was known as one of the best-ever billiards players, as opposed to one of the best-ever pool players. Neither have I included one of my personal favorites, Efren "Bata" Reyes. As he's from the Philippines, I figured I'd save him for a future poll of the greatest international players. I've also tried to get a good mix of players from different eras. (Van Boening vs. Greenleaf?!) Vote early. Vote often. I'll leave the poll up for awhile. Also, if you have a write-in candidate, feel free to comment at the bottom of this post. I'll tally up the write-ins later, along with those listed on the ballot.

The 1960s Hustlers' Jamboree and George Jansco's Minor League Baseball Stats

The internet is amazing. Here's a site that references George Jansco's minor league baseball stats back in the 1930s. Notice that the site references George's nickname as "Wimpy" -- which was the same handle used by Luther Lassiter. Odd. Also looks like George had a career batting average of .291. Not too shabby.

For those who don't know, George Jansco was the promoter (along with his brother Paulie) behind the Johnston City hustler jamborees during the 1960s. Lassiter dominated the colorful events, which also featured Jersey Red, Boston Shorty, Ronnie Allen, Harold Worst, Handsome Dan and of course Minnesota Fats. I've attached a YouTube video at the top of this post that features an interview with Fats at one of the southern Illinois tournaments. That's a picture of George Jansco at the upper right. You can find more historic pool videos here. (Freddy "The Beard' Bentivegna also has amassed a cool collection of online videos.) You can read more about George Jansco and his jamborees in Hustler Days.

Videos of Pool Champ Harold Worst in 1965

Check out the cool videos of Harold Worst playing in Johnston City, circa 1965, which was about a year before Worst died of cancer. You can find the video on a blog maintained by Freddy "The Beard" Bentivegna. Just click here. Worst is playing Larry "Boston" Shorty in the footage. The Beard also has posted a Jim McKay interview with Worst.

A bit of quick biographical information: Worst was born on Sept. 29, 1929, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In 1949, according to The Grand Rapids Press, "Worst had followed in Hoppe's steps as a 'boy wonder,' having set a record for youth when at the age of 21 he became the youngest player in history to qualify for world championship play." He placed second in that year's national tournament and then fourth in the world meet. In 1954 he won the world three-cushion title during a tournament in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He then went on to amass a great winning record through the first half of the 1960s and might have surpassed Luther Lassiter as that decade's dominant player had Worst not died of cancer in 1966 at the age of 37. Worst was at the top of this game when he got sick. He remained unconquered as the world's three-cushion champion.

You can read more about Worst in a column I wrote earlier for Billiards Digest. The coding is a bit messed up, but it's still available online here. On the top of this post I've inserted an image of the front page of the Grand Rapids Press that features coverage of Worst. Forgive the dark stains. I think I spilled some wine on my hard copy. You can find the home page of the great Freddy the Beard here.

The Jersey Red Shot

The famous Jersey Red shot -- Eddie Robin describes it in his excellent book, Winning One-Pocket. Red first shot this cool kick back in 1957, in a one-pocket match against James Evans. It was at the famous 7-11 pool room in New York City. Robin said it brought the house down. Red shot it for the last time on Nov. 3, 1997 -- 40 years later --- during a benefit event for Red shortly before his death. You can see it more clearly by clicking here. I've added a clip I found on youtube showing someone making the shot. It's ingenious -- the way it makes use of the kiss to knock the ball back into your pocket.

Get Your Tickets to the 2009 Hall of Fame

For the first time ever, the annual BCA Hall of Fame Banquet will be held in conjunction with the game’s longest-running pro tournament, the U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship. This year's inductees are Allison Fischer, winner of 53 WPBA Classic Tour Titles, and Johnny Archer, a four-time World 9-Ball Champion. You can be a part of history and attend the official induction ceremony and banquet, held Oct. 22 at the Marriott Chesapeake Hotel, in Chesapeake, VA. To buy tickets or for more information, click here. I'll be there for sure.

Here's a copy of the full USMBA press release:

Advance tickets are now on sale online for the 2009 Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame Banquet, the United States Billiard Media Association (USBMA) announced today. The dinner banquet, at which pool greats Johnny Archer and Allison Fisher will be formally inducted into the BCA Hall of Fame, will take place Thursday, Oct. 22, at the Marriott Chesapeake Hotel, Chesapeake, Va., in conjunction with the 2009 U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships.

The banquet, honoring Archer and Fisher as the 54th and 55th inductees into the sport’s hallowed shrine, will also be attended by previous inductees and will feature testimonials celebrating the pair’s illustrious careers. Cocktails (cash bar) will be served from 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm, with dinner and the formal induction ceremony running from 6:00pm – 7:45 pm.

“I’m very excited about having the BCA Hall of Fame Banquet at the U.S. Open,” said U.S. Open founder and promoter Barry Behrman. “This promises to be one of the best banquets ever.

“I’m suspending play during the banquet to give Johnny and Allison the respect they deserve,” Berhman continued. “Matches will resume at 8:00 pm that evening.”

Advance tickets are $55 per person (or $500 for a table of 10) at http://www.usbma.com/HallofFame2009/. Advance ticket sales will end Oct. 18. Tickets purchased at the U.S. Open will be $60 per person. Seating is limited.

The 2009 BCA Hall of Fame Banquet is being produced by the USBMA, in cooperation with the Billiard Congress of America and the U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships.

Jersey Red in 1969: "Even Houdini Couldn't Get Out From Here!"

I LOVE this sequence of shots. It was executed by Jersey Red back in 1969 during a match-up with Ronnie Allen in Houston's Le Cue pool hall. Grady "The Professor" Mathews was an eyewitness, and he describes it gloriously in Eddie Robin's excellent book, Winning One-Pocket. You can see the shots more clearly by clicking here.

Red was at the table and needed all four balls. The Red Raider looked The Professor straight in the eye, remarked "even Houdini couldn't get out from here" and then began his spectacular run. First Red shot the combination seen in the top diagram. That is, he pockets a ball in the upper right-hand corner while simultaneously sinking another back into his pocket on the lower left side. Notice he goes rail first to to make this combination-bank shot. In the next diagram Red pockets the ball into his wicket while simultaneously pocketing the hanger in the side pocket. He then pockets the final two balls after they were spotted back up. Notice here the two-rail bank.

This match-up would have occurred within months of Red's second place finish in that year's U.S. Open. Luther Lassiter won it. You can read more about Red and the U.S. Open in Hustler Days. And please go buy Robin's Winning One-Pocket. It's a great book.

The Child Prodigy Jean Balukas

If there was any female player in history considered the possible equal to Allison Fisher, that player would be Jean Balukas. The Brooklyn-native was a child prodigy, as can be seen in this amazing footage of her pocketing balls. (You have to wait a few minutes to see it.) Balukas competed in her first U.S. Open at age 9, and at age 12 she won her first BCA title. She abruptly left competitive pool in 1988 at the height of her career. Balukas was the second woman ever to be inducted into the BCA Hall of Fame. Fisher, the sixth, was inducted this year.

Champ Frank Taberski Plays "Chinese" Pool

Here's some footage of Frank Taberski playing "Chinese Pool," which was a popular variation of the game during the early 20th Century. Mike Shamos, in his excellent New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Billiards, described Chinese Pool as a game "in which the cue ball is not stroked but is instead rolled down the groove formed by two cue sticks held parallel to one another."

The origin of the game's rather un-PC name remains unclear. Shamos notes that Americans at the turn of the century commonly applied the adjective "Chinese" to anything done in an unusual fashion. He also speculates that it "may relate to the chopstick-like appearance of two cues held together."

Taberski (the nation's dominant player shortly before the reign of Ralph Greenleaf) could easily run a rack or more playing this odd variety of the game.

Two stories about Greenleaf's marital problems.

Here are two stories about Ralph Greenleaf's marital problems. They include references to a missing tooth, a hurled ashtray, Greenleaf surrendering all his money to one his wives and "barbarous treatment." Both articles are from the Chicago Tribune. The first article identifies Greenleaf's wife as "Beatrice." It's from Dec. 24, 1924. The second is from December 20, 1933 -- almost exactly 9 years later -- and references the more well known of Greenleaf's wives, Amelia Ruth Parker, also known as the Princess Nai Tai Tai. She was a Vaudeville performer. I've referenced the hurled ashtray incident in an earlier post. You can also see a picture of Greenleaf with the Princess in that earlier post. Despite the divorce papers, Amelia Ruth Parker and Greenleaf remained together until his death in 1950.

Pool History Now on Twitter!

The old meets the new: pool history meets the Twitter network. I'm trying to keep my tweeting pretty narrowly focused on pool history. That means no recounting of what I had for dinner, or whether I'll make it home in time for The Daily Show. So if you're not already subscribing to the pool history blog, you can now keep up with the latest posts by following @PoolHistoryBlog on Twitter.

America's Best Ever Pool Player? You Decide

Who is America's best ever pool player? The poll on the top right of this page lists some all-time favorites, including recent Hall of Fame inductee Johnny Archer. I've left Willie Hoppe off the list because he was known as one of the best-ever billiards players, as opposed to one of the best-ever pool players. Neither have I included one of my personal favorites, Efren "Bata" Reyes. As he's from the Philippines, I figured I'd save him for a future poll of the greatest international players. I've also tried to get a good mix of players from different eras. (Van Boening vs. Greenleaf?!) Vote early. Vote often. I'll leave the poll up for awhile. Also, if you have a write-in candidate, feel free to comment at the bottom of this post. I'll tally up the write-ins later, along with those listed on the ballot.

Although he was one of the most recognizable sports figures of the Jazz Age, the great Ralph Greenleaf nonetheless would inexplicably vanish from time to time. In one of my recent columns, I wrote about Greenleaf going AWOL in 1946. He showed up later. He was probably on an extended bender. I've reproduced here a small portion of another article from the Chicago Tribune that references "a nation-wide search" for Greenleaf in 1936. According to the article, Greenleaf showed up inexplicably in a neighborhood pool hall, where he introduced himself as the "former world's champion billiards player." The patrons said he amazed the crowd with a number of "fancy shots" before vanishing once again.