Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame
Encyclopedia
This is the list of people inducted into the Billiard Congress of America
's hall of fame
. Many of these were inducted based on their excellence as world-class players (the "Greatest Players" category), while others (marked with "•" below) were inducted for their contributions to the game or the billiards
industry (the "Meritorious Service" category).
The year of induction is listed after the name.
Billiard Congress of America
Billiard Congress of America is a governing body for cue sports in North America , the regional member organization of the World Pool-Billiard Association...
's hall of fame
Hall of Fame
A hall of fame, wall of fame, walk of fame, walk of stars or avenue of stars is a type of attraction established for any field of endeavor to honor individuals of noteworthy achievement in that field...
. Many of these were inducted based on their excellence as world-class players (the "Greatest Players" category), while others (marked with "•" below) were inducted for their contributions to the game or the billiards
Billiards
Cue sports , also known as billiard sports, are a wide variety of games of skill generally played with a cue stick which is used to strike billiard balls, moving them around a cloth-covered billiards table bounded by rubber .Historically, the umbrella term was billiards...
industry (the "Meritorious Service" category).
The year of induction is listed after the name.
1966–1969
- Ralph GreenleafRalph GreenleafRalph Greenleaf was an American professional pool and carom billiards player, a twenty-time World Pocket Billiards Champion, whose ability and charisma dominated the sport during his heyday.His obituary in The New York Times said of Greenleaf, in March 1950: "What Babe Ruth did for baseball,...
(1966) - Willie HoppeWillie HoppeWilliam Frederick Hoppe , known predominantly as Willie Hoppe , was an internationally renowned American professional carom billiards champion, who was posthumously inducted into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame in 1966.-Biography:Hoppe was born in Cornwall on Hudson, New York on...
(1966) - Charles (Charlie) C. Peterson (1966) •
- Welker CochranWelker CochranWelker Cochran was an American professional carom billiards player who won world titles in two different disciplines, balkline and three-cushion billiards.-Biography:He was born in Manson, Iowa...
(1967) - Alfredo DeOroAlfredo DeOroAlfredo de Oro was a Cuban professional carom billiards and pool player who several times held the world title in both three-cushion billiards and straight pool simultaneously...
(1967) - Benjamin (Ben) B. Nartzik (1967) •
- Willie MosconiWillie MosconiWilliam Joseph Mosconi , best known as Willie Mosconi, was an American professional pool player from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Between the years of 1941 and 1957, he won the World Straight Pool Championship an unmatched fifteen times. For most of the 20th century, his name was essentially...
(1968) - Jacob (Jake) "The Wizard" Schaefer Sr.Jacob Schaefer Sr.Jacob Schaefer, Sr. , nicknamed "the Wizard", was a professional carom billiards player, especially of the straight rail and balkline games, and was posthumously inducted into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame in 1968....
(1968) - Jacob (Jake) Schaefer Jr.Jacob Schaefer Jr.Jacob Schaefer, Jr. was a professional carom billiards player, a specialist in balkline games, and was inducted into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame in 1968.-Professional career:...
(1968) - Herman J. Rambow (1969) •
1970–1979
- Harold Worst (1970)
- John Wesley HyattJohn Wesley HyattJohn Wesley Hyatt was an American inventor. He is mainly known for simplifying the production of celluloid, the first industrial plastic. Hyatt, a Perkin Medal recipient, is an inductee into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.-Biography:Hyatt was born in Starkey, New York, and began working as a...
(1971) • - Johnny Layton (1974)
- Frank TaberskiFrank TaberskiFrank Taberski was a professional pocket billiards champion from Schenectady, New York. He won 10 consecutive challenge matches. He was inducted into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame in 1975.-Biography:He was born in 1899...
(1975) - James (Jimmy) Caras (1977)
- Irving CraneIrving CraneIrving Crane , nicknamed "the Deacon", was an American pool player from Livonia , New York, and ranks among the stellar players in the history of the sport...
(1978)
1980–1989
- Steve "The Miz" MizerakSteve MizerakSteve Mizerak , nicknamed "the Miz", was a world champion pool player dominant during the 1970s and early 1980s in the game of 14.1 continuous....
(1980) - Dorothy Wise (1981)
- Joseph (Joe) "The Meatman" BalsisJoe BalsisJoseph Balsis , nicknamed "the Meatman", was a professional pool player, and was inducted into the Billiard Congress of America's Hall of Fame in 1982.-Early life:...
(1982) - Luther LassiterLuther LassiterLuther Lassiter , born Luther Clement Lassiter, Jr. and nicknamed Wimpy, was a world-renowned American pool player from Elizabeth City, North Carolina...
(1983) - Rudolph "Minnesota Fats" Wanderone Jr. (1984) •
- Jean BalukasJean BalukasJean Balukas is an American pool player from Brooklyn, New York, and ranks among the stellar players in the history of the sport. At least through the 1990s, when Allison Fisher began her ascendancy, Balukas was widely acknowledged as the sole candidate for greatest female player ever...
(1985) - Lou ButeraLou ButeraLou Butera is an American professional pool player and an inductee into the Billiards Congress of America's Hall of Fame in 1986....
(1986) - Erwin RudolphErwin RudolphErwin Rudolph was an American pocket billiards player from Cleveland, Ohio and a four-time world champion. One of his great feats was running 125 points in 32 minutes .-Biography:...
(1987) - Andrew Ponzi (1988)
- Michael (Mike) SigelMike SigelMike Sigel is an American professional pool player.Sigel has won over 102 major pool tournaments, including 3 US Open Nine-ball Championship tournaments and 5 world pocket billiard championship titles...
(1989)
1990–1999
- John Brunswick (1990) •
- Walter TevisWalter TevisWalter Stone Tevis was an American novelist and short story writer. Three of his six novels were adapted into major films: The Hustler, The Color of Money and The Man Who Fell to Earth...
(1991) • - Nick VarnerNick VarnerNick Varner is an American pool player and was inducted into the Billiard Congress of America in 1992.-Career:...
(1992) - Michael Phelan (1993) •
- Eddie "The Knoxville Bear" Taylor (1993)
- Ray "Cool Cat" Martin (1994)
- Jimmy Moore (1994)
- Cisero MurphyCisero Murphy' was an American professional pool player. Murphy was the first African-American professional pocket billiards player to ever win world and U.S. national titles...
(1995) - Dallas WestDallas WestDallas West is an American pool player and was inducted into the Billiards Congress of America Hall of Fame in 1996.West is known for having a strong competitive spirit and is respected by his peers as being a gentleman player...
(1996) - Arthur "Babe" Cranfield (1997)
- Ruth McGinnis (1997)
- Larry "Boston Shorty" Johnson (1999)
2000–2009
- Cecil (Buddy) P. "The Rifleman" HallBuddy HallCecil P. "Buddy" Hall has been an American professional pool player for three decades. The International Pool Tour heralds Hall as a "living pool legend." He is nicknamed "The Rifleman" for his accuracy...
(2000) - Robert ByrneRobert Byrne (author)Robert Byrne is an American author and Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame instructor of pool and carom billiards.- Early life and education :...
(2001) • - Raymond "Mr. 100" CeulemansRaymond CeulemansRaymond ridder Ceulemans is a three-cushion billiards player and possibly the most dominant single figure in any one sport, having won 35 World Championship titles , 48 European titles and 61 national titles...
(2001) - Loree Jon "Queen of the Hill" JonesLoree Jon JonesLoree Jon Jones began playing billiards at the age of 4 at her home in Garwood, New Jersey. Recognizing her talent, her father built wooden boxes around the table so she would be the correct height for him to teach her the sport. Her father was her instructor, and her mother became her daily...
(2002) - James (Jim, Jimmy) "King James" Rempe (2002)
- Edwin "Champagne Eddie" Kelly (2003)
- Efren "Bata the Magician" ReyesEfren ReyesEfren Manalang Reyes is a Filipino professional pool player and a two-time world champion. Reyes is considered by many to be the greatest all-around pool player in the history of the game. He is affectionately nicknamed "Bata" and "the Magician".-Early life:Reyes was born in Pampanga in 1954...
(2003) - Ewa "The Striking Viking" Mataya LauranceEwa Mataya LauranceEwa Laurance is a Swedish–American professional pool player, most notably on the Women's Professional Billiard Association nine-ball tour, a sports writer, and more recently a sports commentator for ESPN...
(2004) - George BalabushkaGeorge BalabushkaGeorge Balabushka was a Russian-born billiards cue maker, arguably the most prominent member of that profession, and is sometimes referred to as "the Stradivarius of cuemakers". His full name or last name standing alone is often used to refer to a cue stick made by him. Arriving in the U.S...
(2004) •
- Mike MasseyMike MasseyMichael "Mike" Massey is an American professional pocket billiards player, best known as a trick shot artist since the late 1970s, and has given substantial visibility to the sport by traveling the globe to perform exhibitions and compete in a variety of disciplines...
(2005) • - Robin Bell "Bankroll" Dodson (2005)
- Earl "The Pearl" StricklandEarl StricklandEarl "The Pearl" Strickland is an American professional pool player and was inducted into the Billiard Congress of America's Hall of Fame in 2006...
(2006) - Sang Lee (2007)
- Allen Hopkins (2008)
- Pat FlemingPat Fleming (billiards)Pat Fleming is an American professional pocket billiards player and the founder of Accu-Stats Video Productions. Fleming is the fifty-third inductee into the Billiard Congress of America's Hall of Fame, recognized in the Meritorious Service category on June 12, 2008...
(2008) • - Johnny "The Scorpion" ArcherJohnny ArcherJohnny Archer is an American professional pool player. He is nicknamed "the Scorpion" ....
(2009) - Allison "The Duchess of Doom" FisherAllison FisherAllison Fisher is an English professional pool player.-Biography:Fisher grew up in Hadlow, Kent. She won her first world title at the age of 17. To date, she has won over 80 national titles and 11 world titles in total. She even entered the men's snooker rankings, but never progressed into the...
(2009)