Billy Burge

Billy Burge (December 12 1931 – February 13 2004) was an American pool player who was better known as "Cornbread Red". [ [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,455824,00.html "The New Cool of Pool"] , by Harriet Barovick, Time Magazine, June 2003. Retrieved June 17, 2007] Inducted into the One-pocket Hall of Fame in 2004 and Legends of Bank Pool in 2005, Billy Burge is revered as one of the most talented and entertaining characters in the history of American pool. [ [http://www.onepocket.org/CornbreadHOFpage.htm Hall of Fame] , "Onepocket.org". Retrieved June 17, 2007.] [ [http://freepoollessons.com "Billy 'Cornbread Red' Burge"] , by Jimmy Reid, "FreePoolLessons.com". Retrieved June 17, 2007]

Professional Days

Cornbread Red was born in Mayfield, Kentucky to a sharecropping family during the Great Depression, which is when he acquired a passion and talent for billiards. He learned the rules of the road from notorious hustlers, gamblers, con men, and world-class pool champions. [ [http://www.ozonebilliards.com/coredpogrmop.html "From the Fields of Kentucky to the Lights of Las Vegas] . "Ozone Billiards". Retrieved June 17, 2007]

Burge frequented The Rack, a popular pool room in Detroit, Michigan, ["Cornbread Red: Pool's Greatest Money Player," authored by Bob Henning. Retrieved June 17, 2007] in an era when gambling was considered the norm in American pool. Though he never had a job, he devoted his life to pocket billiards. He was always looking for a game, and it didn’t matter what game because he could play all games well. [ [http://www3.sympatico.ca/bullit/page12.htm "Cornbread Red, A Living Legend"] , by Bob Checaloski. Retrieved June 17, 2007]

Burge is an American legendary pool player. He is heralded as one of the greatest money players and proposition men of all time. When asked how much was the most money he ever played for, he said it was a race to 6 for US$100,000. ["The Snap Magazine", "The Hustler," by Bennie "The Goose" Conway, page 39, February/March 1990. Retrieved June 17, 2007]

He died at the age of 72 and will be remembered as one of the great professional billiard players. He was featured in "Pool and Billiard Magazine", May 2000, in the "Legends of the Road" section. [ [http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-113460932.html Pool Legend 'CORNBREAD RED' Dead at 72] , "The Kentucky Post", February 19, 2004. Retrieved June 17, 2007]

Filmography

* 1992 West Coast One-Pocket Championship, Los Angeles, California [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftQxRERW35I "Cornbread Red vs. Strawberry Brooks, Part 4"] Retrieved June 17, 2007]

References