Buddy Hall

Cecil P. "Buddy" Hall (born May 29, 1945 in Metropolis, Illinois) has been an American professional pool player for three decades. [ [http://www.autographedtoyou.com/Buddy-Hall.htm Buddy Hall profile] , ATY.com. Retrieved August 3, 2007 Rs|date=August 2007] Nicknamed "The Rifleman" for his accuracy, pool organizations like the International Pool Tour herald Hall as a "living pool legend",citequote|date=August 2007 which is one of the reasons why he is today a BCA Hall of Famer.

Hall has been credited for creating the "clock system" which is a technique for where to hit the cue-ball, using the clock as a mechanism for where to aim. [ [http://www.poolvideo.com/pv241.htm Buddy Hall's Clock System] , "PoolVideo.com". Retrieved August 4, 2007]

Hall began playing at 14 years of age in a soda shop in his home town. When local pool rooms would not let him enter because of his age, he used subterfuge to obtain a new birth certificate from a local judge which stated he was of legal age. He cut his teeth at Herbie Lynn's pool room and was soon dominating the regulars. It was not long before he hit the road to try his hand at a wider playing field. He first gained some prominence at the Johnson City tournaments.cite journal | last = Forsyth | first = Jerry | title = Touching Base with Buddy Hall | journal = Pool & Billiard Magazine | volume = Vol. 16, No. 9 | pages = p. 100–101| id = ISSN 1049-2852 | date = September 1998]

I went there to watch all the greats of the day play. Wimpy, Jersey Red, Eddie Taylor, Cornbread Red, Harold Worst, Jimmy Moore, Fats and U.J. were playing one another in both the tournament and in backroom ring games. I entered and was very pleased when I beat Wimpy and Jersey Red and won my entry fee back.

In the following years, Johnson City lost out as the hub of top tier tournament play to Dayton, Ohio. There, organizer Joe Burns instituted a similar all-around tournaments to the format that had been used in Johnosn City. Hall played in the Dayton Tournaments for many years. He took first place there in 1974 winning $4,000. In 1982 Buddy won the Caesar's Tahoe Nine-ball Championship by edging out Allen Hopkins in the final with a score of 11-6, winning $33,500 for his efforts; an unprecedented purse at the time. ESPN's announcement of Halls' win was the first ever mention of a billiard player on that cable television network.

Career

Buddy Hall was the thirty-ninth inductee in the Billiards Congress of America's Hall of Fame, in the year 2000. [ [http://www.bca-pool.com/industry/hof/ind97-01.shtml Buddy Hall Industry Bio] , BCA-POOL.com. Retrieved August 3, 2007 ] He was named Player of the Year by the pool media, to include The National Billiard News and Pool and Billiards Magazine, in 1982, 1991, and 1998. Hall currently is a member of the International Pool Tour [ [http://www.internationalpooltour.com/ipt_content/ipt_players/bio/Hall_Buddy.asp Buddy Hall Player Bio] , InternationalPoolTour.com. Retrieved August 3, 2007 ] and still competes on various regional tours and senior events throughout the United States.

Titles

* 1998 Camel Shooters Nine-ball Open
* 1998 U.S. Open Nine-ball Championship
* 1995 PBC Commonwealth Shootout
* 1992 MPBA Bicycle Club Invitational
* 1992 International Challenge of Champions
* 1992 MPBA Rakm Up Classic
* 1991 International Nine-ball Classic
* 1991 US Open Nine-ball Championship
* 1991 MPBA International Classic
* 1987 Glass City Open
* 1987 Colorado Open
* 1987 Carolina's Cup
* 1987 Lexington Open
* 1986 Fall Classic
* 1986 Cue Club Open
* 1986 Super Bowl Open
* 1986 Memorial Day Open
* 1985 Gibbs Nine-Ball Shootout
* 1985 Charlotte Open
* 1985 East Coast Open
* 1985 Cowboy Casino Nine-ball Championship
* 1984 World Nine-Ball Open
* 1984 Caesars Tahoe Classic
* 1984 Dayton Open
* 1983 Dayton Open 9-ball Championship
* 1983 Caesar's Tahoe Nine-ball Championship
* 1982 Caesar's Tahoe Nine-ball Championship

References