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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 when he entered the Johnston City tournament in 1970.<ref name="Forsyth">{{cite journal | last = Forsyth | first = Jerry | title = Touching Base with Buddy Hall | journal = Pool & Billiard Magazine | volume = 16| issue = 9 | pages = 100–101| issn = 1049-2852 | date = September 1998}}</ref><blockquote>"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."<ref name="Forsyth" /></blockquote>
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 when he entered the Johnston City tournament in 1970.<ref name="Forsyth">{{cite journal | last = Forsyth | first = Jerry | title = Touching Base with Buddy Hall | journal = Pool & Billiard Magazine | volume = 16| issue = 9 | pages = 100–101| issn = 1049-2852 | date = September 1998}}</ref><blockquote>"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."<ref name="Forsyth" /></blockquote>


In the following years, Johnston City lost out as the hub of top tier tournament play to [[Dayton, Ohio]] all-around tournament. There, organizer Joe Burns instituted a similar all-around tournaments to the format that had been used in Johnston 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 $35,000 for his efforts; the biggest first prize money in a tournament at the time. Hall has [[ESPN]]'s announcement of Halls' win was the first ever mention of a billiard player on that cable television network.<ref name="Forsyth" /> "The Rifleman" won 1/3 of all PBA Tournaments that were held in the 80s, only second to [[Mike Sigel]] in PBA tournament wins. In 1995 'Rags to Rifleman' was published, a biography of his life and career.
In the following years, Johnston City lost out as the hub of top tier tournament play to the [[Dayton, Ohio|Dayton]] Open Tournament. There, in 1974 organizer Joe Burns instituted a similar all-around tournament to the format that had been used in the Johnston City Tournament. He took first place there in 1974 winning $4,000 and continued to complete in the Dayton Open Tournaments for many years. 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 $35,000 for his efforts; the biggest first prize money in a tournament at the time. Hall has [[ESPN]]'s announcement of Halls' win was the first ever mention of a billiard player on that cable television network.<ref name="Forsyth" /> "The Rifleman" won 1/3 of all PBA Tournaments that were held in the 80s, only second to [[Mike Sigel]] in PBA tournament wins. In 1995 'Rags to Rifleman' was published, a biography of his life and career.


==Career==
==Career==

Revision as of 02:22, 4 January 2023

Buddy Hall
Buddy at the 2003 US Open
Born (1945-05-29) 29 May 1945 (age 79)
Metropolis, Illinois
Sport country United States
Nickname"The Rifleman"
Professional1970
Tournament wins
Other titles100

Cecil P. "Buddy" Hall (born May 29, 1945, in Metropolis, Illinois) has been an American professional pool player for four decades and is considered one of the best nine-ball players of all time. The International Pool Tour heralds Hall as a "living pool legend."[1] He is nicknamed "The Rifleman" for his accuracy [1] and had been a consistent top 5 ranking player on the professional tour from 1974 for almost two decades.

Many players and pundits consider him to be one of the most fundamentally solid 9-Ball players of all time. Hall has the unique ability to shoot pool both left-handed and right-handed.

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.[2]

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 when he entered the Johnston City tournament in 1970.[3]

"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."[3]

In the following years, Johnston City lost out as the hub of top tier tournament play to the Dayton Open Tournament. There, in 1974 organizer Joe Burns instituted a similar all-around tournament to the format that had been used in the Johnston City Tournament. He took first place there in 1974 winning $4,000 and continued to complete in the Dayton Open Tournaments for many years. 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 $35,000 for his efforts; the biggest first prize money in a tournament at the time. Hall has ESPN's announcement of Halls' win was the first ever mention of a billiard player on that cable television network.[3] "The Rifleman" won 1/3 of all PBA Tournaments that were held in the 80s, only second to Mike Sigel in PBA tournament wins. In 1995 'Rags to Rifleman' was published, a biography of his life and career.

Career

Buddy Hall is a winner of over 100 professional tournaments including over 100 bar table tournaments. In 1974 Hall won one of his first events the Dayton 9-ball Open. Hall later went on to win the U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship in 1991, 1998. On his road to victory of the 1991 U.S. Open 9-ball Championship, in the semi finals, Buddy after trailing 7-1 behind against Johnny Archer, ran 8 consecutive racks in a row to win the match. Archer later stated on a TAR Podcast that Buddy as a player was: "The best i've ever seen, the best i've ever played". Hall was the thirty ninth inductee in the Billiards Congress of America's Hall of Fame, in the year 2000.[4] He was named Player of the Year by the pool media, to include Pro Billiards Tour, National Billiard News and the Billiards Digest Magazine, in 1982, 1991, 1997, 1998. A profile of Hall appeared in The Hustler column of the inaugural issue of The Snap Magazine, a story reputed to have "... in many ways set the tone for the magazine from there on out."[5] He is a former member of the International Pool Tour[6] and has later retired from professional competition although sometimes competes on various regional tours and senior events throughout the United States.

Career titles and achievements

  • 1974 Dayton Nine-Ball Open
  • 1974 Dayton Open All-Around
  • 1975 Bakers 9-Ball Open
  • 1976 Citrus Open 9-Ball Open
  • 1977 Citrus Open 9-Ball Open
  • 1978 Austin Open 9-Ball Open
  • 1978 Virginia Beach Tournament
  • 1978 Southeastern Open Nine-ball
  • 1978 Houston Open Nine-ball
  • 1979 Corpus Christi open 9-Ball
  • 1979 Austin Open Nine-ball
  • 1979 Memphis Open Nine-ball
  • 1979 Houston Open 9-ball
  • 1979 Houston Open 8-ball
  • 1979 Jackson Mississippi 9-Ball Open
  • 1979 US One-Pocket Open Championship
  • 1979 Gibbs Invitational 9-Ball
  • 1979 Gibbs Invitational All-Around
  • 1980 Sacramento 9-Ball Invitational
  • 1982 St. Louie 9-Ball Open
  • 1982 Jackson Mississippi 9-Ball Open
  • 1982 Bowling Green 9-Ball Open
  • 1982 Clyde Childress Memorial 9-Ball Open
  • 1982 Budweiser Billiard Classic
  • 1982 Caesars Tahoe Billiard Classic
  • 1982 Billiards Digest Players of the Year
  • 1983 Iowa State Open
  • 1984 Tampa Open 9-ball Championship
  • 1984 Dayton Nine-Ball Open
  • 1984 Caesars Tahoe Billiard Classic
  • 1985 Cowboy Casino Nine-ball Championship
  • 1985 East Coast Open
  • 1985 Charlotte Open
  • 1985 Gibbs 9-Ball Shootout
  • 1986 Florida Memorial Day Open
  • 1986 Super Bowl Open
  • 1986 Cue Garden Open
  • 1986 Fall Classic
  • 1986 Florida Open
  • 1986 Charlotte Open
  • 1987 Lexington All-Star 9-Ball
  • 1987 Lexington All-Star All-Around
  • 1987 Carolina's Cup
  • 1987 Colorado Open
  • 1987 Glass City Open
  • 1987 Denver Open
  • 1988 Florida Master's Open
  • 1988 Grand Stand Nine-Ball Tournament
  • 1989 Citrus Open
  • 1989 Florida Master's Billiards
  • 1989 Moline Open 9-Ball
  • 1989 Memphis 9-Ball Open
  • 1991 Southern California Open 9-Ball
  • 1991 Capital City Open
  • 1991 U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship
  • 1991 International 9-ball Classic
  • 1991 Bicycle Club Invitational
  • 1991 Billiards Digest Players of the Year
  • 1992 Rak'em Up Classic
  • 1992 International Challenge of Champions
  • 1992 Team America North Vs South Exhibition
  • 1993 Southern California 9-Ball Championship
  • 1995 Commonwealth Cup Championship
  • 1996 Florida State 9-Ball Championship
  • 1997 Senior Tour Tulsa
  • 1997 Florida State 9-Ball Championship
  • 1997 Pro Billiards Tour Player of the Year
  • 1998 Pine Needles Seniors Open
  • 1998 Viking Cue Pro Warm Up
  • 1998 Texas Open 9-Ball Championship
  • 1998 Camel Shooters Nine-ball Open
  • 1998 U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship
  • 1998 Legends of One-Pocket Championship
  • 1998 National Billiard News Player of the Year
  • 2000 Florida State 9-ball Championship
  • 2000 Men's Florida Tour 9-ball
  • 2000 Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame
  • 2001 Florida Tour 9-ball
  • 2001 Gibbs Straight Pool Tournament
  • 2001 Florida Open 9-ball Championship
  • 2001 Lucasi Central Florida 9-Ball Open
  • 2001 Derby City Classic One Pocket
  • 2002 Firecracker Open Nine-ball
  • 2004 Gulf Coast Classic Bank Pool
  • 2005 Senior Masters VI 9-ball
  • 2005 Hard Times One Pocket
  • 2006 Shooter's Billiards One Pocket
  • 2008 Shooter's Billiards One Pocket
  • 2011 One Pocket Hall of Fame

References

  1. ^ a b International Pool Tour (2008). "IPT Player Biography: Buddy Hall". Archived from the original on October 1, 2008. Retrieved March 30, 2009.
  2. ^ Buddy Hall's Clock System, PoolVideo.com. Retrieved August 4, 2007
  3. ^ a b c Forsyth, Jerry (September 1998). "Touching Base with Buddy Hall". Pool & Billiard Magazine. 16 (9): 100–101. ISSN 1049-2852.
  4. ^ Buddy Hall Industry Bio Archived August 10, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, BCA-POOL.com. Retrieved August 3, 2007
  5. ^ LeBeaux, R.; Peterson, James (2010). "Issue by Issue: Volume 1, Number 1 – August/September 1989". A Memorial Tribute to The Snap Magazine. Tampa, FL: MetroDirect Communications. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved August 6, 2010.
  6. ^ Buddy Hall Player Bio Archived August 4, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, InternationalPoolTour.com. Retrieved August 3, 2007
Preceded by US Open Nine-ball Champion
1991
Succeeded by
Dennis Hatch
Preceded by US Open Nine-ball Champion
1998
Succeeded by
Tang Hoa