Buddy Hall

Buddy "the Rifleman" Hall at the 2003 US Open

Cecil P. "Buddy" Hall (born May 29, 1945, in Metropolis, Illinois) has been an American professional pool player for four decades, who is considered one of the best nine-ball players of all time.^[1] The International Pool Tour heralds Hall as a "living pool legend."^[2] He is nicknamed "The Rifleman" for his accuracy ^[2] and has been a consistent top 5 ranking player on the professional pro tour since '74 for almost two decades.

Many players and pundits consider him to be one of the most fundamentally solid 9-Ball players of all time.

An article written that was originally in "The Snap Magazine" issued that:

"I remember when Luther Lassiter was considered the best pool player in the world, and I talked to him once about Buddy. He said that even as good as he (Luther) played 9-ball, he'd never play Buddy straight up."

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.^[3]

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 won his first pro event at the age of 17 in straight pool, which he did not play at the time. He first gained some prominence at the Johnston City tournaments.^[4]

"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."^[4]

In the following years, Johnston 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 Johnston City. Hall played in the Dayton Tournaments for many years. He took first place there in 1974 winning $4,000. Hall has won three of the ten richest top prizes in pool at that time, 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. Hall has ESPN's announcement of Halls' win was the first ever mention of a billiard player on that cable television network.^[4] "The Rifleman" won 1/3 of all MPBA Tournaments that were held. In 1995 'Rags to Rifleman' was published, a biography of his life and career.

Career[]

Buddy Hall is a winner of 200 plus professional tournaments and 67 major titles. Hall has amassed 13 world titles in all divisions including 9-ball, One pocket and bank pool. In 1974 Hall won an outstanding 11 out of 14 of the pro tournaments he entered, as well as winning the U.S. Open One Pocket championship in 1979 and the U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships 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.^[5] He was named Player of the Year by the pool media, to include The National Billiard News and Pool and the Billiards Digest Magazine, in 1982, 1991, and 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."^[6] He is a former member of the International Pool Tour^[7] and has later retired from professional competition although sometimes competes on various regional tours and senior events throughout the United States.

Career Titles[]

• 1974 Dayton Open Nine-ball Championship
• 1979 U.S. Open One Pocket
• 1982 Clyde Childress Memorial Nine-ball
• 1982 Caesars Tahoe Nine-ball Championship
• 1982 Billiards Digest Players of the Year
• 1983 Caesars Tahoe Nine-ball Championship
• 1983 Dayton Open 9-ball Championship
• 1984 Dayton Open 9-ball Championship
• 1984 World 9-Ball Open
• 1985 Cowboy Casino Nine-ball Championship
• 1985 East Coast Open
• 1985 Charlotte Open
• 1985 Gibbs 9-Ball Shootout
• 1986 Memorial Day Open
• 1986 Super Bowl Open
• 1986 Cue Club Open
• 1986 Fall Classic
• 1987 Lexington Open
• 1987 Carolina's Cup
• 1987 Colorado Open
• 1987 Glass City Open
• 1989 Moline Open 9-Ball
• 1989 Memphis 9-Ball Open
• 1991 MPBA International Classic
• 1991 U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship
• 1991 International 9-ball Classic
• 1991 Billiards Digest Players of the Year
• 1992 MPBA Rakm Up Classic
• 1992 International Challenge of Champions
• 1995 PBC Commonwealth Shootout
• 1998 National Billiards News Player of the Year
• 1998 Pine Needles Seniors Open
• 1998 Texas Open 9-Ball Championship
• 1998 Camel Shooters Nine-ball Open
• 1998 U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship
• 1998 World One Pocket Championship
• 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 Florida Open 9-ball
• 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[]