BCA Hall of Fame

What are the procedures to determine who gets elected into the billiards hall of fame? Who votes? What percentage threshold is required? Is there an actual physical hall of fame like Cooperstown for Baseball, Springfield for Basketball, and Canton for Football?
 
Dennis O. is very deserving, as are some of the other names mentioned in this thread, in the players category. Mary Kenniston is another name that comes to mind.

One name I have not heard mentioned, maybe because he is on the BCA HOF voting list, is Billiards Digest publisher Michael Panozzo for his lifetime contributions to pool as a sport.
 
JAM said:
One name I have not heard mentioned, maybe because he is on the BCA HOF voting list, is Billiards Digest publisher Michael Panozzo for his lifetime contributions to pool as a sport.
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Interesting idea.

Mike would not look out of place in the Hall of Fame as one of pool's greatest ever journalists, having supported the game through years of reporting and editorials and as a long-term positive force in the game. There is precedent for a writer having been inducted for the profound influence that his writings have had on pool. Two such cases are Walter Tevis, author of "The Hustler" and "The Color of Money," and Robert Byrne, who may just be pool's greatest ever author.
 
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jay helfert said:
All congrats to Thorsten on getting into the BCA HOF, but it left me wondering when Dennis Orcollo will be similarly recognized. All Dennis has done year after year for the last fifteen years is win all kinds of tournaments; 9-Ball, Ten Ball, Straight Pool, One Pocket and even Bank Pool! He has consistently competed against the best players on the planet and defeated all of them at one time or another, both in tournaments and head to head competition. His winning record the last fifteen years is pretty much unmatched. except for possibly Shane who undoubtedly will be in the HOF soon. At age 42 Dennis continues to dominate tournaments wherever he goes. He has never had an "off year" and always is at the top of the leader board at the end of every year. I'm not sure what more he has to do to be worthy of this recognition. Throughout his long career, Dennis is and has always been considered one of the top five players in the world. His record in competition speaks for itself. Take a look at his results this year and go back and look at previous years. I defy you to find a more consistent winner at pool than Dennis Orcollo. Shane is the only one who is even close in that respect.
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I know he's a tremendous player but just curious: what titles has he won?

Lou Figueroa
really don't know
 
sjm said:
Interesting idea.

Mike would not look out of place in the Hall of Fame as one of pool's greatest ever journalists, having supported the game through years of reporting and editorials and as a long-term positive force in the game. There is precedent for a writer having been inducted for the profound influence that his writings have had on pool. Two such cases are Walter Tevis, author of "The Hustler" and "The Color of Money," and Robert Byrne, who may just be pool's greatest ever author.
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What about George Fels, or R.A Dyer, or even Thomas Shaw?

Lou Figueroa
 
lfigueroa said:
I know he's a tremendous player but just curious: what titles has he won?

Lou Figueroa
really don't know
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Quite a few if you look at his Wiki page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Orcollo
 
JAM said:
Quite a few if you look at his Wiki page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Orcollo
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Quite a list. DO should be in already imo.
 
When Dennis is eventually inducted, hope he opts to sing a few bars of something within his acceptance speech.
All reports are that he has a very appealing, professional-quality singing voice and delivery.

Arnaldo
 
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westcoast said:
What are the procedures to determine who gets elected into the billiards hall of fame? Who votes? What percentage threshold is required? Is there an actual physical hall of fame like Cooperstown for Baseball, Springfield for Basketball, and Canton for Football?
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It used to be the BCA members who voted. Now it is the USBMA (US Billiard Media Association) which consists of US billiard writers. In addition I think all living HOF members vote. The top vote-getter is selected along with any other nominee voted for on 75% or more of the ballots. The "Greatest Players" category is voted on every year with "Meritorious Service" every second year.

There is no physical HOF.
 
Bob Jewett said:
It used to be the BCA members who voted. Now it is the USBMA (US Billiard Media Association) which consists of US billiard writers. In addition I think all living HOF members vote. The top vote-getter is selected along with any other nominee voted for on 75% or more of the ballots. The "Greatest Players" category is voted on every year with "Meritorious Service" every second year.

There is no physical HOF.
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Thanks for providing me with feedback
 
lfigueroa said:
I know he's a tremendous player but just curious: what titles has he won?

Lou Figueroa
really don't know
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I would refer you to the Home page here where you can find all player's tournament history. Suffice to say Dennis has won dozens of events over the years, both big and small. He has numerous titles and three All Around wins at DCC, several U.S. Open Ten Ball and Eight Ball titles, both on big tables and small. Early in his career he won the Sands Reno event and the BCA 9-Ball Open. He's won the Predator International Ten Ball twice and the World Pool League with all the top players competing. His major victories include the China Open, World Cup of Pool, World Eight Ball Championship, World Pool Masters and the World Open 9-Ball in Qatar. Two years in a row he played Shane in the Finals of the U.S. Open and lost a close match each time. I'm surprised somebody as knowledgable as you wouldn't be aware of some of his accomplishments.
 
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Bob Jewett said:
It used to be the BCA members who voted. Now it is the USBMA (US Billiard Media Association) which consists of US billiard writers. In addition I think all living HOF members vote. The top vote-getter is selected along with any other nominee voted for on 75% or more of the ballots. The "Greatest Players" category is voted on every year with "Meritorious Service" every second year.

There is no physical HOF.
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Is there a list somewhere of these billiard writers?

Lou Figueroa
 
They are both top tier pros, but I think Thorstons major’s win record is a bit higher than Dennis’s. Thus it makes sense to me to get him in first.
 
iusedtoberich said:
They are both top tier pros, but I think Thorstons major’s win record is a bit higher than Dennis’s. Thus it makes sense to me to get him in first.
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The problem that I have isn’t that Hohmann got more votes, but that Dennis and Niels didn’t also get in this year. There isn’t a limit on the number of people the voters can vote for, so all three could (and should) have been elected. I also think Corey belongs in the HOF.
 
I don't get why HOF's(not just pool) piece-meal their inductions. A lot is political/friend-backscratching but its still kinda chickenshit imo.
 
garczar said:
I don't get why HOF's(not just pool) piece-meal their inductions. A lot is political/friend-backscratching but its still kinda chickenshit imo.
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Do you mean you don't like the current typical setup of annual inductions? What would you prefer?
 
Bob Jewett said:
Do you mean you don't like the current typical setup of annual inductions? What would you prefer?
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I'm not a fan of HOF's in general. The whole process tends to be very a political/good-ol-boys-club. Those close to the sport know who the best are. Do we really need a bunch of bureaurcrat-types deciding who the best is? Often(usually?) it turns into a popularity contest
 
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