Jean Balukas and ramblings of an old man

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I have a Jean Balukas story you might like , or hate , anyway here it is .
I lived in Columbus Ohio most of my life and in 1987 they had the first mens pro tournament I knew of, in about 40 years. I had been traveling all over the country watching tournaments and even back then a decent hotel room for 3 to 5 days was not cheap.
I had gone to one a month previously in Erlanger Kentucky and it cost 150.00 to join. Also the tables were Brunswicks with big pockets, just like I played on every day.
I made up my mind to play at least once in my life , even though I knew the chances of me beating anyone were very slim.
They raised the rate to 300.00 for this tournament and I thought Oh well"I can afford it" then when I got there, Diamond tables are being played on . I had never even seen one , let alone played on it and they gave me fits. I couldn't make a bank to save my life. Also I kept over running shape by about 2 diamonds .
I'm playing and having the time of my life and I'm playing Chris McDonald from California and have him 4 to 3 . My body froze up for some reason, and I never made another ball. It was like I became a zombie and I actually was not afraid or uncomfortable , I don't know what happened.
The way it worked out with a bye , Chris was in the money after our match.
I'm fine with that , nice guy. I go up into the stands and a guy named Mark from around Detroit is up there complaining about all the dead money guys in the tourney and it isn't fair and blah blah blah and he just sat and saw me get beat and knows I am a townie.
Ok
I watch every one of Jeans matches for the next couple of days and shes playing great , she almost beat Sigel if I remember correctly and after that match , the same guy is in the stands , crying about women being able to play in the mens tournament and he can't play in the womens and it isn't fair and blah blah blah and he's talking to Joe Kerr , who doesn't want to hear it , so I thought I would help him out and I said , "I don't understand why you are complaining so much, first it was dead money , and the only thing different between me and you is I went 2 and out and you went 3 and out and the problem with women is , you can't beat her.
I can't remember if I said something about him being delusional about his abilities or if I just thought it , but he had his game waaaaay over rated.
The next day I got to play a real old man named Poochie Sexton.
I had him 4 to 3 and this time I didn't freeze up , he just forgot to miss a ball, the rest of the match. I remember thinking ,man I wish I could play like that.
I made a 3 rail kick shot through clusters once playing him that if you saw it you would not believe it was possible , I got tremendously lucky , it didn't matter I didn't drive it to a rail and it was still a foul but the old guy did say , great shot {that was worth the 300 to me}. By the way , that was the only thing he said our whole match! The next day he has Nick Varner 8 to 3 and then Nick got a shot and never missed another ball ,lol.
I guess it's all relative.
The point of the story is that Jean really could play , she had guts too , I can also understand why those women wanted her off their tour.
A handful of sea hags kept the greatest womens player ever, until Allison Fisher, from even playing with their pettiness ,
I don't know who would have won between those 2 in their primes and it doesn't really matter , but I sure wish I could have watched it.
Best wishes Queen Jean
 
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deanoc

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I seldom go to tournaments ,and when I do I seldom watch,but I was right at the corner table in Las Vegas during Jean Balukas last tournament at the very game when she was accused of bad sportsmanship

I was jaw boning with dick Lane and Billy Incardona,Dick was wondering if he could beat Jean and if memory served Billy was not sure he could.

Also none of us saw or heard anything from Jean or about Jean sharking anbody. Especially nothing visible,no Earl antics no nothing


We kinda looked at each other funny when the thing about her offending someone came out

I don't remember who she was playing,but then agan Jean Balukas was the only female player I ever heard of at the time..Iam not tournament oriented.
 
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sonny burnett

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She was a bit before my time, and I dont remember her playing much in NC. I do remember several monster money players admitting to me they had much easier paydays than matching up with her, at least those honest ones admitted it.

I would have loved her matching up with Allison both in their prime. I was lucky enough to see her several times in marathon practice sessions on the new tight pocket Diamonds at Mother's in Charlotte. She usually closed out 9 ball practice on the snooker table. She usually shut the place down when everyone quit playing to watch! I played a ball better after watching.

Anyone that saw them both have an opinion?

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk
 
Bob Jewett

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I had the pleasure of being the ref in a couple of Jean's matches in the 1980 World 14.1 at the Roosevelt Hotel in NYC. In one match she was on a pretty nice run, and I was calling and counting the balls and I was really enjoying watching her play. Suddenly she just stopped. She had gotten to the 75 points that the women were playing to. Of course I should have announced "Playing for three ... two ... game ball" but I was too caught up watching.

In the other match of hers that I reffed, against Cisero Murphy, I did remember to give the 3-ball warning at the end when she beat him to 150.

She played in both divisions but only won one of them.:)
 
mikemosconi

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I think that Jean stopped playing because she had enough with all the petty complaints about her by other women pros. Too bad she did not continue again in the mid 90s to the mid 2000s - it would have been great to watch!
 
Bob Jewett

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Here is the cover of her 1980 autobiography/instructional book:

BalCover2.jpg

And here is her inscription to Charlie Ursitti:

BalInscr.jpg
 
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westcoast said:
Why exactly did she stop playing? She wasn't disbarred was she?
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The women made up a dress code {no jeans or pants or something like that} and she protested it . They saw an opportunity and ran with it. I would imagine she was tired of beating on them anyway , some of them were absolutely horrible.
The 3 or 4 women that deprived all of us, of her great ability, couldn't run 4 balls if they were hanging in the pockets. I know their names ,but they don't deserve the publicity.
 
Bob Jewett

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While sorting through my old NBN collection this morning, I came across this in the November 1968 issue:


NBNBalFull.jpg

NBNBalPic1.jpg

NBNBalPic2.jpg

NBNBalText.jpg
 
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sonny burnett said:
She was a bit before my time, and I dont remember her playing much in NC. I do remember several monster money players admitting to me they had much easier paydays than matching up with her, at least those honest ones admitted it.

I would have loved her matching up with Allison both in their prime. I was lucky enough to see her several times in marathon practice sessions on the new tight pocket Diamonds at Mother's in Charlotte. She usually closed out 9 ball practice on the snooker table. She usually shut the place down when everyone quit playing to watch! I played a ball better after watching.

Anyone that saw them both have an opinion?

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

They played on different equipment for one thing
Jean had a great break and could string racks together like the men , I never saw Allison have that .{There were some years after 2000 I watched no pool so if she developed a break during that time, then that statement is incorrect, otherwise ,no}. But, Allison played perfect shape and ran balls with the best of them , so it would have depended, I believe, on the equipment and breaking rules , break from the box may have favored Allison slightly , break from the side, Jean all day long . talking 9 ball.
Jean and Allison had a lot in common , both were the youngest to ever be champions at their games , Allison was 15 I believe when she won her first national snooker title and then 17 for the world title, Jean was 9 when she came in 5th at the world straight pool championships for women and 3 years later won it . I believe she was the youngest world champion at anything .
Obviously at snooker Allison would dominate and at straight pool Jean would.
 
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garczar

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book collector said:
They played on different equipment for one thing
Jean had a great break and could string racks together like the men , I never saw Allison have that .{There were some years after 2000 I watched no pool so if she developed a break during that time, then that statement is incorrect, otherwise ,no}. But, Allison played perfect shape and ran balls with the best of them , so it would have depended, I believe, on the equipment and breaking rules , break from the box may have favored Allison slightly , break from the side, Jean all day long . talking 9 ball.
Jean and Allison had a lot in common , both were the youngest to ever be champions at their games , Allison was 15 I believe when she won her first national snooker title and then 17 for the world title, Jean was 9 when she came in 5th at the world straight pool championships for women and 3 years later won it . I believe she was the youngest world champion at anything .
Obviously at snooker Allison would dominate and at straight pool Jean would.
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AF's super solid safety game may not have stopped Jean totally but would have slowed her down a lot. Those two in their prime is one match i think we all would like to sweat.
 
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garczar said:
AF's super solid safety game may not have stopped Jean totally but would have slowed her down a lot. Those two in their prime is one match i think we all would like to sweat.
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I remember the first match I ever saw her play on a table other than snookerand all of her kick shots were off.
The guys I was watchching with all thought she would never be a top woman 9 baller and I said , wait till she gets used to these different rails, and you will see one of the first, real high level women safety players. Of course they laughed , {but only for about 2 months }
 
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deanoc

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the reason jean left the pro tour has not been accurately reported

as far as i know

i think in the match i described seeing nothing that the other lady reported that jean had acted in an
ungentlemanly way, not in accordance with the other lady's opinion of what the marquis de queensbury book of ettiquette demanded when or as how the mary poppins interpretation
of behavoir was supposed to be

jean was told she couldn't have her check until she said "i'm sorry"

Jean refused to apologize for the perceived slight and the sisterhood acquiessed in her ban formal or not

At least this was what I heard and ,Dick and Billy heard as well. now I could be wrong because to tell the truth I thought Jean was womens pool and didn't think it would hurt her.

I was probably wrong,it did hurt her I am sure.To be the greatest female player of all time and to be banned because of some petty move that she refused to ackowledge as fair stripped her of the opportunity to rewrite the record books


At least in my generation Jean Balukas was a super star pool player who transended gender,she was a great tournament player,a great gambler and held her own against some great men players,


she offered me her balabushka and I wish I had bought it,I hope it is in THE GLENN Collection, for Hall of Fame
that is where it belongs as a lasting tribute to one of the best pool players ever

i know one thing,when her name was mentioned in my circles a hush came in the conversation,a hush of respect and admiration like Babe Ruth, Bobby Jones ,Willie Mosconi,Babe Zaharias and Jean Balukas
 
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jay helfert

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deanoc said:
the reason jean left the pro tour has not been accurately reported

as far as i know

i think in the match i described seeing nothing that the other lady reported that jean had acted in an
ungentlemanly way, not in accordance with the other lady's opinion of what the marquis de queensbury book of ettiquette demanded when or as how the mary poppins interpretation
of behavoir was supposed to be

jean was told she couldn't have her check until she said "i'm sorry"

Jean refused to apologize for the perceived slight and the sisterhood acquiessed in her ban formal or not

At least this was what I heard and ,Dick and Billy heard as well. now I could be wrong because to tell the truth I thought Jean was womens pool and didn't think it would hurt her.

I was probably wrong,it did hurt her I am sure.To be the greatest female player of all time and to be banned because of some petty move that she refused to ackowledge as fair stripped her of the opportunity to rewrite the record books


At least in my generation Jean Balukas was a super star pool player who transended gender,she was a great tournament player,a great gambler and held her own against some great men players,


she offered me her balabushka and I wish I had bought it,I hope it is in THE GLENN Collection, for Hall of Fame
that is where it belongs as a lasting tribute to one of the best pool players ever

i know one thing,when her name was mentioned in my circles a hush came in the conversation,a hush of respect and admiration like Babe Ruth, Bobby Jones ,Willie Mosconi,Babe Zaharias and Jean Balukas

And we were not that reverenant a crowd, guys like Eddie Taylor,Eddie Kelly,Ronnie Allen,jersey red,

Love may be too strong a word,I say may, but true respect and her ban was comparable to what happened to muhammed ali
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Closer to the truth. She was playing Robin Bell (Dotson) and Robin made the nine on the break twice. Jean said something to the effect, "You want to win with luck!" and for that comment she was later fined $200 by the WPBA. By the way, Jean won the match with Robin. In fact she won the last SIXTEEN women's tournaments she played in!

Back to the fine. Jean refused to pay and the WPBA wouldn't let her play in any of their events unless she paid. I think they were all tired of her dominating them. Jean was 29 years old and had been playing pool non stop since she was 9! She told me later that she was burned out on pool and was ready to take a break. She never paid the fine!

As for the comparison between Jean and Allison. First of all Jean played in several "Open" pool tournaments against all the top players and she finished in the money (as high as top sixteen) and defeated many top players in matches, like Keith, Buddy, Lebron and a few others. Some men refused to play against her. She was unflappable and played a consistent solid game. Jean was well versed in Straight Pool and moved the cue ball far better than any other women player of her era. She was capable of running 100 balls and I think her high run is something like 139 (I used to know).

The competition in the women's tournaments back then was very thin compared to what Allison had to deal with. Typically, many women's events during that era only had sixteen players. Allison had to beat 48-64 player fields for the most part with many strong players. Allison has won something like 50+ tournaments, far more than anyone else. She plays a very controlled, disciplined game and is a very smart player. My opinion is that if Jean in her prime had been able to play on the women's tour alongside Allison, she would have been one of the top players and won tournaments, but she would not dominate like she did years before. Jean would be more like a Kelly Fisher, who is a super strong player capable of beating anyone on a given day.

One thing Jean and Allison share is the competitive desire to win. They are both winners in my book!
 
sjm

sjm

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jay helfert said:
Closer to the truth. She was playing Robin Bell (Dotson) and Robin made the nine on the break twice. Jean said something to the effect, "You want to win with luck!" and for that comment she was later fined $200 by the WPBA. By the way, Jean won the match with Robin. In fact she won the last SIXTEEN women's tournaments she played in!

Back to the fine. Jean refused to pay and the WPBA wouldn't let her play in any of their events unless she paid. I think they were all tired of her dominating them. Jean was 29 years old and had been playing pool non stop since she was 9! She told me later that she was burned out on pool and was ready to take a break. She never paid the fine!

As for the comparison between Jean and Allison. First of all Jean played in several "Open" pool tournaments against all the top players and she finished in the money (as high as top sixteen) and defeated many top players in matches, like Keith, Buddy, Lebron and a few others. Some men refused to play against her. She was unflappable and played a consistent solid game. Jean was well versed in Straight Pool and moved the cue ball far better than any other women player of her era. She was capable of running 100 balls and I think her high run is something like 139 (I used to know).

The competition in the women's tournaments back then was very thin compared to what Allison had to deal with. Typically, many women's events during that era only had sixteen players. Allison had to beat 48-64 player fields for the most part with many strong players. Allison has won something like 50+ tournaments, far more than anyone else. She plays a very controlled, disciplined game and is a very smart player. My opinion is that if Jean in her prime had been able to play on the women's tour alongside Allison, she would have been one of the top players and won tournaments, but she would not dominate like she did years before. Jean would be more like a Kelly Fisher, who is a super strong player capable of beating anyone on a given day.

One thing Jean and Allison share is the competitive desire to win. They are both winners in my book!
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Speaking as one who was around women's pool even then, I think this post is pretty darn accurate.

Jean's career, as you note, was not short, but long. Actually, her career began at the age of six and at 29 she was, as you note, burned out. The Robin Bell incident may have been the tipping point, but I believe Jean would have stopped competing anyway soon after.

As for the Allison comparison, it's near impossible. I have watched and also played against both of them, and saw their prime years up close. The time travel matchup just doesn't capture all the realities.

There was never a woman who played 14.1 as well as Jean, although I believe Ruth McGuinness came fairly close, and Jasmin Ouschan and Jeanette Lee were also not too far behind.

In nine ball, my personal opinion is that, while Jean had the greater skills, Allison reached a level that Jean never reached. That said, though, this comparison isn't really fair.

Jean never had anyone to push her, to get her to her highest possible level. Had Allison Fisher (and Karen Corr) been around in Jean's day, Jean would have been pushed and my guess is that she'd have reached a higher level and been the best. The bar has now been raised again by Asian superstars Han Yu and Siming Chen, and I believe that they, too, would have pushed Jean to a level exceeding their own.

The what ifs can never uncover the truth, because subjunctive history has its limits. Guess what I'm saying is that Jean was the most gifted woman pool player I've ever watched, but not the best, for the simple reason that, as a dominant presence in women's pro pool, she never needed to raise her level.
 
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I would like to know whos bright idea it was to mic the women in the finals ," so the crowd could hear the sounds of the match"! that's the quote from Wikipedia.
I think it's bs.
Jean was always very vociferous when I saw her play , like Earl or Sigel , while most of the other women just got up and went through a pre shot ritual that usually took 3 minutes and ended by them missing the ball straight in , or making the ball and snookering themselves , and then stumbling back to their seats like somebody let the gas out of them, it was unwatchable even for someone like me, that loved pool.
I would have backed Jean against Robin Bell on her best day, giving her the 8 .
Back to the mics, if any of you was ever around a table Mike Sigel was playing on , how do you think a mic would have worked out if he was winning , let alone if he was behind, heaven forbid.
He never shut up, he just constantly picked at a piece of lint or a possible crooked corner or something all through every match.
If Jean got fined for statements , he would have been given the guillotine.
Now, what about Earl ! I still love to watch Earl but anyone that puts a mic on him during a pool game is an imbecile.
I read where Jean said she didn't think it was because the women couldn't beat her that all that crap happened, she's not that naive , so she's more of a lady, than to throw those poseurs under the bus. Oh well , it's too late to fix now, but I guess even though all of us who watched her , don't agree on all the particulars , we all agree that she was a formidable opponent, to anyone she played.
 
Tennesseejoe

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I first saw her play in the women's division of a tournament in Cleveland...she won the lag and ran the first three racks of nine ball...yes, all the men were watching her.
 
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