A beautiful tribute from Mary Kenniston for Leonard Bludworth
I’m so fortunate to have a original Blud Dot Bludworth that $$ can’t buy, its won me several dollars and fits me perfect
RIP Mr Cue Maker you left us many memories
Julie Campbell I knew Jr played with his Bludworth and you still have it for Jay
Bryce Loveland
James Dart Buddy Baker Jim Ingram Kent Taylor Melinda Duncan Bailey Robert Leblanc
Earlier this evening, I got the call I’ve been dreading – Leonard Bludworth has passed away after another yet another bout with cancer. He was 78.
He grew up in the rough & tumble of the Houston shipyards & came of age when that oil money was flowing freely. He jumped right into the middle of it at the legendary LeCue with Jersey Red & the other killers of the day. It was there that he forged lifelong friendships with all the many players on the American pool scene.
I first met Leonard in Charlotte, NC in the mid ‘80s. He had loaded up an old postal truck with a lathe & all the equipment needed to do cue repair at the growing number of tournaments. He and his late wife, Janice, hit the road & “The Pro Shop” was born. As the first person to take cue repair on the road, Blud inspired & taught many others to do the same. All these years later, there’s a booth set up to do on-site cue repair at nearly every tournament.
Yeah, he was a character - brash, bold, obnoxious & funny as hell – but was smart as a whip & had a good heart. He was a fixture in the pool world for over five decades. He loved it – both the action matches & the tournament scene - and the people in it. I can’t tell you how many people he helped over the years - financially or otherwise. He was almost always good for the bite - as long as you just nibbled or didn't make it a habit.
When I took time off from the WPBA Tour in early ’88 to open my pool room in Las Vegas, Leonard told me repeatedly he was going to come to set up my tables. "Yeah, yeah," I thought – until he & his son, Donald, rolled up after driving nonstop from Leakey, TX. I didn't know he was a master table mechanic too...
He & Donald set up nineteen tables in two days. They were lined up with military precision and they played perfectly. And, he wouldn’t take a quarter. I insisted & he refused. I demanded to know why & Leonard finally told me - because I was his friend.
He showed up a month or so later with a ball cleaner that he had invented. Again, he wouldn’t take a quarter – because I was his friend.
What gained Leonard worldwide recognition in the pool world was when he started making cues. It was a natural progression from cue repair to making sneaky petes to creating some of the most beautiful and best hitting cues on the market. There was a time when quite a few of the top players of the day – longtime friend Buddy Hall, Wade Crane, CJ Wiley & Belinda Calhoun among many others - played with a Bludworth Original. I still have mine…
In 1992, Leonard founded the American Cuemakers Association, served as president for quite a few years & was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2014. He also was a founding member of the International Cuemakers Association & was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2010.
Over the 35 years that I have known him, he has done many things for me – because I was his friend.
I’m sad tonight knowing that I’ll never pick up the phone & hear his voice again, won’t meet up at a tournament again or grab a bite to eat again.
I just know that I’m really going to miss him – because I was his friend.