A moment of remembrance please.
The last of the great, old time masters of straight pool has passed away. Arthur "Babe" Cranfield Jr. left us peacefully Sunday evening (10/31/4) at the age of 89. He competed against the other past all time greats such as Ralph Greenleaf, Willie Mosconi, Irving Crane, Frank Taberski, Erwin Rudolph, Andrew Ponzi, Jimmy Caras, Luther Lassiter, Joe Balsis, etc. The only two he was unable to get an edge on was Greenleaf and Mosconi, and with Crane, he broke about even. He was a pool prodigy as a child and it was said that he would become the next Greenleaf. He never became as famous as many of the other players because he didn't play pool for a living. The income from pool was too inconsistent and he had a family to support. He worked full time as a salesman for the Muzak Corporation, for about 40 years. He continued to play pool, many times a week, until in 1997 when he suffered a mild stroke that affected his eyesight. I personally saw him run 99 balls when he was 80. In my opinion, to judge him on ability, I would consider him to be in the top 5 ever in straight pool, and probably in the top 10 for pool in general. Here are some of his accomplishments (many documented, and others relayed to me when I campaigned for his induction into the BCA Hall of Fame):
The only person to ever win the National Junior, National Amateur, and World Professional Pocket Billiard titles.
1997 BCA Hall of Fame inductee.
5 - World titles.
8 - National tiltles.
Player of the Year.
Won over 50 Tournaments.
Statistics on a 4 1/2 x 9 table:
High run - 768.
Around 40 more runs of 400+ ( Incl. 492, 488, 475 ).
90 ball run with one hand.
70 ball run without the cueball touching a rail.
45 consecutive bank shots.
9-ball:
17 consecutive racks.
Statistics on a 5 x 10 table:
High run - 229.
Two more runs over 200.
3 cushion billiards:
High run of 16.
Fortunately in 2000, Babe and Larry Moy (an excellent player and writer as well) put together a book call "The Straight Pool Bible". It is a "must have" book for any player of any pool game. In 2002 they came out with "Essential Pool", an excellent book for beginners and beyond.
Babe was an athlete from early on; he played basketball, baseball, football, boxed and was a "scratch" golfer (something he wish he'd pursued as a professional). He was in the first group of athletes to be inducted into the Syracuse (N.Y.) Hall of Fame.
He is survived by his wife Ruth and his sons Larry and Gary. He was my mentor, and I consider myself blessed to have become his friend. I will miss him greatly. We will all miss him. ----------------- Arnold Silvernail
The last of the great, old time masters of straight pool has passed away. Arthur "Babe" Cranfield Jr. left us peacefully Sunday evening (10/31/4) at the age of 89. He competed against the other past all time greats such as Ralph Greenleaf, Willie Mosconi, Irving Crane, Frank Taberski, Erwin Rudolph, Andrew Ponzi, Jimmy Caras, Luther Lassiter, Joe Balsis, etc. The only two he was unable to get an edge on was Greenleaf and Mosconi, and with Crane, he broke about even. He was a pool prodigy as a child and it was said that he would become the next Greenleaf. He never became as famous as many of the other players because he didn't play pool for a living. The income from pool was too inconsistent and he had a family to support. He worked full time as a salesman for the Muzak Corporation, for about 40 years. He continued to play pool, many times a week, until in 1997 when he suffered a mild stroke that affected his eyesight. I personally saw him run 99 balls when he was 80. In my opinion, to judge him on ability, I would consider him to be in the top 5 ever in straight pool, and probably in the top 10 for pool in general. Here are some of his accomplishments (many documented, and others relayed to me when I campaigned for his induction into the BCA Hall of Fame):
The only person to ever win the National Junior, National Amateur, and World Professional Pocket Billiard titles.
1997 BCA Hall of Fame inductee.
5 - World titles.
8 - National tiltles.
Player of the Year.
Won over 50 Tournaments.
Statistics on a 4 1/2 x 9 table:
High run - 768.
Around 40 more runs of 400+ ( Incl. 492, 488, 475 ).
90 ball run with one hand.
70 ball run without the cueball touching a rail.
45 consecutive bank shots.
9-ball:
17 consecutive racks.
Statistics on a 5 x 10 table:
High run - 229.
Two more runs over 200.
3 cushion billiards:
High run of 16.
Fortunately in 2000, Babe and Larry Moy (an excellent player and writer as well) put together a book call "The Straight Pool Bible". It is a "must have" book for any player of any pool game. In 2002 they came out with "Essential Pool", an excellent book for beginners and beyond.
Babe was an athlete from early on; he played basketball, baseball, football, boxed and was a "scratch" golfer (something he wish he'd pursued as a professional). He was in the first group of athletes to be inducted into the Syracuse (N.Y.) Hall of Fame.
He is survived by his wife Ruth and his sons Larry and Gary. He was my mentor, and I consider myself blessed to have become his friend. I will miss him greatly. We will all miss him. ----------------- Arnold Silvernail
