50?????? That is freakin hilarious.
Ok, you got me - where is a mall in Louisville? We can ask 100 people if they know who Jeanette Lee the Black Widow is. The window is OPEN.
Then we can go back, have Jeanette stand next to us and ask another 100 people.
You have a lock. Jay is being optimistic. I actually paid someone to do this survey a few years ago.
These names were virtually unknown by the people surveyed:
Willie Mosconi
Earl Strickland
Steve Mizerak
Jeanette Lee
Minnesota Fats
Of these Jeanette was most known. But she wasn't even known by name by all, she was often referred to as that hot Asian chick when asked what players the respondent could name.
Steve Mizerak was only known to one person in a sports store because they sold cues and accessories bearing his name. Earl Strickland was not known by the salespeople in a store which sold goods bearing his name, signature and a picture.
Having said that however I have been out to dinner with Kelly Fisher and had people come up and ask for autographs. The top women of the WPBA are recognized by the general public on a small scale.
In 1997 I let Jeanette put out her merchandise at our booth during the World Championships in Taipei. We announced that Jeannette would be signing autographs and within minutes we had a line down the hall. For at least 30 minutes or more Jeanette stood there and signed whatever people wanted. Most of the things people wanted signed were JL merchandise that they paid $10-$20 for. But Jeanette signed programs, notebooks, scraps of paper and did it all cheerfully.
If the rest of the professional players on the planet Earth had just half of Jeanette's drive and desire and work ethic coupled with her marketing savvy then professional pool would be mainstream and the players would be getting PAID. She and Ralf Souquet should both get some kind of award for being examples of what a PROFESSIONAL pool player should be.
