Met best woman player ever

[sjm]

What about Gloria Walker as number two behind Jean at that time -- or had she already retired by then? Maybe it was the 70's when, IIRC, she came in second to Jean quite a few times.

Just curious, because you are clearly knowledgeable about the period.

Quite right. 1pocket, Gloria Walker, who was from Ithaca NY, was a hell of a player and her ranking did rise to number two in the mid to late 1970's. Back in about 1980, at the tail end of the straight pool era, the "best of the rest" in women's pro pool were probably Meiko Harada, Gloria Walker, Billie Billing, and Geri Titcomb. Other names you might recognize from back then would be Fran Crimi, Vicki Frechen (later called Paski), and the ridiculously young Loree Jon Ogonowski (now well known as BCA Hall of Famer Loree Jon Jones).

Those were good times, and they're often forgotten, but I remember them very fondly.

 

[JustPlay]

In the case of Balukas, Pat Fleming has a lot of stats from when she was playing in the men's tournaments. I think she had several TPAs that were near the top for some tournaments.

Stats can be deciving. At the 2005 DCC, Reyes beat Baraks 7-1 and Reyes TPA was .953 and Baraks was .900. both averages are high and considered world class speed by accu-stats standards. I know Balukas was a fantastic player in her day, but very few women played pool back then and her only option was to play with the men.

Today there are alot more women playing professional pool, that is one reason why Allison Fisher doesn't have to play with the men. I personally think Jean quit before her time... She could have made an impact even in todays events...