US Open Straight Pool, 1993 version

[Bob Jewett]

I was just sorting through my old Pool & Billiard magazines and this cover caught my eye. The match shown seems to be Hunter vs. Ortmann.

There was $50,000 total in added money to the men's and women's divisions, with 32 and 24 players respectively. Some results:
Men's:
1 Ortmann $12000 (= $20,000 in current dollars)
2 Chien-Sheng Lee $7500
3 Carlos Viera $4500
4 Bob Vanover $3000
5/6 Ray Martin, Bob Hunter $1900

Women's:
1 Hsin-mei Liu $7500
2 Loree Jon Jones $5000
3 Gerda Hofstatter $3000
4 Jeanette Lee $2000

 

[arnaldo]

The 1993 open had a rather inferior field compared to the uniformly top-level entries that the 1992 featured. I forget exactly what then-contemporary controversy was that discouraged so many of the '92 field from entering in '93.

I'm certain your recall, Bob, will be clearer than mine as to what the discouraging issue(s) was/were, but there definitely was something that led to the 1993 open being rather uninteresting.

I attended every session of the '92 open and was in Straight Pool heaven. No place on the planet I would rather have been than there in NYC. Felt the same pure joy spectating all the sessions of the year 2000 open (also held in NYC). The physical conditions at that one were -- by far -- the most beautiful of any 14.1 ever staged, thanks to Blatt Billiards who mounted the event. (Remember those ideal tiers of seating they generously imported directly from England solely for the event? Every seat anywhere in the Roseland Ballroom had a great view.)

Arnaldo

 

[Bob Jewett]

... I'm certain your recall, Bob, will be clearer than mine as to what the discouraging issue(s) was/were, but there definitely was something that led to the 1993 open being rather uninteresting.
...

I didn't recall, but fortunately I have every Billiards Digest ever printed. Here is part of Mike Geffner's column from Dec. 1993. It seems it was Mackey and the PBTA. The "non-sanctioned" means that the PBTA wouldn't/didn't sanction it, I think.

 

[arnaldo]

Bob -- Thanks for scanning & posting that important article (to all us 14.1 nuts anyway). I took the liberty of tweaking the visual a tiny bit for those of us whose eyeballs are in a "more advanced state of youth." A highly stimulating and informative look at that unfortunate sequence of behind-the-scenes intrigues, actions and understandable reactions.
Arnaldo

 

[BayGene]

US Open Straight Pool 1993

Bob:

I was there. To me one of the most remarkable things was that Loree Jon was about seven months pregnant and went to the final. That must be some sort of sports record.

 

[BayGene]

1993, Observation Two

I also recall Chien-Sheng Lee running the most difficult rack of 14 balls I've ever seen. Almost every shot was a "circus shot."