:shakehead:
Who is the Greatest Female Pocket Billiard Player in History?
- Thread starter CJ Wiley
- Start date
John Novak...While LJJ can arguably be said to be one of the best looking lady pros (especially from that time period), trying to put her in the same ability level as the "best male players" is a pipe dream, at best. Do you not remember when Mike Sigel bar-b-que'd her in the IPT "Man vs. Woman" match? Yes, they played 9-ball, not 14.1...but it doesn't make any difference.
Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com
Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com
Jean Balukas had a much bigger break then Allison.
Allison Fisher, Karen Corr, Kelly Fisher.
that's because many folks consider pool to be more of a "game", not a sport. take a look at phil taylor, if darts was considered more a sport, he'd be damn near at the top of the list i'm sure.
Here's a quote for you CJ -- just so you know.
Tampa Kathy (Kathy Keegan) "from somewhere in "hype"r (pun intended) space!" said:
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Best Female Player
Jean Balaukas is the best female player without a doubt. She played in the open tournaments in the PBA (Professional Billiards Association) and beat some of the best male players at the time and got in the money. As a result of this the men formed the MPBA (Men's Professional Billiards Association) for the sole purpose of keeping her out of the open tournaments. I really believe that Jean would of won an open tournament (with men) eventually.
I can't deny however that Allison Fisher is also a great player but Jean was better. I talked to a female player (ranked 2nd in the world at one time) who played against both of them and she also said that Jean was better.
Jean Balaukas is the best female player without a doubt. She played in the open tournaments in the PBA (Professional Billiards Association) and beat some of the best male players at the time and got in the money. As a result of this the men formed the MPBA (Men's Professional Billiards Association) for the sole purpose of keeping her out of the open tournaments. I really believe that Jean would of won an open tournament (with men) eventually.
I can't deny however that Allison Fisher is also a great player but Jean was better. I talked to a female player (ranked 2nd in the world at one time) who played against both of them and she also said that Jean was better.
If Jean Balukas had continued playing in the tour, all the women players would be out of a lot of titles they got to win without her to compete with. There is no doubt Balukas is the best of the best in the women's division. Even alot of the men would be running scared....
9 Ball, she broke the rack like a man. They could not beat her break, which is important in 9 ball.
14.1 She would just dominate that game, as that was her game.
BTW, are some of you picking who the greatest is by knowing them personally, etc... ? If you know them personally ask them who they would most hate to face for it all. I believe the links to Robin's comments already answered that for ya though...
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Balukas, without a doubt
I saw and refereed matches of Jean Balukas, Loree-Jon, and all the top ranked women play back in the 70's, 80's and 90's. Yes, Allison Fisher and Karen Corr rank up with the top, but Balukas would have destroyed them both in any pool game, all being in their primes. Balukas had no real competition amongst the women. Everyone else was basically playing for second place.
I saw and refereed matches of Jean Balukas, Loree-Jon, and all the top ranked women play back in the 70's, 80's and 90's. Yes, Allison Fisher and Karen Corr rank up with the top, but Balukas would have destroyed them both in any pool game, all being in their primes. Balukas had no real competition amongst the women. Everyone else was basically playing for second place.
player
Jean was in a league of her own. No one barred Allison or Karen . Scared to lose to a (woman) men robbed Jean from competing in her prime because ,no disrespect, there wasnt any female competition for her. And a handful of (men?)didnt want her to compete. We were robbed of seeing her do things the rest would of had a hard time following.
Jean was in a league of her own. No one barred Allison or Karen . Scared to lose to a (woman) men robbed Jean from competing in her prime because ,no disrespect, there wasnt any female competition for her. And a handful of (men?)didnt want her to compete. We were robbed of seeing her do things the rest would of had a hard time following.
The hardest part of this discussion is mentioning women who most of us,even the older members (of which I;m certainly not one) haven't seen play,like Dorothy Wise, Jean and Ruth McGiniss, so how do you compare players of different eras,playing different games, using different equipment? For that reason,it's best to stick to the modern era,say 90s on up. For that era,based on titles and achievements alone,it would have to be Allison.
Now,if you were to ask who is the biggest ambassador for women's (and some would say overall) pool,it would have to be my all time favorite player, Jeanette Lee. Not only did she recently compete on Korea's Dancing with the Stars, she just did a demo the other day for U.S. Soldiers stationed in S. Korea (I actually got to meet her once in 2006 at a demo on my base in Korea). One can only imagine how much better she could have been if she didn't have the debilitating health issues she has.
Now,if you were to ask who is the biggest ambassador for women's (and some would say overall) pool,it would have to be my all time favorite player, Jeanette Lee. Not only did she recently compete on Korea's Dancing with the Stars, she just did a demo the other day for U.S. Soldiers stationed in S. Korea (I actually got to meet her once in 2006 at a demo on my base in Korea). One can only imagine how much better she could have been if she didn't have the debilitating health issues she has.
I 2nd that motion your honor...the asian ladies are looking very good
That looks like Yu Ram Cha. I've played some with her. She is extremely good looking in person. I wonde what is up with her these days. She had a great game...I watched her *breeze* through the Super Billiards Expo women's amateur (a tourney she really had no business being it, but a strong win nonetheless).
Nice, smooth...game.
KMRUNOUT
my $.02
Having seen both Jean and Allison play, I would say Jean....She impressed me in the same way that Earl impressed me when I first saw them play....they play the game like real "naturals"....Their strokes, their styles make me think of how God might have intended great pool players to shoot ... and gave them the natural gifts .....and at the risk of making a sexist remark, Jean shot like a man.....IMHO
Having seen both Jean and Allison play, I would say Jean....She impressed me in the same way that Earl impressed me when I first saw them play....they play the game like real "naturals"....Their strokes, their styles make me think of how God might have intended great pool players to shoot ... and gave them the natural gifts .....and at the risk of making a sexist remark, Jean shot like a man.....IMHO
The original poster did not ask who was the greatest ambassador. He asked who was the greatest woman player in history. This does not mean 90s and on. I remember the 80s easily at 37. So I remember the equipment and Jean Balukas playing very well. I have seen Alison play many times, and many others. Jean is the best of the women. I hear alllll this talk about equipment equipment equipment. Let's see you play some 14.1 on some slow cloth. And 10 foot tables are nothing new...
Bold: I know he didn't.I added that on my own.
As for history,it's hard to say,because as I explained, different eras in pool;different games,different equpiment,etc.When Dorothy Wise started playing, women weren't even allowed in most pool halls, and there were few tournament oppurtunities for men, yet she was proclaimed the world champion.How do you compare her to the players of today?
I did not add Dorothy. But Jean played in an era many can remember easily. The others you just have to look at their records. But I would be very careful about the word equipment. Many seem to not remember or know the freaking frustration of slow cloth, god you just wanted to beat your head in the wall ;-). Watch the Ortman vs Schmidt match in 14.1 when doing the IPT if you want to see what modern players thought of slower cloth
I did not add Dorothy. But Jean played in an era many can remember easily. The others you just have to look at their records. But I would be very careful about the word equipment. Many seem to not remember or know the freaking frustration of slow cloth, god you just wanted to beat your head in the wall ;-). Watch the Ortman vs Schmidt match in 14.1 when doing the IPT if you want to see what modern players thought of slower cloth
I was thinking more along the lines of different table sizes.
I started playing at about 8 years old. I remember the tables at a hall I went to with my dad. It was tables from the 50s or so. And I can say this, I would play on a gold crown or diamond any day over the older tables. Jean played on the more modern equipment era. Gold crowns were the top in the 80s. But they were tightening them up. Size though? What about it? They had more 10 footers back then than we do. But what era? Irving Crane ran a great deal of balls on 10 footers.
OMGWTF melinda huang!! She rocks!