Masako Katsura’s Biography: The ‘first Woman Of Billiards’

After seeing her play, Hoppe stated “she has a fine stroke and may make shots with both hand. I look ahead to enjoying with her.” The public was fascinated by the novelty of a girl participant. Life journal reported that “San Franciscans who didn’t know a cue from a cucumber crowded in to see her… Katy … stole the show.” After 19, she solely competed in men’s tournaments; racking up 10,000 points at one exhibition in a mind-boggling four and a half hour run.

This didn’t come with out rustling a number of media feathers. The gap between her retirement and the following time she appeared within the historical past books was nothing compared to what came next. It was almost 15 years before we can decide up her story so profitable was she in vanishing. In 1990, she returned to Japan with live with Noriko. She said she planned to reside out her days quietly and peacefully in her residence nation.

He was stated to have taught all of Japan’s top gamers, amongst which Katsura was the star pupil. In 1951 Greenleaf was transferred to a U.S. publish from Haneda Air Base in Tokyo. Katsura had been conditionally invited to play on the world championship after Cochran, whose billiard parlor was internet hosting the tournament, had heard of her brilliance from Matsuyama. Cochran was an 8-time world champion having gained the world crown at three-cushion billiards in 1933, 1935, 1937, 1938, 1944 and 1945, and at 18.2 balkline, in 1927 and 1934.

Mentor and protégé alike posted high runs of six in the match. During 1947 Katsura caught the attention of American serviceman Vernon Greenleaf , a grasp sergeant in the us Army’s Quartermaster Corps who had been within the armed providers for 22 years. Katsura and Greenleaf first met in a Tokyo service membership the place she was giving billiard exhibitions. Greenleaf began taking lessons from Katsura and was quickly smitten with her. They had been married on 30 November 1950, however never had any kids.

It wasn’t lengthy before Katsura began working on the billiard hall and working towards daily. For American billiards gamers, Katsura appeared to come out of nowhere. And whereas the press marveled over Katsura’s outfits and the novelty of a female participant, her opponents marveled over her skill. Masako Katsura was the primary girl to compete on the worldwide billiards stage, making her a legend.

Katsura took seventh place, forward of Procita at eighth place, Chamaco at ninth and Rubin at tenth. Above her were Crane at sixth, Rubin at fifth, Kilgore at fourth, Bozeman at third and Matsuyama as runner-up. The championship between the invitees was to happen at Cochran’s 924 Club, with forty five whole video games to be played over the 17-day event ending on 22 March 1952. The event was reported to have “The best billiard subject since before World War II”. First place earned a $2,000 purse (today $20,400), plus hundreds in exhibition charges. Following behind to eight places have been prizes of $1,000, $700, $500, $350, $300, $250 and $250 respectively.

Before her efficiency in wars, she had received the national women’s billiards tournament and commenced her journey to compete in the national men’s championship. In the 1930s, The New York Times had a mean of three articles per day about billiards, says Mike Shamos, a Carnegie Mellon professor and an professional on billiards historical past. But World War II took its toll, and the sport was in decline when Katsura arrived. “Most of the players, guys within the viewers, had been overseas and in service,” Shamos notes. Still, three-cushion was interesting partly because of its brute pressure. It attracted a sure sort of spectator that liked photographs taken with a lot of power,” Shamos says.

Masako Katsura succeeded, showing on network television exhibits and collaborating in world tournaments. But, Katsura retired after a tough loss to the current world champion. Masako Katsura appears at a San Francisco billiards parlor, takes a cue, and hits one hundred points in a row. Before you understand it, by the top of the day, by changing the means in which people play. And after witnessing a gifted billiard lady competitor, a gaggle of players from everywhere in the nation decides to type the Women’s Professional Billiard Association. It was May eight, 1952 and Chicago was reacting with the same startled disbelief that had greeted three-cushion billiard pro Masako Katsura when she’d arrived within the Bay Area six months earlier.

She grew up in a strict household – alongside three sisters and one brother. She was the family’s second-born child, with two of her younger sisters, Noriko and Tadako, additionally taking up billiards and even taking part in professionally. Google is honoring Masako Katsura, the world-class billiards player small queen palm who blazed the trail for ladies to be included within the sport, with an animated homepage Doodle. Fortunately, different billiards players gave Katsura the respect that she deserved. As she started to play increasingly more champions, she rose up within the ranks.