Cowboy Jimmy Moore facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Cowboy Jimmy Moore
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Willie Mosconi (left) and Jimmy Moore (right) at the 1953 World's Invitational
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James William Moore
September 14, 1910 |
| Died | November 17, 1999 (aged 89) |
Cowboy Jimmy Moore (born James William Moore, September 14, 1910 – November 17, 1999) was a very famous American pool player. He was born in Troup County, Georgia. Later, he lived most of his life in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was best known for his amazing skill in a game called straight pool (14.1 continuous).
Jimmy Moore was a talented athlete in many sports. He set many records in billiards. He won the Michigan State Billiard Championship four times. He also came in second place five times at the World Championship. He played against top players like Willie Mosconi, Irving Crane, and Luther Lassiter. He won the United States National Pocket Billiards Championship in 1958. He also won the National Invitation Pocket Billiards Championship in 1965. In 1984, he won the Legends of Pocket Billiards competition.
Moore was famous for playing in straight pool exhibitions. He was also known as a "road player". This meant he traveled across the United States playing pool for money. He had a unique pool style. He often wore cowboy clothes. He also used a special way of hitting the cue ball. This technique was called a "slip stroke". Moore also helped with pool scenes in TV shows and movies. He worked on the movie My Living Doll and the Jerry Lewis movie The Family Jewels. He was honored for his achievements. He was added to the Billiard Congress of America's Hall of Fame. He also joined the International Pocket Billiards Hall of Fame and the Albuquerque Sports Hall of Fame.
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Early Life and How He Started Pool
James William Moore was born on September 14, 1910. He grew up on a farm in Troup County, Georgia. This was near the city of Hogansville. His father was a blacksmith, a sheriff, and a streetcar conductor. Jimmy started working young to help his family. He picked cotton and managed a fruit stand. He also delivered newspapers.
When he was 13, his family moved to Detroit. There, he found other ways to earn money. He was good at games of chance, like pitching pennies. He was also a natural athlete. He played Triple-A level baseball in the minor leagues. He once bowled a perfect game. He was also a good golfer.
In 1928, at age 18, Moore got a job as a pinsetter. This was at a bowling alley called Car Barns. He earned six cents for each line of bowling. Moore learned quickly. For a while, he had a high bowling average of 233. He first picked up a cue stick at Car Barns. He played on the single pool table there. Moore said he immediately fell in love with the game.
The game he loved most was straight pool (14.1 continuous). This was the main game he played in competitions. However, he also played other billiard games. Later, Moore became the U.S. national snooker champion. He also came in second at a big tournament in 1961. This was the First Annual World's One-Pocket Billiards Tournament.
Straight pool was the main game for championship pool until the 1980s. Then, faster games like nine-ball became more popular. In straight pool, a player can pocket any ball on the table. The goal is to reach a certain number of points. This number is decided before the game starts. Professionals often play to 150 points. Players score one point for each ball they pocket. They must call which pocket they are aiming for. Moore said his highest score was pocketing 236 balls in a row.
Six months after starting, Moore won the 1929 Michigan State billiard championship. He won this title for the next three years too. But during the Great Depression, he couldn't afford to play just for trophies. So, he started traveling to play pool for a living.
Playing Pool on the Road
Moore first teamed up with a player named Ray St. Laurent. Laurent was a colorful player. He sometimes wore a red cape and mask during exhibitions. People called him "The Red Devil". Laurent helped Moore, but Moore was a better player.
One winter night, St. Laurent was losing badly. He was playing against a famous player named Don Willis in Canton, Ohio. Willis was known as the "Cincinnati Kid". Many thought he was "the deadliest player alive". They were playing for 25 cents a ball, which was a lot of money then. Moore was providing the money for the match. Moore saw that Laurent couldn't win. He told St. Laurent to let him play instead. Willis later remembered:
Here was this punk kid sitting there saying, 'I'll play you some.' Well, he got out of that overcoat and ran over me in my home poolroom. He never missed a ball.
—Don Willis, Billiards Digest (1999)
After that match, Moore and Willis became traveling partners. They often traveled with Luther "Wimpy" Lassiter, who would become a six-time world champion. Because of his skill and famous partners, Moore became well-known in the pool world. In 1940, the world champion, Andrew Ponzi, wanted to challenge Moore. Moore first won $80 from Ponzi playing nine-ball. Then, he beat Ponzi at straight pool. Moore scored 125 points to Ponzi's 82.
After this, Moore was hired by Sylvester Livingston. Livingston hosted exhibitions with top pool players, like Irving Crane. Crane also became a six-time world champion. In 1941, Moore performed 250 exhibitions across the U.S. He earned $5 for daytime shows and $7 for evening shows. He only lost one match that year. In 24 of those 250 exhibitions, he scored 100 or more points in straight pool.
By this time, Moore was known for his cowboy look. He usually wore cowboy boots, a white Stetson hat, and a string tie. He had a crew-cut haircut and was often seen with a cigar. He was also known for his unique way of shooting. Moore used a "slip stroke". This is when a player briefly lets go of the cue stick with their gripping hand. Then, they re-grip it farther back just before hitting the cue ball. With this stroke, Moore was very accurate and could shoot with great power.
In 1945, Moore bought a home in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He lived there for the rest of his life. He married Julie Chavez in 1949. They had seven children together. Soon after moving, he became a co-owner of the U Cue Billiards Hall in Albuquerque. People said that other pool players avoided Albuquerque. They didn't want to play against Moore for money.
Competitions and Achievements
Moore kept playing pool on the road for over 40 years. He also started competing in big tournaments. He often finished in second place. This earned him the nickname "pool's underpaid prince" in magazines like Esquire Magazine. But the name that stayed with him was "Cowboy". Moore said he became 'Cowboy' Jimmy Moore in the 1950s. He showed up at a New York City championship wearing a tuxedo, but also his cowboy boots and white Stetson hat.
His second-place streak started in 1951. This was at the World Championship tournament in Boston. Moore lost his last match to Willie Mosconi. He won seven out of nine matches. He even beat future Hall-of-Famers Irving Crane and Arthur "Babe" Cranfield.
In 1952, he played well again in Boston. He scored 93 balls against Lassiter, beating him 150 to 25. But he finished behind Willie Mosconi again. He shared second place with Jimmy Caras and Joe Procita. Moore's match with Mosconi ended 150 to 58. In 1953, he played in San Francisco but did not place.
The next year, 1954, Moore took second place again in Philadelphia. This tournament was not officially sponsored. In a highlight of his career, Moore was losing 148 to 8 to Irving Crane. When Crane gave him another turn, Moore scored 142 balls in a row and won the game. But despite this, Moore finished second to Lassiter. He shared second place with Crane. The champion, Mosconi, did not play.
Moore's second-place streak continued in 1956 in Brooklyn, New York. He finished second to Willie Mosconi again. He won against Al Coslosky and Richard Riggie. He even had a great run of 107 balls. But he lost to Lassiter. That same year, Moore played Mosconi in a challenge match. Mosconi had a perfect game, scoring 150 balls in a row in one turn.
In total, Moore came in second at the World Championship five times. But he never won the main title. However, he did win the National Pocket Billiards Championship in 1958 in Chicago. This was a long match against Luther Lassiter. They played to 3,000 points. Moore was behind at one point, 1,800 to 1,512. But he fought back and won 3,000 to 2,634.
He didn't think I could beat him, and that made me mad. I had to get mad to win. I was way behind, then I ran 95, 96, 97 and 175, and only missed then when I scratched on the break. Ran right past him.
—"Cowboy" Jimmy Moore, Billiards Digest (1999)
Moore had ten second-place finishes in world-title competitions. Still, he often played against and beat the players he finished second to. For example, in 1958, after winning the National Championship, he easily beat Mosconi. This was in a two-day exhibition match in his hometown of Albuquerque. The final score was 500 to 397. Moore and Mosconi played many times in unofficial but well-known matches.
It wasn't until 1965 that Moore won another sanctioned tournament. This was the National Invitation Pocket Billiards Championship in New York City. He won $4,000. On his way to first place, Moore defeated many top players. These included Onofrio Lauri, Joe Balsis, Cisero Murphy, and "Champagne" Edwin Kelly. He also beat Luther Lassiter. Joe Balsis was the runner-up in this tournament.
Besides competing, Moore also worked as an adviser. He helped with billiard scenes in TV and movies. This included My Living Doll in 1964 and the Jerry Lewis movie The Family Jewels in 1965.
Later Years and Legacy
Jimmy Moore was honored for his contributions to pool. He was inducted into the International Pocket Billiards Hall of Fame in 1982. He also joined the Billiard Congress of America's Hall of Fame in 1994. In 1998, he was added to the Albuquerque Sports Hall of Fame.
He continued to play in tournaments and matches even into his 70s. In 1984, at age 74, Moore won the Legends of Pocket Billiards competition on ESPN. Even when he was older, he was still very good at pool. He scored 111 balls in a row just three days after his 80th birthday. "Until the traffic accident I had about a year ago, I was still playing my usual speed," Moore said in July 1999, at age 89. However, Moore's health quickly got worse that year. He passed away on November 17, 1999, from natural causes.
