Jean Balukas facts for kids
Jean Balukas performing in an exhibition in Grand Central Terminal in 1966
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| Born | 28 June 1959 Brooklyn New York U.S. |
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| Sport country |  United States |
| Professional | 1969 |
| Tournament wins | |
| Other titles | 100 |
| World Champion | Straight Pool (1977, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1983), Nine-Ball (1988) |
| Ranking info | |
Jean Balukas (born June 28, 1959) is an American pool player from Brooklyn, New York. Many people think she is one of the greatest pool players of all time. She was a true pioneer and a child genius in the sport.
Jean Balukas won the "Player of the Year" award five times from Billiards Digest. She was the youngest person ever to join the BCA Hall of Fame. She was also only the second woman to receive this honor. Billiard Digest ranked her fifteenth among the greatest players of the 20th century.
Jean Balukas was a child prodigy. She first caught the public's eye at age 6. This happened during a pool show at Grand Central Terminal in New York City. Later, she appeared on TV shows like I've Got a Secret on CBS. When she was just 9 years old, she finished 5th in the 1969 U.S. Open straight pool championship. In the next two U.S. Opens, she placed 4th and then 3rd. From this amazing start, Balukas became the top player in women's professional pool during the 1970s and 1980s.
Balukas won five WPBA World Straight Pool Championship titles. She also won the WPBA World 9-Ball Championship. She earned eight BCA U.S. Open Straight Pool Championship titles. Plus, she won four WPBA U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship titles. Balukas won over 100 professional tournaments. She also had a record of 16 first-place finishes in a row. At that time, she was the only woman to compete against men in professional games. She stopped playing professionally in 1988. This happened after a disagreement about her actions in a match.
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Jean Balukas: A Young Pool Genius
Jean's father, Albert Balukas, owned a large pool hall in Bay Ridge, New York. It was called the Ovington Lounge. Jean started playing pool at age 4. She didn't play at her father's pool hall. Instead, she played on a pool table in the basement of her home. Her parents bought it to keep her four older brothers from going to local pool rooms. Jean later said she "almost never went to the pool hall." She felt uncomfortable there, and girls didn't usually go in those days.
In 1965, a famous cuemaker named George Balabushka made a special cue for her. It had ivory details. When she was 5 and 6 years old, she practiced straight pool to 50 points. She did this after family dinners. Her father encouraged her, but he didn't play with her. Many people thought someone taught her the game. But Balukas said, "I taught myself to play pool."
In 1966, a professional player named Frank McGown organized a billiards exhibition. It was held at Grand Central Terminal in New York City. With her parents' permission, McGown brought 6-year-old Jean along. She took part in the show. The attention she got, along with her amazing talent, led to a TV appearance. In 1966, she was a guest on WNEW-TV's Wonderama. Later that year, Jean and her younger sister Laura appeared on CBS's I've Got a Secret. None of the people on the show could guess that the 7- and 5-year-old sisters loved playing pool.
The next year, Balukas played in another exhibition match. This was at the Carom Club in Manhattan. Jean was in second grade at the time. Her mother, Peggy, said Jean did her homework and took a nap before the match. Advertisements for the match called Balukas "the Little Princess of Pocket Billiards." A reporter described her as "a little girl with honey-blond hair...wearing a short yellow dress and green leotards." She looked like a young Shirley Temple. She won against her opponent, Roland DeMarco, 50 to 42.
In 1969, at just 9 years old, Balukas played in her first BCA U.S. Open Straight Pool Championship. She finished 5th among adult players. In the next two U.S. Opens, in 1970 and 1971, she placed 4th and 3rd. By then, she was quite famous. She had appeared on TV with billiard stars like Willie Mosconi and celebrities like Sammy Davis Jr.. She would appear on TV many more times. This included an interview on The Mike Douglas Show in 1977.
Becoming a U.S. Open Champion
On August 18, 1972, at 13 years old, Jean Balukas won the women's division of the BCA U.S. Open Straight Pool Championship. She beat five-time champion Dorothy Wise along the way. She won a prize of $1,500. Balukas was the youngest U.S. Open winner ever. She easily defeated her opponent in the finals, Madelyn Whitlow, with a score of 75–32. The New York Times reported that "Miss Balukas showed signs of strong title contention throughout the tournament." She beat six opponents with "precision shooting and near flawless strategy."
In 1973, at 14, Balukas won her straight pool U.S. Open title again. She beat Donna Ries with a score of 75–72. She earned $2,000. Earlier in the tournament, she easily beat Mieko Harada, 75–1. In the 1974 U.S. Open, Balukas defended her title once more. She again beat Harada, but this time it was a very close game, 100–99. This was Balukas' third U.S. Open title in a row, and she was only 15.
In 1975, Balukas defeated Ries again in the U.S. Open semi-finals. She then faced and defeated Harada in the finals. She won the $3,000 prize with a score of 100–63. In 1976, at 17, Balukas won her fifth U.S. Open title in a row. She beat Gloria Walker 75–46, winning $1,700. Balukas went on to win the next two U.S. Open straight pool championships. This gave her a total of seven wins in a row. The competition stopped after 1978.
Balukas was not only good at pool, but she was also a great athlete overall. Starting at age 16, she was invited to compete in ABC-TV's Superstars. This event brought together top athletes from different sports. They competed in sports that were not their main ones. In her first appearance in 1976, she finished second. She won titles in tennis and bowling. The winner that year was speed skater Anne Henning. Other famous athletes also competed. Balukas' second-place win was a bit sad for her. Because of the prize money she won ($13,100), she lost her amateur status. This meant she could no longer play high school sports. She also became unable to get a college athletic scholarship.
Balukas won many other titles. This includes five wins at the WPBA World Straight Pool Championship. When she won her first one in 1977, she was called "the 18-year-old prodigy from Brooklyn." She beat Walker again with a score of 100–57. Balukas has won more U.S. Open titles than any other player, male or female.
Competing Against Men
As early as the late 1960s, Balukas played exhibition matches with some of the best male players. These included Willie Mosconi and Irving Crane. In 1975, she played the famous Willie Mosconi again on CBS' "Challenge of the Sexes." They played both eight-ball and nine-ball. Mosconi was 62 and not in his prime. Still, Balukas was given a special advantage. She got all the breaks and the first shot. Mosconi lost both games. She later played televised "Battle of the Sexes" matches with other male players.
Jean learned a lot about pool from these matches. But she also learned that pool stars didn't like losing in public. Especially not to children, and even less to girl children. She also found that young men, including her brothers, felt embarrassed losing to girls. She remembered, "Whenever my brother Paul... beat me at pool... he would run through the house shouting 'I won, I beat her'." She guessed that was one reason she worked harder at her game.
On August 6, 1978, Balukas made history. She became the first woman to qualify for the men's division of the PPPA World Straight Pool Championship. This tournament had been around for 60 years. This meant she would compete in both the women's and men's divisions.
Balukas played against men in several competitions. This included a televised match on March 25, 1979, against men's champion Ray Martin. The match was part of a "Challenge of the Sexes." In 1980, Balukas again competed in the Men's division. She was defeated by Steve Mizerak. Her final rank in the tournament was 22nd. Forty-two men were ranked lower than her. She also won the women's division of that tournament. She beat Billie Billings with a score of 100–75. The New York Times said her win was "expected but routine." She had only lost two games to women in the past eight years.
Balukas was also entered in both the men's and women's divisions of the 1987 B.C. Classic. This was a nine-ball competition. After some discussion, she only competed on the men's side. Balukas finished tied for 9th place among many of the world's best players.
Stepping Away from the Sport
In 1988, Balukas was playing against professional Robin Bell. This was a televised match at the WPBA World 9-Ball Championship. Bell was Balukas' best friend on the women's tour. Bell had never beaten Balukas before. But she was playing very well in this tournament. Bell made the 9-ball right after breaking two games in a row. This made the score 5 to 2 very quickly.
All players in televised matches wore small microphones. This allowed the audience to hear their words and the sounds of the game. After Bell's second 9-ball break, Balukas reportedly said something about Bell having very lucky shots. She was warned by the referee, and the game continued. Balukas eventually won the match 9–5. Balukas later said her exact words were, "Some world championship... beat me with skill, not luck." Even though they were friends, Bell made a formal complaint to the WPBA about the incident. The WPBA board then fined Balukas $200 for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Balukas was very upset about the fine. She refused to pay it because she felt it was wrong. She said, "It wasn’t the $200... [Women] pool players, who were ranked three and six and five, were the ones who decided I should be fined. I felt it should have been done by an outside panel, not by my competitors." Balukas would not give in, and the WPBA would not let her play again until she paid the fine. Vicki Paski, then president of the WPBA, said in 1992, "Just because she was our premier player doesn't mean she was above the rules."
Balukas also felt some pressure from playing against men. She heard taunts from men when they found out she was going to play in their division. Things like, "I’m gonna put on a dress and go play with the women." In early 1988, Balukas agreed to complaints from the men. They said it wasn't fair for her to play in both divisions when men could only play in one. So, she pulled out of the men's side of a tournament. Balukas said she later found out that the top two winners in the women’s event would be invited to play in the men’s event. She felt betrayed.
There were other reasons too. Balukas admits she was under a lot of pressure, much of it from herself. After she became the best, she started getting nervous. She put a lot of pressure on herself. "Playing against the men, I learned to lose,... but [losing] hurt with the women because I was expected to win all the time." Balukas said her decision to leave the sport was "a buildup of everything." She felt a bit burned out and frustrated. She had so much anger toward the pool world. This was her way out. She thought, "You're going to fine me? Well, see you later. That was my excuse to finally say I need a break."
After leaving professional pool, Balukas returned to Bay Ridge. She took over managing her family's pool hall. She says, "I'm enjoying my life immensely... I have moved on." In 1992, The New York Times wrote, "So America's greatest woman pool player competes only for the odd soda. If you're feeling lucky, drop by her poolroom... If you're thirsty... go elsewhere."
Jean Balukas: Awards and Honors
In 1975, when she was just 15 years old, Jean Balukas was already called the "best female pool player in the world." By 1987, her control over women's professional pool was so complete that The New York Times called it "breathtaking." Announcers had stopped calling Balukas "the Little Princess." Instead, they called her "the Queen." By that time, she had won the BCA U.S. Open Straight Pool Championship eight times in nine years. During the same period, she won every single women's professional tournament she entered—16 in total.
She was honored as the BCA Player of the Year five times. In 1985, she became the second woman (after Dorothy Wise) to be inducted into the BCA Hall of Fame. She also had the special honor of being its youngest inductee ever, at 25 years old. By 1988, Balukas had won over 100 professional tournaments in her career. She retired from the sport when she was just under 30 years old. In 1999, Billiard Digest ranked Balukas number fifteen on its list of the Fifty Greatest Players of the Century.
Jean Balukas: Major Titles and Wins
Jean Balukas achieved many victories throughout her career. Here is a list of some of her most important titles:
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