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ABOUT
THIS INDUCTEE: Jim
Rempe was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania and began
to play billiards at age six. “My goal, ever since I was a
small child, was to be the best pool player in the world,”
he once remarked. At age 13, he renewed his interest in billiards,
playing up to 10 hours a day. To further his skill, he frequently
went to New York to watch the top pros. After high school, he traveled
across the country for three years, improving his game by playing
all the best players. Read more.
Acknowledgment:
The following information
listed in this section of The8Knights is credited to the Billiard
Congress of America. Check out their official site at
http://www.bca-pool.com.
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Herman Rambow
1881 - 1967
Inducted 1969
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Called
the Stradivari of his trade by those who know, Herman
Rambow crafted custom cues for the greatest
players in billiards over the course of a 65-year career.
Captains of industry and celebrities of the entertainment
world also beat a path to his door to have the privilege
of paying from $50 to $300 for one of his perfectly-balanced
"Rambow Specials." It was Herman who perfected the jointed
cue by inserting a countersunk screw in the recessed
butt end, making an extra-sturdy connection. Only death
at age 86 stopped the craftsman from his labor of love.
To billiard cognoscenti the world over, there will never
be another Rambow. |
Harold Worst
1929 - 1966
Inducted 1970
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Harold
Worst of Grand Rapids, Michigan was only
19 years old when he played the great Willie Hoppe,
winner of 51 major billiard championships, in a demonstration
game in Detroit in 1949. Hoppe soon took an interest
in Worst's playing potential, and under his guidance,
Worst won the world title for three-cushion billiards
in Argentina in 1954, the youngest player to compete
in world competition. He successfully defended this
title for many years. Equally skilled at pocket billiards,
Worst dominated play to win the All-Around titles in
both the 1965 Johnston City, IL and 1965 Stardust Open
championships.
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John Wesley Hyatt
1837 - 1920
Inducted 1971
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John
Wesley Hyatt, known as the father of the
American plastic industry, was an inventor rather than
a player, but his invention of the celluloid plastic
billiard ball in 1868 revolutionized the billiard industry.
Hyatt began his search for a suitable synthetic billiard
ball material when a New York billiards firm offered
a $10,000 prize for a substitute for ivory. Hyatt's
earlier attempts involved shellacking a paper pulp sphere
and a ball made of layers of cloth.
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Frank Taberski
1889 - 1941
Inducted 1975
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Frank
Taberski grew up in Schenectady, N.Y. At
the age of 26, he attended a pocket billiard championship
in New York City, and came home convinced he played
as well as the champions. The next year, he entered
and placed third behind Johnny Layton. From then on,
he was almost invincible. In those days, 450 point challenge
matches were the means of competition; the prize a ruby
and diamond studded gold medal with the proviso that
any one who won 10 consecutive challenge matches could
keep it. Alfredo DeOro had come closest with five straight
defenses. By 1918 Taberski had accomplished the impossible
and the medal was his.
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Johnny Layton
1887 - 1956
Inducted 1976
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Johnny
Layton, born in Sedalia, Mo., won the world's
three-cushion championship 12 times, defeating such
champions as Willie Hoppe, Welker Cochran, Jake Schaefer,
Jr. and Augie Kieckhefer in the 1920s and 1930s. Layton
recorded the high three-cushion game mark of 50 points
in 23 innings, a record which still stands today. He
was credited with originating the method of using the
diamond system, using table markers to indicate direction
of ball rebounds, a style that he perfected through
the application of his highly developed mathematical
mind.
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