And Katsura’s mother advised her to take up billiards. With Hoppe retired as of 1952, there was pleasure over who would take the 1953 world three-cushion crown, to be held in Chicago on the Chicago Town Club in the Sheraton Hotel. Eleven rivals have been slated to play, many repeats of the prior yr, including Chamaco, Katsura, Matsuyama, Bozeman, Kilgore, Procita and Rubin. New to the sphere have been Harold Worst of Grand Rapids, Hollywood’s John Fitzpatrick, Mel Lundberg of Minneapolis and Ezequiel Navarra of Argentina. And after seeing a profitable billiard woman competitor, a bunch of gamers formed the Women’s Professional Billiard Association.
She placed seventh whereas changing into the first woman to compete for a world billiards title at a championship in San Francisco in 1952, then went on to complete fifth and fourth the subsequent two years. Her profession introduced her a measure of fame, with television appearances on ABC’sYou Asked for Itand CBS’What’s My Line? Yet she disappeared from the scene not lengthy after, ultimately transferring again to Japan earlier than passing away in 1995. She made 30 exhibition appearances in 1958 and went on a one-week exhibition engagement the following leoteo store reddit yr with Harold Worst, but did not compete in any skilled tournaments. In 1959, she made two tv appearances on ABC’s You Asked for It, and one on the CBS primetime tv hit What’s My Line? Katsura returned to competition in 1961, taking half in a challenge match for the World Three-Cushion title in opposition to Worst, then reigning world champion, and was defeated by him.
She was the most energetic in 1950s and she turned Japan’s solely female skilled player. By the time Katsura moved to the United States in 1937, word of her unprecedented expertise had reached eight-time world champion Welker Cochran. Katsura so impressed Welker, he organized the World Championship Billiards match in 1952 to watch her compete against world’s foremost billiards aficionados. Katsura upset a variety of the sport’s finest players to finish seventh within the event, whereas the progress she made for ladies in a traditionally male-dominated recreation was a first.
First studying the game from her brother-in-law after which under the tutelage of Japanese champion Kinrey Matsuyama, Katsura became Japan’s solely female skilled player. In competition in Japan, she took second place in the nation’s national three-cushion billiards championship three times. Katsura’s remarkable life in billiards began with tragedy. After her father died when she was 12, Katsura moved in together with her sister and brother-in-law, a billiard parlor owner who started educating her the sport.
She stored a low profile after the game and became not typically seen, even in exhibition fits. As Katsura’s sport began out to enhance, she turn into despatched to participate in competitions with Japanese male gamers. At 15, she played like a professional and started travelling to China, Japan and Taiwan for competitions accompanying her sisters.
By 1961, Katsy had retired and she or he, fairly literally, fell off the map. Nothing was seen of her or heard of her for a couple of years. She settled into quieter life but where and what she did we don’t know. Many lamented her retirement as she was nonetheless an outstanding player.
