Cowboy Jimmy Moore

**Cowboy Jimmy Moore** (September 14, 1910 – November 17, 1999), born **James William Moore**, was a world famous American pocket billiards (pool) player. He was originally from Troup County, Georgia, and lived for much of his life in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is best known for his skill in the game of straight pool (14.1 continuous).

Moore was an excellent athlete at other sports. He has set many records in billiards. He won the Michigan State Billiard Championship four times. He came in second at the World Championship five times while playing the best in the world such as Willie Mosconi, Irving Crane and Luther Lassiter. He won the United States National Pocket Billiards Championship in 1958, the National Invitation Pocket Billiards Championship in 1965, and the Legends of Pocket Billiards competition in 1984.

Moore was known for playing in straight pool . He was a feared road player (a player who hustled while traveling across the United States). He was also known for his unusual pool style, which included wearing cowboy clothing, and an unusual way of using his pool cue when he was hitting ball—a technique known as a "slip stroke". Moore also worked as a technical adviser for scenes in television and film that showed pool. He did so for the movie *My Living Doll*, and the Jerry Lewis movie *The Family Jewels*. He was honored by election to the Billiard Congress of America's Hall of Fame, the International Pocket Billiards Hall of Fame, and the Albuquerque Sports Hall of Fame.

## Early years
James William Moore was born on September 14, 1910 on a farm in Troup County, Georgia, just outside the City of Hogansville. He was the son of a Georgia blacksmith, sheriff and streetcar conductor. He began working at a young age to supplement his family's income. He worked at many jobs including as a cotton picker earning 35 cents per 100&nbsp;pound, managing a fruit stand, and delivering newspapers. His family moved to Detroit when he was 13. There, he found other ways of making money. Moore ran card games and pursued other games of chance. He even pitched pennies. He was very good at gambling games and was a naturally gifted athlete. He was a Triple-A level baseball player in the minor leagues. He once bowled a perfect game, and was a good golfer.

In 1928 at 18 years of age, Moore took a job as a pinsetter at Car Barns, a local bowling alley, earning six cents a line. Moore learned fast. For a time he achieved a 233 bowling average. Moore first picked up a cue stick at Car Barns, playing on the single 4&nbsp;x&nbsp;8&nbsp;foot pool table the bowling alley had. According to Moore, he immediately fell in love with the game. Specifically, the game he loved was straight pool (14.1 continuous). This was the main game he competed at during his career. He did, however, play other billiard games. In fact, in later years Moore become U.S. national snooker champion,

Straight pool was the game of championship pocket billiards competition until approximately the 1980s. Then, it was overtaken by "faster" games such as nine-ball. In the game, a shooter may attempt to pocket any ball on the table (but the cue ball). The object is to reach a set number of points which is agreed before the game. Professional competition is often played to 150 points. One point is scored for each ball sunk in a pocket that must be called by the player. According to Moore, his high run in the game was 236 ball in a row. The wager was 25 cents a ball. This was not a small sum at the time. Moore was providing money for the match. Moore became disgusted by how unevenly matched Laurent was with Willis. Moore told St. Laurent that he could not win and asked him to step aside and let him play. Luther "Wimpy" Lassiter. Because of his skill and well known road partners, Moore's name began to be known in the billiard world. In 1940, the World Pocket Billiards (straight pool) titleholder of that year, Andrew Ponzi, sought out Moore looking for a challenge. At the match arranged, Moore first beat Ponzi out of $80 playing nine-ball. He then beat him at his own game, straight pool. Moore scored 125 points to Ponzi's 82. During 1941, Moore performed 250 exhibitions across the U.S. He earned $5 for matinees, and $7 for evening performances. He lost only one match over the year. During that same time he had straight pool runs of 100 or more points in 24 out of the 250 exhibitions. He was also known for his unusual form of stroke. Moore employed a slip stroke. Using the slip stroke, Moore was deadly accurate, but could also shoot with great power.

In 1945, Moore's purchased a home in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He would live there for the rest of his life with his wife, Julie Chavez, whom he married in 1949. They had seven children together: sons Jamie, Raymond and Tommy, and daughters Pamela Nathan, Kolma Moore, Emily DiLorenzo and Linda Bates. Soon after moving to Albuquerque, he became co-owner and operator of the U Cue Billiards Hall in the City.

In 1952 he made a strong showing in the same competition, held once more in Boston, running 93 balls against Lassiter, beating him 150&nbsp;to&nbsp;25, but again finishing behind Willie Mosconi, this time sharing second place with Jimmy Caras and Joe Procita. Moore's match with Mosconi had an ending score of 150&nbsp;to&nbsp;58 in 19 innings.

The following year Moore took second place yet again in the World Championship, held that year in Philadelphia. The 1954 tournament was not sponsored and was unsanctioned by the BCA; in its absence being organized by Irving Crane. It was denominated by newspapers, such as *The New York Times*, as the "Unofficial World Pocket Billiard Championship." In a career highlight in the penultimate match there, Moore was losing 148&nbsp;to&nbsp;8 to Irving Crane. When Crane let him back to the table, Moore ran 142 balls and out. Despite this feat, Moore was dispatched to second place by Lassiter, with a final score of 150&nbsp;to&nbsp;95, sharing second place with Crane. The defending champion, Mosconi, did not participate.

Moore's runner-up streak continued in the 1956 World Championship held at Judice's Academy in Brooklyn, New York. He clinched second place, to Willie Mosconi's now almost ubiquitous first, with a 150&nbsp;to&nbsp;50 score over Al Coslosky of Philadelphia in 15 innings, a win over Richard Riggie of Baltimore, 150&nbsp;to&nbsp;121, with an inspired run of 107 balls, but a loss to Lassiter, 150&nbsp;to&nbsp;70 in 7 innings. That same year Moore played Mosconi at a challenge match in Kinston, North Carolina. It was not Moore's day as Mosconi posted a career highlight; a perfect match—150 balls in a row in one inning.

In all, Moore came in second at the World Championship five times but never took the crown. He did however win the National Pocket Billiards Championship held in Chicago at Bensinger's Billiards in 1958. The tournament was a challenge match, marathon straight pool race to 3,000 points between Moore and Luther Lassiter. It was a tight competition, with Lassiter leading at one point 1,800&nbsp;to&nbsp;1,512. Moore battled back and eventually won with a final score of 3,000&nbsp;to&nbsp;2,634.

Moore would eventually have ten second-place finishes in world-title competition. Nevertheless, he frequently competed with and beat all of the players whom he so often played second fiddle to in sanctioned tournament play. In fact, later in 1958, the same year he won the National Pocket Billiards Championship against Lassiter, he roundly defeated Mosconi in a two-day exhibition match in his home town of Albuquerque, with a final score of 500&nbsp;to&nbsp;397.

In addition to competition, Moore served as a technical adviser for billiard-related scenes in television and film, including *My Living Doll* starring Julie Newmar and Robert Cummings in 1964, and the Jerry Lewis movie *The Family Jewels* in 1965. and the Albuquerque Sports Hall of Fame in 1998. Even in later years he was still deadly on a pool table, running 111 balls 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 the age of 89. However, Moore's health declined rapidly that same year. He died on November 17, 1999 of natural causes.

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