Michael Massey (born April 9, 1947), professionally known as Mike Massey, is an American professional

pool Pool may refer to: Water pool * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a rocky pool ...

player From 1989 to 1991 he served as a contributing editor of ''

The Snap Magazine ''The Snap Magazine'' (originally titled ''Make It On the Snap'', and not to be confused with several later magazines using the word "Snap" in their titles) is an American pool (pocket billiards) periodical that was published in the late 1980s and ...

''. Massey was born in

Loudon, Tennessee Loudon is a city in and the county seat of Loudon County, Tennessee, United States. Its population was 6,001 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Knoxville, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is located in East Tennessee, s ...

, and for several years lived in

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

, where he owned a pool hall. He has the

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

of "

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...

", but he now lives in

Midway, Utah Midway is a city in northwestern Wasatch County, Utah, United States. It is located in the Heber Valley, approximately west of Heber City and southeast of Salt Lake City, on the opposite side of the Wasatch Mountains. The population was 3,84 ...

. Massey was inducted into the

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

of the

Billiard Congress of America The Billiard Congress of America (BCA) is the governing body for cue sports in the United States and Canada, and the regional member organization of the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA).` Puerto Rico, though a US territory, and Mexico, though ...

on April 7, 2005. For 2007 he was ranked as #8 in ''Pool & Billiard Magazine'''s poll of the "Fans' Top 20 Favorite Players".

World Trickshot Championship

In 1991, Massey took part in the inaugural World Trickshot Championship in the United Kingdom and despite not winning the event, demonstrated his skills in a special "duel" against the former World Snooker Champion

Steve Davis Steve Davis (born 22 August 1957) is an English retired professional snooker player who is currently a Sports commentator, commentator, musician, DJ, and author. He is best known for dominating professional snooker during the 1980s, when he rea ...

before a live audience, hosted by TV personality

Jeremy Beadle Jeremy James Anthony Gibson-Beadle MBE (12 April 1948 – 30 January 2008) was an English television presenter, radio presenter, writer and producer. During the 1980s he was a regular face on British television, and in two years appeared i ...

. Massey also demonstrated his ability to impart spin onto a ball with his hand, throwing s from the end of the 12-foot-long

snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sports, cue sport played on a Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, rectangular table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets, one at each corner and o ...

table, which would then curve around and travel behind the to (snooker term: ) a placed in front of the righthand pocket, without the cue ball touching a . Massey used props and illusion as an integral part of his routine, such as two balls bonded together, magic props and card tricks. In the words of the 1991 World Trickshot Champion

Terry Griffiths Terence Martin Griffiths (born 16 October 1947) is a Welsh retired professional snooker player and current snooker coach and pundit. In his second professional tournament, he became world champion when he won the 1979 World Snooker Champion ...

: "I feel quite embarrassed to have won actually; Mike Massey is miles ahead of the rest of us. I think it was maybe a touch of nerves that put him off tonight." Massey would go on to win the event in later years. Massey was also notable for his ability to pick up twice as many pool balls using only one hand than anyone else, a skill he claimed had won him many bets. During the aforementioned Duel with Steve Davis, he managed to pick up 8 balls, with Davis managing to pick up 5. Massey stated that the smaller snooker balls (as compared to U.S. pool balls) made the task more difficult rather than easier. Massey was able to achieve his total of 8 balls by holding a ball between each finger, then picking up 3 more using his palm and thumb muscle.

Titles

*2008 World Cup of Trick Shots *2007 Pool & Billiard Magazine Fans' Top 20 Favorite Players, #8 *2006 Trick Shot Magic Championship *2005

Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame This is the list of people inducted into the Billiard Congress of America's hall of fame to honour outstanding people who, through their competitive skills and dedication, have enriched the sport and industry. Two categories have been established in ...

*2005 WPA World Artistic Pool Championship *2005 World Snooker Trickshot Championship *2004 Trick Shot Magic Championship *2003 Trick Shot Magic Championship *2003 WPA World Artistic Pool Championship *2002 BCA North American Artistic Pool Championship *2002 WPA World Artistic Pool Championship *2001 Trick Shot Magic Championship *2000 BCA North American Artistic Pool Championship *2000

World Pool Masters The World Pool Masters is an annual international nine-ball tournament. Formerly, it was called the European Pool Masters (until 1995) until players from other parts of the globe were invited. History Throughout much of its history, the tournament ...

Trick Shot Challenge *2000 WPA World Artistic Pool Championship *2000 Trick Shot Magic Championship *1997 World Snooker Trickshot Championship *1997 Senior Nine-ball Masters Championship *1996

Mosconi Cup The Mosconi Cup is an annual nine-ball pool tournament contested since 1994 between teams representing Europe and the United States. Named after American pool player Willie Mosconi, the event is comparable to the Ryder Cup in golf and the Weber ...

*1996 Dutch National Eight-ball Championship *1993 World Snooker Trickshot Championship *1982 Classic Cup 9-Ball

Achievements

*High runs of 9 racks of nine-ball in tournament play, and 13 racks in challenge match play *High run of 224 balls in straight pool *11,230 balls pocketed in marathon shooting (24 hours) *8,090 balls pocketed in marathon shooting with one arm *World record for most racks of nine-ball run in 24-hour period: 330 racks on live television in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Massey, Mike 1947 births Living people American pool players Trick shot artists Place of birth missing (living people) People from Loudon, Tennessee People from Chattanooga, Tennessee People from Midway, Utah