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William Frederick Hoppe (October 11, 1887 – February 1, 1959) (surname rhymes with "poppy"), was an internationally renowned
Hoppe won 51 world titles between 1906 and 1952. He was also known for various long-standing high , including scoring 2,000 contiguous points in straight rail, 622 points in 18.2 balkline, and a run of 25 points in
Willie Hoppe bio at BilliardsForum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoppe, Willie American carom billiards players 1887 births 1959 deaths Three-cushion billiards players World champions in carom billiards People from Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York
William Frederick Hoppe (October 11, 1887 – February 1, 1959) (surname rhymes with "poppy"), was an internationally renowned American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
professional carom billiards
Carom billiards, sometimes called carambole billiards, is the overarching title of a family of cue sports generally played on cloth-covered, billiard tables. In its simplest form, the object of the game is to score or "counts" by ' one's o ...
champion, who was posthumously inducted into the 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 ...
in 1966.
Biography
Hoppe was born in Cornwall on Hudson, New York on October 11, 1887. He won 51 world titles between 1906 and 1952, in three forms ofcarom billiards
Carom billiards, sometimes called carambole billiards, is the overarching title of a family of cue sports generally played on cloth-covered, billiard tables. In its simplest form, the object of the game is to score or "counts" by ' one's o ...
: three-cushion
Three-cushion billiards, also called three-cushion carom, is a form of carom billiards. The object of the game is to the off both while contacting the at least three times before contacting the second object ball. A point is scored for each su ...
, (four sub-disciplines of) balkline
Balkline is the overarching title of a group of carom billiards games generally played with two and a red on a -covered, 5 foot × 10 foot, billiard table. The object of the game is to score points, also called ''counts'', by a play ...
and one-cushion caroms. He died on February 1, 1959 in Miami, Florida
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
.
He is buried in Whitemarsh Cemetery in Ambler, Pa.
Professional career
Hoppe won 51 world titles between 1906 and 1952. He was also known for various long-standing high , including scoring 2,000 contiguous points in straight rail, 622 points in 18.2 balkline, and a run of 25 points in three-cushion
Three-cushion billiards, also called three-cushion carom, is a form of carom billiards. The object of the game is to the off both while contacting the at least three times before contacting the second object ball. A point is scored for each su ...
. He once made a tournament average of 1.333, a world record at that time.
Hoppe published his first book, ''Thirty Years of Billiards'', in 1925, and followed this up many years later with the introductory work, ''Billiards As It Should Be Played'', in 1941. Hoppe's peculiar style of stroke was a result of his career as a child prodigy. He barely reached the table and had to stand on a box. In ''Billiards As It Should Be Played'' Hoppe emphatically advised players not to use his way of directing the cue.
After winning the world title in 1952, Hoppe retired from title play and became a goodwill ambassador
Goodwill ambassador is a post-nominal honorific title, a professional occupation and/or authoritative designation that is assigned to a person who advocates for a specific cause or global issue on the basis of their notability such as a publ ...
for the sport by conducting a series of exhibition match
An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...
es. Hoppe may have been the only billiards player to ever put on an exhibition in the White House. He performed before President William Taft in 1911.
He was ranked number 1 on the ''Billiards Digest 50 Greatest Players of the Century''.
Titles and tournament wins
*World 18.1 Balkline Champion (1906, 1908-1911, 1914-1927) *World 18.2 Balkline Champion (1907, 1910-1920, 1923, 1924, 1927) * World Three-Cushion Champion (1936, 1940-1944, 1946-1952)References
External links
Willie Hoppe bio at BilliardsForum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoppe, Willie American carom billiards players 1887 births 1959 deaths Three-cushion billiards players World champions in carom billiards People from Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York