Buddy Hall

Cecil P. "Buddy" Hall (May 29, 1945 – May 22, 2025) was an American professional pool player and was considered one of the best nine-ball players of all time. The International Pool Tour heralds Hall as a "living pool legend." He was nicknamed "The Rifleman" for his accuracy and had been a consistent top player for over two decades and virtually unbeaten when playing "money matches".

Many players and pundits consider him to be one of the most fundamentally solid 9-Ball players of all time, heralding him with the best cue ball control of any player.

Hall has been credited with creating the "clock system" which is a technique for where to hit the cue-ball, using the face of a clock as a gauge for where to aim.

Hall began playing at 14 years of age in a soda shop in his home town. When local pool rooms would not let him enter because of his age, he used subterfuge to obtain a new birth certificate from a local judge which stated he was of legal age. He cut his teeth at Herbie Lynn's pool room and was soon dominating the regulars. It was not long before he hit the road to try his hand at a wider playing field. After watching many great players, he first gained prominence after beating some top players after he entered the Johnston City tournament in 1970.

"I went there to watch all the greats of the day play. Wimpy, Jersey Red, Eddie Taylor, Cornbread Red, Harold Worst, Jimmy Moore, Fats and U.J. were playing one another in both the tournament and in backroom ring games. I entered and was very pleased when I beat Wimpy and Jersey Red and won my entry fee back."

In the following years, Johnston City lost out as the hub of top tier tournament play to the Dayton Open Tournament. There, in 1974 organizer Joe Burns instituted a similar all-around tournament to what had been used in the Johnston City. Hall took All-Around first place there in 1974, winning $6,800. He continued to compete in the Dayton Open Tournaments for many years. In 1982 hall won the Caesar's Tahoe Nine-ball Championship by edging out Allen Hopkins in the final with a score of 11–6, winning $35,000 for his efforts; the biggest first prize money in a tournament at the time. Hall’ win was announced on ESPN, which was the first ever mention of a billiard player on that cable television network. "The Rifleman" won a considerable number of 9-Ball tournaments that were held during the 1970s and through to the 2000s. In 1995 'Rags to Rifleman' was published; a biography of his life and career.

Hall died May 22, 2025, at the age of 79.