The Legend First Lady of Billiards: Masako Katsura -History

This is the first time a woman has competed for a world championship title in billiards history. Masako Katsura was born March 7, 1913, in Tokyo, Japan, and dominated the sport of billiards, traditionally a male activity, inspiring thousands worldwide.

 As a result, she became extremely wealthy. Nevertheless, Masako Katsura disappeared as soon as she appeared. Information about this true trailblazer is less.

 Her nickname is Katsy, and she preferred to be called The First Lady of Billiards.

The Diligent Life of Masako Katsura in Tokyo

The early years of Masako Katsuralife in Japan are relatively unknown. Masako Katsura’s father died early, leaving him alone with three sisters and one brother. Masako katsura’s elder sister and his husband take her with them.

Masako Katsura spent many hours in his billiard parlor, and she loved every minute of it. When she was 13, she spent all her free time playing billiards; by 14, she was a billiard attendant. This game became a passion for him, and he worked at it day and night. Working as a teenage girl in a billiard parlor in this century was unexpected, but she felt happy to be there. 

She plays the role of an excellent player in many games, but Masako Katsura was a good billiard player then. She played all types of billiard games, earned a lot of money, and bought a billiard board for home practice. She played this game like a champion without being concerned about this game is for men. With time his interest becomes severe.

 In the parlor, she began practicing diligently. Every one of them was beaten by her. She became a sensation in the local community very quickly. It was only natural for her to start participating in local tournaments at the national level. The Japanese straight rail tournament was won by her at the age of 15.

according to Wikipedia

Americans trained katsy

In 1947, Katsy caught the eye of the Americans after Kinney began coaching her, and she continued to succeed in Japan and Asia. The Japanese three-cushion championship boasted two second-place finishes by 1950 for Katsy. she scored 10,000 contiguous points in a 4.5-hour exhibition match in 1950.

 Katsy Left at 10,000 Points;why

Masako katsura likes round numbers of 10000 points. For this, she stopped. Now she’s just showing off. What’s the point of not doing so? In 1951, Vernon asked Katsy to accompany him to America. In Japan, she was a star despite speaking little English. Would she be able to succeed in America as well? How should she proceed?

San Francisco was her port of departure in December 1951. The decision could not be reversed…

Walker Cochran Challenged katsy

Masako Katsura was invited by legendary billiard player Walker Cochran, an American, to compete in a world billiards tournament held in 1952. This applies to 1935 as well. In 1937, the same thing happened. In 1938, there was a war. It happened in 1944 as well. 1945 was also a year. His son, W.R., returned to America and investigated Katsy in Japan. 

You can’t compete with this girl!

Katsy was the first girl who took part in a championship to compete in a professional men’s billiards championship, Ruth McGinnis.Wille hope was the best player in the world, defending world champions ship and winning 51 titles. It would be harder for wille to defeat Katsy. As a result, the press believed it. Katsy played only “man’s sports” as a novelty. According to an article in Life magazine:

She was watched by a crowd of San Franciscans unfamiliar with Katsy.

 The Greatest of Masako Katsura

A round-robin tournament was held between Katsy Hoppe, Willie Hoppe, Joe Chamaco from Mexico, Herb Hardt, Art Rubin, Joe Procida, Ray Kilgore, Jay Bozeman, Irving Crane, and Matsuyama, Katy’s mentor. Matsuyama defeated Hoppe. There were 45 games played during the tournament, which lasted 17 days.

 The tournament was billed as “the largest field of billiard players since before World War II.”Katsy and Cochran began the exhibition tour in 1952. There is a primary purpose behind portraying Katsy as an “exotic, beautiful woman” in the media. She weighed 88 pounds or 40 kilograms, and she measured 1.5 meters tall.

 At the dinner table, the woman wore a kimono and high heels. Katsy shocked everyone on March 21 when she eliminated Ray ‘The Giant Killer’ Kilgore, the fourth favorite, 50-46.

Expositor

During her time, Masako Katsura was one of the biggest and most well-known celebrities in America.

She was a phenomenon due to her playing ability, but thousands turned out to see her. 

Masako Katsura as a California Girl

As a result of winning the 1953 championship, Katsy returned to exhibitions, many of them in California. During this last game, Katsy was coached by Matsuyama. His death occurred on December 20, 1953, shortly after returning to Japan following this exhibition.

 Only 53 years old, he passed away. A billiard parlor was on his mind when he decided to move to Hawaii with his wife and children. The event never took place, sadly. Billiards was Katsy’s favorite sport, but she was devastated.

The Champion of the World

Those who claim Masako Katsura didn’t win a world title might say she didn’t succeed or even wasn’t a good player. There could be no other truth than that. Her fame and popularity were unparalleled in her day. The legendary smile, fierce determination, and passion with which she promoted women’s participation in cue sports made her a hit in the vast exhibitions she staged across the country.”First Lady of Billiards” is a title that she genuinely deserves.

After 1995, Katsura was almost forgotten, but not in Japan. For International Women’s Day 2021, Google created a Google Doodle honoring Katsura as part of its celebration. Twitter is full of people asking the most obvious of questions: who? There’s only one person, Masako Katsura.