Annie's history
Anne Mayes began playing pool at the age of 17. She soon
discovered that she had a passion for the sport. She played as much as possible
and to her dismay she felt there wasn't enough time in the day to play as
much as she wanted to.
In 1974 while practicing one day at a local pool room she was approached
by a man who owned a billiard supply store in Houston. He asked if she
had considered playing on the professional tour. At that time, she did
not know there was a pro tour and told him so. They
talked a while and he left to make a phone call. When he returned he told
her he had made arrangements for her to play in an upcoming event at Notre
Dame University in South Bend, Indiana. He told her that the A. J. Ebonite
Corporation would sponsor her for the event.
She played the tournament and lost with a very poor showing.
However, upon returning home, she received a call from Ebonite asking
her to play for them on the pro tour as their female advisor. She agreed
and they became her sponsor. The next year, 1975, she won her first event,
the Southeastern Open in Florida and was invited to play in the prestigious
U.S. Open.
Anne continued to play on the pro tour whenever work permitted.
From 1983-1986 she was always ranked in the top ten women on the pro tour.
The business card shown here is circa 1985.
In 1986 she landed a wonderful job with Texaco - Engineering
Division Houston and had to quit playing on the tour to devote all of
her time to her new career. She was the Computer Aided Design & Drafting
Supervisor and eventually wore the additional hat of Software and Systems
Development Manager.
All good things must (sometimes) come to an end. She was
laid off in January 1995 and decided to get back to her first love - professional
pool. She entered a qualifying tournament for a WPBA professional event
and won it She began playing the pro tour again in February 1995 and finished
the year ranked 32nd in the world. She continued to play in 1996 and finished
that year ranked 23rd in the world. Unfortunately the years of no practice
had taken their toll and she never regained her professional status.
She had to retire from the tour in December, 1996, due
to poor health. After a year and a half of trying to get a magazine, "Billiard
& Dart "News", off the ground she decided she would be much happier
creating and crafting custom cues. With the help of friends, she opened
Annie O's Billiard Pro Shop in June, 1998. The shop has become a tremendous
success and several of Houston's top players are now playing with and
endorsing her cues.
During her 25+ years of playing on the pro tour, Anne
has played with many brands of cues including; Adams, Black, Jenson, Joss,
McDermott, Meucci and finally Predator. She has the experience to know
what makes a truly fine playing cue. Anne understands the importance of
having a cue that feels right, hits right and plays right. Quality is
her primary goal in achieving those attributes in every cue she builds.
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