Allen Hopkins (born November 18, 1951) is an American professional pocket billiards (pool) player, professional billiards color commentator and BCA Hall of Fame inductee. He promotes multiple annual pool events and still competes as a professional contender.

Early life

Allen Hopkins was born November 18, 1951, in

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'' * Princess Elizabeth ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, and was raised in the small suburban town of

Cranford, New Jersey Cranford is a Township (New Jersey), township in Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located southwest of Manhattan. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 23,847, an increas ...

by adoptive parents Paul and Marietta Hopkins.

Amateur days

At seven years old, after watching many tournaments on television, Allen began to play pool on a small

table Table may refer to: * Table (database), how the table data arrangement is used within the databases * Table (furniture), a piece of furniture with a flat surface and one or more legs * Table (information), a data arrangement with rows and column ...

his parents bought for him. As an amateur, at the age of 12, Hopkins a prodigious 110 balls and took this talent to play against grown men.

Pool career

Hopkins' professional career began in the 1970s and spans over four decades. He co-founded and served on the board the now-defunct Professional Pool Players Association (PPPA), as well as president of the Professional Billiard Association (PBA). At the 1979 PPPA World Open 14.1 Pocket Billiard Championship in New York City, New York, Hopkins posted the largest victory margin in the event, defeating Richie Florence, 150-1. Allen Hopkins has earned titles in such varied events as the 1977

World Straight Pool Championship The World Straight Pool Championship is a top-level competition for straight pool, also known as "14.1 continuous". History In 1910, Jerome Keough invented straight pool as a way to increase the challenge over previous continuous games. Soon afte ...

, the 1978 and 1981 U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships, the 1990 Cleveland Open 10-Ball Classic and the 1991 Legends of One-Pocket event. In both 1986 and 1987, Hopkins was the All Japan Championship all around champion. In 1993, he saw victory in the

International Challenge of Champions The International Challenge of Champions is an annual nine-ball pool tournament held at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. It has always been broadcast on ESPN and is sanctioned by the World Pool-Billiard Association. As of 2009, four ...

. Allen Hopkins has a high run of 410 in

straight pool Straight pool, which is also called 14.1 continuous and 14.1 rack, is a Cue sports, cue sport in which two competing players attempt to as many s as possible without playing a . The game was the primary version of Pool (cue sports), pool play ...

(14.1 continuous),"Player Profiles," by Elaine Smith, John Lewis, and Suzanne Weinstock, ''The Snap'' magazine, page 34, March/April 1991, OTS Publications, a division of Billiard Enterprises of Florida and has run 15-and-out three times, in the game of

one-pocket One-pocket is a pool game. Only one pocket for each player is used in this game, unlike other games played on a pool table where any can be used to score . The object of the game is to score points. A point is made when a player pockets any obj ...

. In 2002, Hopkins triumphed in the

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Ten-ball Ten-ball is a rotation pool game similar to nine-ball, but using ten balls instead of nine, and with the 10 ball instead of the 9 as the "". Although the game has existed since the early 1960s, its popularity has risen since the early 2000s as a ...

Open, defeating

Earl Strickland Earl Strickland (born June 8, 1961) is an American professional pool player who is considered one of the best nine-ball players of all time. He has won over 100 championship titles and three world titles. In 2006 he was inducted into the Billiard ...

, Filipino champion

Jose Parica Jose Parica (born April 18, 1949)"2003 Player Profiles: Jo ...

Corey Deuel Corey Deuel (born November 20, 1977) is an American professional Pool (cue sports), pool player from West Jefferson, Ohio. Nicknamed "Prince of Pool", he won the US Open Nine-ball Championship in 2001, and has won many other major titles. In Janu ...

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, and faced Shannon Daulton in a thrilling double-hill finals. In 2008, he was inducted to the BCA Hall of Fame by the

Billiard Congress of America The Billiard Congress of America (BCA) is the governing body for cue sports in the United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is ...

Titles & achievements

* 1972 Hi-Cue Warm Up 14.1 Championship * 1973 Palmer Cue Open 14.1 Championship * 1973 Garden State 14.1 Championship * 1973 New Jersey State 14.1 Championship * 1974 Empire Billiards 14.1 Championship * 1974 New Jersey State 14.1 Championship * 1977 PPPA World Straight Pool Championship * 1978 U.S. Open Nine-ball Championship * 1980 Baltimore Bullet 9-Ball Open * 1981 Cue Club 9-Ball Open * 1981 U.S. Open Nine-ball Championship * 1983 Meucci Rivermont 9-Ball Championship * 1984 Texas River City 9-Ball Open * 1985 B.C. Open 9-Ball Pro-Am Doubles * 1986 Atlanta Open 9-Ball * 1986 All Japan Championship 14.1 * 1986 All Japan Championship All-Around * 1987 Eastern States 9-Ball Open * 1987 Meucci 9-Ball Championship * 1987 All Japan Championship 14.1 * 1987 All Japan Championship Rotation * 1987 All Japan Championship All-Around * 1988 Coors Valley Forge 9-Ball Open * 1990 River City Invitational Nine-Ball * 1990 Cleveland Open 10-Ball Classic * 1990 Rocket City 9-Ball Championship * 1991 Legends of One-Pocket Championship * 1991 Billiards Digest Best One-Pocket Player * 1993

* 1996 PCA Hollywood Park Challenge * 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 We ...

* 1999 Camel Denver 10-Ball Open * 2002 Denver 10-Ball Open * 2003 Border Battle, Team USA VS Team Canada * 2008

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 honor outstanding people who, through their competitive skills and dedication, have enriched the sport and industry. Two categories have been established in ...

* 2010

One Pocket One-pocket is a pool game. Only one pocket for each player is used in this game, unlike other games played on a pool table where any can be used to score . The object of the game is to score points. A point is made when a player pockets any obje ...

Hall of Fame

Sportscasting and event promotion

Allen Hopkins Productions started the Super Billiards Expo, each year held in

Valley Forge Valley Forge was the winter encampment of the Continental Army, under the command of George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. The Valley Forge encampment lasted six months, from December 19, 1777, to June 19, 1778. It was the t ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, which has since become the biggest consumer-oriented trade show in the

Billiards Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue stick, which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table bounded by elastic bumpers known as . Cue sports, a category of stic ...

industry

trade show A trade show, also known as trade fair, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services, meet with industry partners and ...

in the world, with multiple tournaments for amateur, seniors, women and men professional player levels. He has combined efforts with Billiards International and promoted

pocket billiards Pool is a series of cue sports played on a billiard table. The table has six pockets along the , into which balls are shot. "Pool billiards" is sometimes hyphenated and/or spelled with a singular "billiard". The WPA itself uses "pool-billiar ...

exhibitions like the Skins Billiards Championship, the

Texas Hold'em Billiards Championship The Texas Hold 'Em Billiards Championship was a short-lived pool tournament held in the US. It was promoted by Allen Hopkins Productions and Billiards International. Eight chosen players compete in this event. Like the Skins Billiards Championship ...

, and two short-lived competitions, the Million Dollar Nine-Ball Shootout,Million Dollar Nine-Ball Shootout
official website. Retrieved May 20, 2007. and (with business partner Mike Andrews) the Team DMIRO tour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hopkins, Allen American pool players Sportspeople from Elizabeth, New Jersey Cue sports commentators 1951 births Living people Straight pool world champions