Michael Sigel (born July 11, 1953) is an American professional

pool Pool may refer to: Water pool * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a rocky pool ...

player nicknamed "Captain Hook." He earned the nickname from his ability to hook his opponents with safety plays. Sigel has the ability to shoot pool both left-handed and right-handed and has a high run of 339 balls in

Straight Pool Straight pool, which is also called 14.1 continuous and 14.1 rack, is a cue sport in which two competing players attempt to as many billiard balls as possible without playing a . The game was the primary version of pool played in profession ...

. Mike Sigel is widely considered one of the greatest pool players of all time. In the year 2000, Sigel was voted "Greatest Living Player of the Century" by Billiards Digest Magazine.

Early life

Sigel is

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, and was born in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 United States census. Located i ...

. His mother Ruth was aggravated with him at times, because as she said "he wouldn't go to

Hebrew school Hebrew school is Jewish education focusing on topics of Jewish history, learning the Hebrew language, and finally learning their Torah, Torah Portion, in preparation for the ceremony in Judaism of entering adulthood, known as a Bar Mitzvah, Bar or ...

because he was too tired from playing pool nights."

Professional career

Sigel has won over 100 professional pool tournaments in his career, making him one of the most successful players of all time winning pocket billiard championship's, in

Straight pool Straight pool, which is also called 14.1 continuous and 14.1 rack, is a cue sport in which two competing players attempt to as many billiard balls as possible without playing a . The game was the primary version of pool played in profession ...

and

Nine-ball Nine-ball (sometimes written 9-ball) is a discipline of the cue sport pool. The game's origins are traceable to the 1920s in the United States. It is played on a rectangular billiard table with at each of the four corners and in the middle of ...

. Including 4

World Straight Pool Championship The World Straight Pool Championship is a pool competition, that was held up until the game of Nine-ball became popularized in America. It was the most prestigious straight pool tournament up until the early 21st century, tournaments like the Amer ...

titles, 3

U.S. Open Nine-ball Championship The U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship is an annual professional men's nine-ball pool tournament that began in its current form in 1976. The U.S. Open is one of the most sought-after titles in nine-ball and in pool generally. Traditionally, winners of t ...

titles and the

U.S. Open Straight Pool Championship The U.S. Open Straight Pool Championship was a pool tournament held in the United States, and one of the few featuring the discipline of straight pool Straight pool, which is also called 14.1 continuous and 14.1 rack, is a cue sport in which t ...

. Sigel turned pro in 1973 at the age of 21 years old. Within a few years Sigel established himself as one of the best players in the country. He played himself in the movie '' Baltimore Bullet'' in 1980. He was also the technical advisor, instructor, and sports

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

for the shots made by

Paul Newman Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. He was the recipient of numerous awards, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, three ...

and

Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962), known professionally as Tom Cruise, is an American actor and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actors, he has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Go ...

in the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment in ...

-winning film ''

The Color of Money ''The Color of Money'' is a 1986 American sports drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and released by Touchstone Pictures. The film was created from a screenplay by Richard Price, based on the 1984 novel of the same name by Walter Tevis. T ...

'' in 1986. Sigel was a dominant player in the 1980s and has been on the cover of numerous trade magazines such as ''Billiards Digest'', ''Pool and Billiards'', ''InsidePOOL'', ''Billiard News'', and ''Bike Week''. He has been featured in ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twice ...

'', ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...

'', ''People'', ''NY Times'', ''Wall Street Journal'', ''USA Today'', ''Playboy'', ''Parade'', ''Baltimore Magazine'', ''Orlando Sentinel'', ''Silver Screen'', and ''Cigar Aficionado''. Sigel was named "Player of the Year" three times in 1981, 1983 and 1986 by ''Billiards Digest'' and ''Pool and Billiards Magazine''. In 2005, Sigel won the IPT 8-ball Exhibition Match, between him and

Loree Jon Jones LoreeJon Ogonowski-Brown (formerly LoreeJon Jones, LoreeJon Hasson, sometimes known mononymically as LoreeJon; born November 6, 1965) is a professional pool player. A child prodigy who began playing at the age of 4 at her home in Garwood, New Je ...

. The victory earned him $150,000. That same year, he was seeded in the final of the King of the Hill Eight-ball Shootout, the next event of the IPT. There he met

Efren Reyes Efren Manalang Reyes (born August 26, 1954), popularly known by the nickname "Bata" (English: "Kid"), is a Filipino professional pool player. Reyes is widely considered one of the greatest pool players of all time. A winner of over 100 int ...

, who played his way through the tournament. In the match, Reyes defeated him and took home $200,000 and Sigel got $100,000 for second place. Sigel maintains an official website
www.mikesigel.com

Accolades

Mike Sigel was the first player to win $100,000 in a season on the pro tour, from the December 1986 to December 1987. Sigel also won largest first place prize in a pool tournament at the time on two occasions, winning $30,000 in 1981 & $40,000 in 1986. Sigel was one of the first pro pool players to win 100 professional tournaments in

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

, in 1994, in his 20-year career before retiring. He was 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 ...

at the age of 35.

Titles and achievements

Filmography

* 1980 ''

The Baltimore Bullet ''The Baltimore Bullet'' is a 1979 American comedy film based on the adventures of two pool hustlers in the United States. It was directed by Robert Ellis Miller and starred James Coburn, Omar Sharif, Bruce Boxleitner and Ronee Blakley. The sc ...

'' * 1986 ''

Color of Money ''The Color of Money'' is a 1986 American sports drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and released by Touchstone Pictures. The film was created from a screenplay by Richard Price, based on the 1984 novel of the same name by Walter Tevis. The ...

(technical advisor)'' * 1987 ''Mike Sigel's Winning Edge on Pocket Billiards'' * 2000 ''The Art of Billiards''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sigel, Mike American pool players Sportspeople from Rochester, New York Living people 1953 births Jewish American sportspeople 21st-century American Jews