Jacob Schaefer Sr.

Jacob (Jake) Schaefer Sr. (February 2, 1855 – March 8, 1910), nicknamed "the Wizard", was a professional carom billiards player, especially of the straight rail and balkline games, and was posthumously inducted into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame in 1968.[1]

Jacob Schaefer Sr., circa 1880s
Signature of Jacob Schaefer

Schaefer was born in 1855 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was the first US-born son of German emigrants. He was the father of fellow billiards pro Jacob Schaefer Jr. (1894-1975).[1]

He became one of the world's top balkline players, to such an extent that some of the more challenging versions of balkline were invented to attempt to level the playing field against him. He won matches and titles around the world, including the March 11, 1908 World 18.1 Balkline Championship versus Willie Hoppe, 500 points to 423, even though gravely ill at the time.[1] He died of tuberculosis in 1910 in Denver, Colorado.

References
  1. "Hall of Fame Inductees, 1966-68", Billiards Congress of America, Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA; accessed February 3, 2007


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