Ruth McGinnis

Ruth McGinnis (1910 – 16 May 1974) was a Straight pool player from the United States.

Ruth McGinnis
Born1910
United States
Died16 May 1974 (aged 64)
Honesdale, Pennsylvania[1]
Ranking info

Early life

McGinnis stated playing pool at the aged 7 in her father's barbershop[2] pool hall on South Main Street[3] in Honesdale, Pennsylvania.[1] She was a prodigious player at a young age, making a run of 47 at the age of about 10.[2]

She was the captain of the varsity basketball team that won the Pennsylvania state championship in 1928. McGinnis scored 36 points in one game, and 341 across the 15 games in the series.[4]

Pool career

In 1943, she completed training as a physical education teacher at Teachers' College. Whilst at Stroudsburg, she participated in a number of sports, including soccer, golf, softball and field hockey. She also served as a lifeguard, and is said to have saved a man from drowning. McGinnis found it difficult to secure a teaching post after leaving Stroudsburg, and joined a programme called "Better Billiards," organised by the National Billiards Council of America, which sponsored McGinnis to visit pool halls and promote pool. The visits usually involved her giving a short talk, demonstrating some trick shots, and playing against representatives of the venue. She travelled around 28,000 miles a year, and over 200,000 miles in less than ten years.[1][2][3][4]

In 1942, McGinnis became the first woman to compete in a major tournament, the New York state meet, and in 1948 became the first woman to enter the world pocket billiard tournament.[2][1]

In the absence of an organised championship, she was informally acknowledged as the world women's champion from 1932 to 1940. She played 1,532 exhibition matches in that period, losing only 29.[5][6] In 1934, she was assigned the title of Queen Billiard Player of the World by the World Billiards Association.[1]

Later life

In the mid-1950s, McGinnis graduated from East Stroudsbourg State Teachers College, and from 1960 was teaching physically challenged children at the S. A. Douglas School in Philadelphia.[1]

She died of cancer aged 64 in 1974.[1] McGinnis was posthumously inducted into the WPBA Hall of Fame in 1976, and into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame in 1997.[5]

A marker commemorating McGinnis has been erected in Honesdale, Pennsylvania in 2016 by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.[6]

References
  1. "Ruth M'Ginnis, 64, Billiard Champion (Obituary)". 42. Archived from the original on 16 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.CS1 maint: location (link)
  2. McGraw, Eliza (22 March 2018). "Ruth McGinnis: The Queen of Billiards". Smithsonian Magazine. Archived from the original on 16 August 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  3. "Twi Sports Spotlight". Wayne Independent, The (Honesdale, PA). 12. 1 August 2012 – via NewsBank. Retrieved 17 August 2019.CS1 maint: location (link)
  4. Edwards, Kevin (28 May 2003). "Honesdale's Ruth McGinnis Remembered: Maple City Billiards Star Was Women's Sports Pioneer". Wayne Independent, The (Honesdale, PA) – via NewsBank. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  5. "Hall of Fame Inductees, 1997–2001". Billiards Congress of America. Archived from the original on 16 August 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  6. Fischer Jr., William (4 June 2017). "Ruth McGinnis". Historical Marker Database. Archived from the original on 16 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
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