Mike Sigel
 Sigel at the 2003 US Open | |
| Born | 11 July 1953 Rochester, New York, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Sport country |  United States |
| Nickname | "Captain Hook", "Mr. Finals" |
| Professional | 1973 |
| Tournament wins | |
| Other titles | 100 |
| World Champion | Straight Pool (1979, 1981, 1985, 1988) |
Michael Sigel (born July 11, 1953) is an American professional pool player[1][2] nicknamed "Captain Hook." He earned the nickname from his ability to hook his opponents with safety plays.[3] Sigel was dominant during the 1980s in 9-Ball and Straight Pool and has a high run of 339 balls in Straight Pool. 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.[4]
Early life[edit]
Sigel is Jewish, and was born in Rochester, New York.[1][2][5] His mother Ruth was aggravated with him at times, because as she said "he wouldn't go to Hebrew school because he was too tired from playing pool nights."[6]
Professional career[edit]
Sigel has won over 100 professional pool tournaments in his career, making him one of the most successful players of all time, winning multiple major titles in Straight pool and Nine-ball. Including 4 World Straight Pool Championship titles, 3 U.S. Open Nine-ball Championship titles and the BCA U.S. Open Straight Pool Championship.
Sigel turned pro in 1973 at the age of 21 years old.[7] 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 for the shots made by Paul Newman and Tom Cruise in the Academy Award-winning film The Color of Money in 1986.[8] 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, Life, People, NY Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Playboy, Parade, Baltimore Magazine, Orlando Sentinel, Silver Screen, and Cigar Aficionado.[9]
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. The victory earned him $150,000.[10] 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, 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.[11]
Sigel maintains an official website, www.mikesigel.com.
Accolades[edit]
Sigel was the first player to win $100,000 in a season on the pro tour, from December 1986 to December 1987. Sigel won the largest first place prize in a pool tournament at the time on three different occasions, winning $25,000 in 1979, $30,000 in 1981 and $40,000 in 1986.
In 1994, Sigel was one of the first pro pool players to win 100 professional tournaments in pocket billiards, averaging 5 tournament wins a year. He became the youngest male to be inducted into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame at the age of 35.
Titles and achievements[edit]
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Filmography[edit]
- 1980 The Baltimore Bullet
- 1986 Color of Money (technical advisor)
- 1987 Mike Sigel's Winning Edge on Pocket Billiards
- 2000 The Art of Billiards
References[edit]
- ^ a b Dawn Meurin (1993). Billiards: Official Rules & Records Book. SP Books. p. 133. ISBN 9781561712106. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
- ^ a b "Michael Sigel". Jewishsports.net. July 11, 1952. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
- ^ "Mike Sigel aka Captain Hook", www.Billiards.About.com, Retrieved December 11, 2011.
- ^ BCA Hall of Fame Archived 2007-11-18 at the Wayback Machine, BCA-POOL.com. Retrieved June 17, 2007
- ^ "Mike Sigel". Rochester Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on April 25, 2012. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
- ^ "The Poet of Pool | Celebrities". Cigar Aficionado. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
- ^ "The Poet of Pool", by Kenneth Shouler, Cigar Aficionado Magazine. Retrieved June 17, 2007
- ^ "Sigel's web site". Mikesigelbilliards.com. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
- ^ Player Bio Archived 2007-08-04 at the Wayback Machine, InternationalPoolTour.com. Retrieved June 17, 2007
- ^ "Sigel wins IPT 8-Ball Championship". AzBilliards.com. August 21, 2005. Archived from the original on June 13, 2011. Retrieved October 1, 2008.
- ^ "Reyes crowned King of the Hill". AzBilliards.com. December 4, 2005. Archived from the original on June 13, 2011. Retrieved October 1, 2008.
External links[edit]
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| Carom billiards | ||
| Snooker | ||
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