#katsy

Ft Katsy Vermin, and Timmons Jones

By Nick Fouriezos

Welker Cochran, owner of San Francisco’s legendary poolroom the 924 Club and an eight-time world champion in billiards, had heard about Masako Katsura. American servicemen returning from Tokyo had described her skill with a cue, and Cochran had sent his own son to scout her out in Japan (famously, his son reported: “This girl is better than you are!”). Still, he was stunned when Katsura, 5 feet tall and less than a hundred pounds, strode into his club. She gave a private performance that sold Cochran, who then went to bat for her with the Billiard Congress of America, telling them, “She has one of the best strokes I’ve ever seen.”

Katsura, sometimes called Katsy for short, arrived in the United States in 1950 at the age of 37 … and shortly thereafter broke the gender barrier in three-cushion billiards, a popular form of pool in which the cue ball must touch three cushions to earn points. She placed seventh (of 10) while becoming the first woman to compete for a world billiards title at a championship in San Francisco in 1952, then went on to finish fifth and fourth the next two years. Her career brought her a measure of fame, with television appearances on ABC’s You Asked for It and CBS’ What’s My Line? in 1958. Yet she disappeared from the scene not long after, eventually moving back to Japan before passing away in 1995.

Katsura’s remarkable life in billiards began with tragedy. After her father died when she was 12, Katsura moved in with her sister and brother-in-law, a billiard parlor owner who began teaching her the game. She took to it quickly. “I practice before parlor open every day for two hours,” Katsura told New York sports journalist Jimmy Cannon. “I play men six, seven hours a day.” And she beat them. At age 15, she won the women’s straight rail championship and soon after began touring Japan, China and Formosa (now Taiwan) with her sister, also an accomplished player. Already a top-flight billiards star with two second-place finishes in the Japanese three-cushion championships, Katsura was giving billiards exhibitions when she started doing lessons with Vernon Greenleaf, an American serviceman stationed at Haneda Air Base in Tokyo. The pair married in 1950, and the next year Greenleaf was transferred to a post in San Francisco.

Katsura’s playing career could have ended with that move, if not for the imprimatur of Japanese champion Kinrey Matsuyama, who had spoken far and wide about Katsura’s prowess. And the American billiards scene was still hopping.

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Karim: ...You’re betting two pounds?

Patsy: Rikkard only pays you two pounds a month?

Lilly: He’s afraid if he gives me more, I’ll leave him.

Patsy: That’s stupid.

The Squad

Started these as a practice of matte painting few months ago. Painted Jim (as quickly as I could), left them all to wip in peace for a while, finally finished Graham and Katsy (took me HOURS, because I was enjoying it way too much). Yup. There was supposed to be Ady as the mage. But I kind painted her a bit more dynamic earlier and wasn’t feeling like doing the same thing just more stiffer again. :’)

He was watching the elven girl play with a small flame between her fingertips. It swung between her digits like a squirrel in branches. It was out of boredom for sure. Nothing else. She was bored, waiting for the boss to appear.

He took her hand, snuffing out the fire in it and pushed it down. ‘Don’t,’ he whispered.

She raised her eyebrows, more curious than offended. ‘Why not? It’s just a little bit of magic. It’s not like I’m going to start earning my living as an arsonist.’

Even though it was a long time ago, it still felt too fresh. The screams, the smell, the blinding light, his elven ‘brother’ covering him from fire with his own shield, while everyone was still too shocked to react. These memories were not going to fade out quickly. ‘Just... don’t.’ He sighed. ‘Please.’

So. More drrrama. More edge. Some story. We had Ady fighting with nature, now here’s Jim, who’s not very fond of magic. It’s difficult to be, when your own fiancé-to-be burns herself alive when her powers showed. :’)