George Balabushka 3585202 222345651 2008-06-28T21:16:04Z Optigan13 3457187 fixed Cue sports link [[Image:George_Balabushka.jpg |right|thumb|300px|George Balabushka in his carpentry shop]] '''George Balabushka''' ([[December 9]], [[1912]] - December, 1975) was a [[Russia|Russian-born]] legendary [[Cue sports|billiard]]s (pool) [[Cue stick|cue]] maker, arguably the most prominent member of that profession, and is sometimes referred to as "the [[Stradivarius]] of cuemakers". His full name or last name standing alone is often used to refer to a [[cue stick]] made by him.<ref name="Bachmen">{{cite journal | last = Bachmen | first = Martyne S. | title = Balabushka: One of a Kind | journal = Billiards Digest | pages = 60–63 | id = [[ISSN]] 0164-761X | date = April 2004}}</ref> ==Early life== George Balabushka was born in Russia in 1912 and [[emigration|emigrated]] to the United States in 1924. His family, parents Anton and Natalie and younger sister Mary, settled in [[New York City]]. Although originally named Gregory, as is the case with so many, he was given a new first name, George, by emigration officials when he was processed through [[Ellis Island]]. He was known throughout his life as a quiet, reflective man.<ref name="Bachmen" /> Balabushka’s first job was as a wooden [[toy]] designer and maker in [[Manhattan]]. He later graduated to building children's [[furniture]] for the Playtime Woodworking Company located in [[Greenwich Village]]. Unfortunately, Balabushka lost his middle finger in an [[band saw|electrical saw]] accident on the job, and made himself a replacement [[plastic]] finger from a wooden mold of such craftsmanship that even his friends did not realize his loss until long after the incident.<ref name="Bachmen" /> It was while working in the Village that he met his wife Josephine, a neighborhood resident. They were married in 1941, and bought a home in [[Brooklyn]] several years later. Josephine and George had two sons, Gregory and George, both named after their father.<ref name="Bachmen" /> ==Career== Although busy with work and family life, Balabushka was an avid billiards player, especially of the game of [[straight pool]], taking part in competitions and spending time with the better known practitioners of the sport. In 1959 he purchased a [[pool hall]] with a partner, Frank McGown, which was located in [[Brooklyn, New York|Brooklyn]] at 50th Street and 5th Avenue. While running the room, he began repairing cues, and it was not long before the idea was sparked to build pool cues himself.<ref name="Bachmen" /> By the end of 1959, Balabushka had made a number of cues, most of which were given to friends as [[Christmas]] gifts. As this practice went on, he began receiving orders for his cues. His first cues were conversions of the popular [[Brunswick Corporation|Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company]] manufactured “Titlist” cues. At the time, there were very few private cuemakers, the industry being dominated by large manufacturers.<ref name="Bachmen" /> Between 1959 and 1962, Balabushka [[handicraft|handcrafted]] between 20 and 30 cues per year on a [[part-time]] basis. Because of the relative dearth of private cuemakers and the excellence of his product, Balabushka’s name quickly became well known amongst professional players, and by the end of 1962, he was receiving far more orders for cues than he could fulfill. Balabushka soon sold his interest in the pool room, converted his [[Garage (house)|garage]] into a [[carpentry]] shop, and by 1964 was building cues full time, all the while honing his cuemaking abilities.<ref name="Bachmen" /> Unlike many of the [[Assembly line|large manufacturers]] of the day, Balabushka’s emphasis was on playing ability and fine craftsmanship, reflecting the values he had always held during his years in the [[woodworking]] business. He was also an innovator in cue construction, cue [[Varnish|finishes]] and cue design. His cues were not the elaborately decorated attempts at building art that so dominate the cuemarket today. Rather, most Balabushka cues are relatively plain and without grand flourishes. Many of his trademark construction techniques have become standard in the industry, such as the use of [[Irish linen]] for wrap material and block style ringwork above a cue’s wrap which are eponymously named "Bushka rings."<ref name="Bachmen" /> George Balabushka died in 1975 at the age of 63. He was posthumously honored as the first inductee into the [[American Cuemakers Association]] Hall of Fame in February, 1993.<ref name="acahf">[http://www.cuemakers.org/aca-awds.htm ACA Hall of Fame materials]</ref>. In [[2004 in sports|2004]], he was inducted into the Meritorious Service category of the [[Billiard Congress of America]]'s [[BCA Hall of Fame|Hall of Fame]].<ref name="bcahf">[http://www.bca-pool.com/industry/hof/ind02-06.shtml BCA Hall of Fame materials]</ref> ==The legend continues to grow== It is estimated that Balabushka only produced between 1,000 and 1,200 cues during his lifetime. However, by the mid 1960s, [[Art forgery|fake Balabushka cues]] started circulating in the market, as he was already recognized as the premier cue maker of the era.<ref name="Bachmen" /> Although already well known and valuable to collectors, Balabushka and his cues (respectively) became much more so after being prominently featured in [[Martin Scorsese|Martin Scorsese’s]] 1986 film, ''[[The Color of Money]]'' (the sequel to the classic 1961 film ''[[The Hustler (film)|The Hustler]]''). In the film, Tom Cruise’s character, Vincent Lauria, is presented with a beautiful cue by Fast Eddie Felson, as played by Paul Newman. Vincent takes the cue, his reverence obvious, and breathlessly asks “is that a Balabushka?” After this, Balabushka's name became associated by the general public with highly-valued and rare cues. (The cue actually used in the film was, however, not a genuine Balabushka, but a Joss, custom-made to look like a Balabushka).<ref name="Bachmen" /> Today, original Balabushka cues with verified [[provenance]] bring in tens of thousands of dollars at [[auction]]. However, there are literally thousands of fake Balabushka cues in existence (even a fake, if old and of good quality, is fairly valuable). Complicating matters, in the 1980s with the permission and [[license]] of his surviving family, a line of Balabushka replicas began to be manufactured in large quantities by the Adam Custom Cue Company, owned wholly by Jed Forman and Natalie Ross, majority share holders..<ref name="Bachmen" /> The last Balabushka cue made, was sent by George Balabushka to Jim Tanner a Dallas Texas area resident. Mr. Balabushka died when he returned home from the Post Office after mailing Tanner his pool cue. Later Mrs. Balabushka wrote Mr. Tanner and ask to buy the cue back. Mr. Tanner is said to have thought hard about her request. However he decided to keep it. Mrs Balabushka later sent him a letter authenticating the fact that it was the last pool cue that he had made and did in fact pass away soon after returning home from the Post Office from mailing the cue to him. Mr. Tanner has kept the cue in mint condition and respects what he has and plans on making it a family Heirloom. ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== *[http://www.bca-pool.com/industry/hof/ind02-06.shtml ''George Balabuska’s'' listing in the BCA Hall of Fame] *[http://www.cuemakers.org/aca-awds.htm ''George Balabuska’s'' listing in the ACA Hall of Fame] *[http://www.billiardcue.com/uploads/cues/big/balabushka1963.jpg Example of an early (1963) Balabushka cue] {{Cue sports nav}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Balabushka, George}} [[Category:Cuemakers]] [[Category:Russian-Americans]] [[Category:1912 births]] [[Category:1975 deaths]]