Kenniston, Mary

Mary Kenniston’s life in pool is remarkable not only for what she accomplished at the table, but also for the role she continues to play preserving the history of the game itself. A pioneering competitor during the formative years of women’s professional pool, a longtime leader within the Women’s Professional Billiard Association (WPBA), and today one of the sport’s most important photographic historians, Kenniston has spent more than five decades immersed in the world of cue sports.

Born August 8, 1953, Mary grew up on Long Island, New York, spending her early childhood in Amagansett, a small town on the eastern end of the island with family roots stretching back to some of the earliest settlers in the region. From the beginning she stood out as an athlete. A self-described tomboy, Kenniston excelled in nearly every sport she tried. In high school she played varsity field hockey, volleyball, basketball, and softball, and was also active academically—an honors student who played clarinet in the school band, worked on the school newspaper, and participated in extracurricular activities like Girl Scouts.

Basketball was her greatest passion. At six feet tall and blessed with natural coordination, Kenniston earned a basketball scholarship to college in 1971 during a time when opportunities for female athletes were limited and predated the passage of Title IX. But her promising basketball career ended abruptly after a series of serious knee injuries. Forced to step away from competitive sports, she suddenly found herself searching for something to fill the competitive void that had defined much of her life.

That search led her—almost by accident—to pool.

Kenniston’s first exposure to the game came in a college bar where a single table sat in the corner. Bored watching others play, she decided to put her quarter up for a game. Despite never having held a cue before, she immediately began beating everyone in the room. Within months she was playing regularly and winning small-money games in bars, sometimes earning more in a night than she did working her job as a supermarket checker.

After moving back home, she discovered a poolroom in Belleville, New Jersey called Guys & Dolls Billiards. That room became the turning point in her development. There she met Bob Sironi, the houseman who took an interest in the young player and began teaching her the fundamentals of the game—position play, stop shots, follow, and draw. Under Sironi’s guidance Kenniston quickly progressed from casual bar player to serious competitor.

Soon she was traveling to watch tournaments and discovered that organized women’s events existed. After observing one such event, she turned to Sironi and confidently remarked that she believed she could beat many of the players competing there. Before long she was entering tournaments herself—and winning.

Within only a couple of years of picking up the game, Kenniston had risen to become one of the strongest women players in the country, often finishing just behind the era’s dominant champion, Jean Balukas.

The New York–New Jersey pool scene of the 1970s was one of the strongest in the country, and Kenniston found herself surrounded by elite players such as Steve Mizerak, Allen Hopkins, Ray Martin, and Jimmy Fusco. The environment sharpened her skills quickly.

In 1976 she joined the newly forming WPBA Tour, becoming one of the early pioneers of professional women’s pool. Beyond competing, she also played a key role in building the organization itself. Kenniston served as the WPBA’s first Secretary/Treasurer and spent many years on its executive board, helping guide the development of the women’s professional tour during its formative years.

During the 1980s and early 1990s she became one of the most respected competitors on tour. Among her accomplishments were victories at the 1987 WPBA National 9-Ball Championship, the 1989 Brunswick World Open 9-Ball Championship, and the 1989 McDermott Masters. She also captured major WPBA titles in Baltimore, Seattle, and Detroit during the early 1990s.

One of her most notable early achievements came in 1976 when she defeated Jean Balukas in straight pool at the Pennsylvania State 14.1 Championship at the Boulevard Athletic Club in Philadelphia. It was a rare victory over one of the most dominant women players in the sport.

Kenniston’s game was built on strategy, strong safety play, and exceptional kicking ability—skills that made her particularly dangerous in tournament competition. She often relied on smart position play and defensive awareness to outmaneuver opponents.

Like many players of her generation, Kenniston also experienced the colorful road culture that surrounded American pool during the 1970s and 1980s. She traveled with well-known figures such as NY Blackie (Al Bonife) and Buddy Hall, playing action games throughout the country. Her travels took her through poolrooms across Houston, New Orleans, Georgia, Alabama, and other southern hotspots where action games were a nightly occurrence.

In places like Dothan, Alabama, Kenniston gained a reputation for beating the local men’s players on bar tables—especially the kind played with oversized cue balls, which required a different style of control. These experiences not only sharpened her skills but also immersed her deeply in the culture and personalities of pool during one of its most colorful eras.

Kenniston’s competitive career continued through the 1990s, but in 1995 she suffered a severe illness that required hospitalization and significantly affected her stamina. Even after rehabilitation she found the demanding schedule of professional tournaments—especially the back-to-back matches often required on the final days of events—difficult to sustain.

Although she eventually regained much of her playing ability, the physical toll led her to retire from full-time tournament play in 1999.

Yet her involvement with the sport never truly ended.

In retirement Kenniston gradually became one of pool’s most important historians—entirely by accident. While cleaning out old boxes she rediscovered hundreds of photographs from her years traveling and competing in the sport. When she began posting them online, the response from the pool community was overwhelming. Fans and players were fascinated by the rare images documenting tournaments, personalities, and moments from pool’s past.

What began with a few hundred photos quickly grew into a massive archive. Today Kenniston has digitized and shared tens of thousands of photographs documenting decades of pool history. Her collection has become one of the most valuable visual records of modern cue sports, preserving images of players, tournaments, and personalities that might otherwise have been lost.

Her passion for preserving the sport eventually led her into journalism as well. Kenniston began writing tournament recaps for PoolActionTV.com and AZBilliards.com and later became a columnist for the Billiards Buzz online magazine, where her monthly column “Chalkin’ Up the Memories” explores stories and personalities from pool’s past.

She has also worked as a pool commentator, bringing the perspective of a former champion and longtime insider to tournament broadcasts.

In 2020 the WPBA recognized Kenniston’s contributions by electing her to the WPBA Hall of Fame. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the official induction ceremony was delayed until 2022, but the honor confirmed what many players had long known—Mary Kenniston had helped shape the history of women’s professional pool.

Her story is one of determination, curiosity, and deep love for the game. She began playing later than many champions, yet rose quickly to compete among the best players in the world. She helped build the structure of professional women’s pool during its formative years and today continues to preserve its history for future generations.

For Mary Kenniston, pool has never been just a game.

It has been a lifelong community—and she remains one of its most dedicated storytellers and historians.