LoreeJon Ogonowski-Brown - Part 2 (Teenage World Champion and the Rise of a Legend)

Yeah, so I want you to talk about this show that many of our younger listeners would have no idea what we're talking about, but there was a show on television called That's Incredible, which Mark, I know you'd remember quite well.
It was hosted by John Davidson, Kathy Lee Crosby, and the former quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings Hall of Famer Fran Tarkington. So at age 15, you were asked to appear on That's Incredible, which I just watched on YouTube. What a hoot.
I know.
There's, yeah, there's a few, but that was a lot of fun, you know? And it's, you know, the mouth shot, obviously. And I did it on Kathy Lee Gifford.
And I mean, like, do I even have a brain? Like, like I think about that today, you know? And I'm like, oh my God, can you imagine, like, if it didn't work, and you know, a heater or something.
But it was, it was a lot of fun. It was a lot of fun. I did a lot of TV after.
So when I was 15, I won the world championship in straight pool. And Willie Moscone was 16 when he won the world championship. And he was, and I beat him out for the youngest at that point.
And it was a lot of fun. And then like my career at that point just went crazy because I was on the Big Blue Marble and That's Incredible and all these shows, all these kids shows, Kids Are People 2.
Yeah, I remember that one.
And yeah, and they came to the house and they filmed us. And it was a lot of fun. It was a lot of fun.
Well, let's go back to that first world championship you just mentioned.
This was 1981. It was the World Straight Pool Championship. You're 15 years old and you set a new Guinness World Record.
Yeah.
So it was being the youngest, you know, and I played, actually, I played Vicky Frecken in the final and I was definitely, definitely nervous and we crack up. So Vicky and I show up in like the same, but not.
OK, I have like my little, you know, comes up to hear a little ruffles, you know, the Vicky's was lower, really, you know, really sexy gown dress that she had on.
But the same color, the same, it was, it was the weird, we like both looked at each other like, oh my God. But it was, that was, that was, that was wonderful.
And my dad back, back a month prior to the tournament, my dad always told me, you know, he wasn't the greatest player in the world, but he played very well, very well. Straight pool, really well.
And he told me, he says, when you legitimately beat me in a game of straight pool, you'll be, you'll be a world champion, you'll win your first world championship.
And I swear to you that summer, before that tournament in August, I beat him in a 150 point straight pool match. And he, and he hugged me and he says, you're on your way, you're on your way.
Wow, that's a lovely memory.
So we both like, yeah. So that made me, you know, when I won and I, he whispered in my ear and I cried. And you know, it was just, it was good.
It was, it was, it was good.
You had a special bond with your father, didn't you?
Very much so.
Yeah. My memory of John was that he was always at LoreeJon's side and he was so proud and such a big supporter. And it was very endearing just looking on to see that he's nurtured her and just stands by her.
Just, you know, it's his whole heart, LoreeJon.
Yeah, he did, he did. I have some photos that people took of my dad watching my matches, you know. Just so intense, you know, and I'm like, ooh, he's not looking real happy there.
Well, for our listeners that want to watch this first World Championship win, you can do that too on YouTube.
I watched that match as well with Vicki. And what do you remember about it? I mean, other than being nervous, is there other vivid memories you have of that experience, that first experience?
It kind of, you know, it's, I have to be honest, it's kind of a blur.
It's just, it was the most exciting thing that happened and everything happened so fast afterwards. And it was, it became kind of like part of my life. It was weird.
You know, it just, I remember, you know, I remember Charlie giving me the trophy and, you know, and I just, you know, Charlie said he was like my, my kind of like he, he, him and my dad worked hand in hand, you know, like to, to mold me.
And you know, my mom was, my mom was so proud and you know, yeah, I mean, it was just one of those, one of those things, one of those memories. It's probably one of the best things that I've ever won.
So at this early age, and maybe it's changed over the years, but what was sort of the motivation, the attraction of the game for you as a very young girl?
And then as you progress through your career, into your prime, and even now then, has that motivation and drive and sort of attraction to the game changed for you at all?
Pool, I don't know. You know, why does somebody pick up a tennis racket and start hitting tennis balls and you're like, oh, there's the new champion right there, you know? Like, I just loved the game.
I love the fact that no matter, no matter how well you know the game, every time you break the balls, it's different, period. So, so it's, it's, I, it's hard to, you know, in, in, in certain things, everything's the same.
You know, everything's the same. Everything might be the same. Even in golf, every time I hit a shot, it's different.
It doesn't matter where it lands. It might land this, this far over in the rough, or this far, you know. And even though you hit the same shot every time, it's different.
And that's what I, that's probably what I love about that sport also. But like every time I break the balls, it's amazing that, and it's like a little puzzle, you know, you play straight pool or eight ball or something.
It's like a little, it's like a little puzzle, you know, and you have to, you know, and so it's challenging.
So because the game is so challenging for me, I think it's always kept, you know, it's always kept my interest and always made me, made me love it.
What about the applause, the acclaim, the accomplishment, any of those things kind of weigh in as well?
Absolutely. Absolutely. I am a people person.
So even, even, even when I'm playing in a pool room, if I'm playing, if I'm practicing, right, and I'm just kind of practicing, just, you know, just doing things and everything.
If people walk in and start watching, it's like, it's like the game just goes to another level. And, and I'm a showman again. You know what I mean?
Like, so, so I, so my game, like if I'm practicing with someone, they're like, dear God, you, you, you, you, you were like nothing and they walked in and I'm like, yeah, cause I got an audience, I'm like, you know, you know, so I love playing a lot
of people. I won't say who, but like growing up, they used to, they, oh man, on the practice table, they'd look like a goddess. They'd look like a goddess. And I'm like, they have no chance.
Because I know because, because it was like they freewheeled so badly on that, on that practice table, that by the time they got to the, the, the match, they, they didn't play like that. Why?
Because you save them, because you take that ability to freewheel away. And as soon as that happens, do they fall apart or do they hang in there?
You know, so, you know, getting older, for me is a little bit frustrating because my mind is not as sharp in the sense of concentration. And I don't care. I don't care what you co-cute.
I don't care what you take or what you do or meditate or, you know, I mean, I do a lot of things to improve, but boy, that squirrel is bad. The squirrel.
I can relate to that.
Yeah, you know, like, like I will be like running out, running out, you know, and it's like...
The squirrel. The squirrel. I'm caught that a lot at home, a squirrel.
Here she goes again.
You know, I wish, I will take a photo of it and show you.
And on my wall, downstairs, at the thing, it is squirrel crossing. It's a big squirrel crossing thing. And my husband put that there, so I remember.
He always tells me, Terry's like, no squirrels, no squirrels. And I'm like, okay, no squirrels.
Yeah, that is something.
But it's, yeah, it's frustrating.
All right, maybe I'm the last guy to get it. Help me with the squirrel thing. Is this like the little person that's on your shoulder talking to you, or is this something else?
It could be a little, yeah, it could be a little bit.
It could be a little bit of that. But it's like, my focus, like my focus when I was younger was so intense and it would last for hours and hours and hours. And my focus now is intense.
It could be five minutes.
I knew you were going to say that, five minutes.
I get that.
Yeah, it could be 30 minutes, could be, but at some point, it's like something takes your, the squirrel. It takes your concentration away. And it drives me, it drives me crazy.
It does. It's a little bit, it's a little frustrating, but I do have, as age comes, I give myself a break. I'm just, I'm okay.
I think you're playing to enjoy it more, aren't you?
And it's like going into a room and forgetting why you're there. You know, a lot of that.
Exactly. So I'll share a quick story at this, this, this, the last world, this past world tournament. Terry got to see me play for the first time in a real tournament.
And I was so excited that he came because that's my husband. So I was so excited that he got to see what pool should be. I, it was in a great arena.
It was, you know, the audience was fabulous. It was, you know, it was not in a pool room. It was, it was just, it was a great tournament overall.
And I was playing my first match and concentration was completely not there from the get go. Couldn't get it either. Was very frustrated.
And I, I was playing very poorly. And I absolutely, I don't know if I, I could have won the match. I know I could have.
I had, I had, I think I was up at the table. Like when you're at that table, every mat, every single game almost, and you can't do something with it, just, you know, just shoot me. I just, it was, it was just not good.
And so after the match, I was just, I was not happy. And I, and certain things, like today, like I, I, I, I handle, yeah, I don't, I mean, no one likes to lose, but I handle loss much better. Not that one.
I was like, I'm breaking down and I'm feeling, I'm feeling the heat and the, the, the tears. I'm just like, I'm like, oh God, don't do it. And so I, so Terry already saw that.
So he's like, go ahead, honey. He goes, I got the rest of the stuff. So I'm like, all right.
So we're walking out. I'm trying, I'm not even looking at anybody. Like, don't ask me for a sign to sign anything.
Don't anything because I'm not doing good. And so we walk out of the thing and he goes, bathrooms over there. And I'm like, okay.
So I go, I go to the bathroom and I'm like, I just ball. I just ball. I'm like, what, what am I doing here?
What am I doing here? Oh my God, why am I here? You know, and I'm, so I come out of the bathroom and there was like a little nook in the, in the side where you could like go in.
It didn't go anywhere, but it was like a little, you know, where you could hide. So Terry pulls me in there and he, and he grabs my face and he says, he's so good. He's just like not a pool player or anything, you know?
So he says, if you could watch yourself on film, on your attitude during that match, he said, he said, it's what you teach not to do. He says, you teach all of those kids, don't show your cards.
He goes, you not only showed your cards, you laid them out. He said, they were all over the table. Face up.
He goes, and I couldn't be mad at him or push him away or anything, because I knew it was true. And he just looked at me and he said, you're here because of your wonderful sponsors. You're here because people still love you.
And you're here because you are an inspiration. He says, so the next match, no matter what happens, have fun. And I was like, and it just resonated.
You know, it just, it did, it resonated. So next match comes, I'm playing the girl from Poland and she's playing like lights out, lights out. I've seen her play before, never missing a ball.
Like it was just, I was like, oh boy. So running out the first game and the cloth skids, I have the 13 ball and the eight ball left. And I'm cutting the 13 and as soon as I hit it, and I didn't even, I didn't slow hit it.
I didn't fat. It was just, you know, it just twisted a hair, just enough to miss. And I'm like, okay, it's starting again.
So I go back to my seat and I turn around to my husband and I go, I'm still having fun. So I just, so the game, anyway, the game is a race to seven. She has me five to zero, alternating break, five to zero.
I come back, focus. Here's the, here's LoreeJon, old LoreeJon, focused, never missing, never making a mistake. Six, five, I go ahead of her.
I'm breaking at six to five and the side pocket ball that was going every single time gets kissed out and doesn't go, you know? And so she runs out and then the last game she runs out.
And so I lose on the, yeah, I lose unfortunately on the hill, you know, seven, seven to six, but it was, it was a great match. There was a woman watching and there was a woman watching who was rooting for me. I don't, I didn't know her.
And she, right before my match, she says to me, she says, oh, how's your day going? And I looked at her and I said, I went, my day's great. I said, you know why?
She goes, why? I said, because I woke up this morning and I said, and I'm breathing. I said, couldn't ask for much more than that.
So she smiles and she like looks at me and I didn't understand it was, it was a, it was a good look, but it was a like, oh my God, I can't believe she just said that look, you know, and put the match was starting.
So I didn't have time to talk to her. So after the match, she says, my God, she said, if that ball went in, she goes, you would have won. I know you would have.
And so she's talking to me. And she said, the thing that you said in the beginning, she said, I had a heart attack with major surgery three weeks ago. She said, so I understand.
When you said, I woke up, she said, it really resonated with me. Then she went on to tell me how I was an inspiration. It's just the whole nine yards.
She's crying, I'm crying, Terry's tearing up, Dan Bourget from Old House and my sponsor, he's crying. I'm like, oh my God. That's why I go to tournaments.
Yeah.
You never know how you're affecting people, do you? You never know what the story is.
You don't. I affected this one woman in a fabulous way, and that's all that mattered.
And it sounds like Terry is a great guy. I wish I had met him, actually.
Everybody loved him.
Yeah, he seems really nice. He is. He's like having your father back in a way, isn't he?
Somebody who's on your side, completely on your side, and says the right things, knows how to get you going. And that's a really wonderful support.
Very much so. Very much so.
So LoreeJon, as we go, we'll take you back to 1981 again, the year of your first World Straight Pool Championship at age 15. And as I look at the WPBA list of winners for the year, I see five events. Event number one, Jean Balukas.
Event number two, your World Championship, LoreeJon Jones. Then there was a tournament called the Eastern States Championship, won by LoreeShampo, win number two for LoreeJon Jones that year at the New Jersey State Championship.
And then the final was the MPCA National Classic Cup, won by Pamela Miller. So here you are, a year one on the tour, five events and you win two of them.
Yeah, which was pretty incredible. And Loree, yeah, Jean Balukas and LoreeShampo. LoreeShampo was was a phenomenal, she was a phenomenal player.
Also played with the guys, against the guys, you know, she just, she was, she was a real, she was a real piece of work, but she was really nice.
So, and Jean, you know, Jean, like you had to beat Jean Balukas in order to, in order to accomplish anything, you know, in, in, in your career. So. Yeah, so it was good.
So, so 1981, you also won the Ruth McGinnis Challenge Cup, which wasn't listed as an official event here, at least on this WPBA listing I've got.
But so for the year, Billiards Digest Player of the Year. Whoa.
Yeah, yeah, for sure.
I mean, just everything.
Pretty good start. Like, yeah, I mean, it's hard. It's also difficult when you start somewhere high like that.
You know what I mean? Because you know you're gonna stay up there maybe, but the only place you can go is kinda down.
So, you know, but I really, I think the WPBA, as it grew and Allison, you know this, I mean, the camaraderie with the girls was just fabulous. You know? Mary Keniston, you know, she took me to the tournaments that my parents couldn't go to.
And, you know, I always laugh. I'm like, can you imagine, like, my parents trusting me with you, Mary.
I was thinking the same thing, because I know Mary pretty well over the years. I'm like, wow.
But she was so good.
She was very, she was very, like, motherly like when she, you know, That's interesting. She took, you know, she definitely took it serious. And, but, you know, she definitely watched me.
I will say that she definitely watched me. She was actually very good. Right up until I turned 17.
And we were going somewhere and she was like, put gas in the tank. Well, you have to understand, in New Jersey, you don't fill your tank. To today, somebody else fills your tank for you.
Isn't that crazy?
Yeah.
I mean, she didn't know how to do it. I had no idea how to fill my tank. And she was just, she was ripping me apart.
And I'm like, I'm sorry. I don't do my own gass.
Don't do my own gass. Princess.
Yeah, exactly. That's what she, that's what she, she was, yeah. She yelled at me, so, shoot.
Well, let's, let's fast forward to age, the ripe old age of 19, you win your second world championship, this time in the nine ball discipline, in Philadelphia, beating Jean Balukas.
That was very exciting.
Now that was, now that was, that was, that was a tournament to where to today, I can set up the last nine ball that I made. I usually do not remember like things like that, but that, that nine ball was such a thin little cut in that side pocket.
It was not the easiest shot. And, and it was like one of those where you hit and you look and you see it's going in. And you're like, yes.
Yeah, it was, it was very exciting. Very exciting.
That's big time. I'm beating her in anything, I guess, back then. But at that age and went for a world championship, big deal.
It was a huge deal.
A really big deal.
Huge deal.
You know, it was a huge deal. You know, back then too, like it, it's funny.
And, and I, like, I was talking to Ava back when, and, and I know some of the other girls, you know, before the WPA came, there were a lot of tournaments that were considered world tight, world, world tournaments.
And, you know, that's why I keep my, I kept all of them. I'm going to keep them. I'll just rope me where it says world.
I'm keeping it, you know? Like, so, so.
You know, when you were, when you were learning, and Mark can relate to this, cause it was certainly true when he started playing, straight pool was the game, wasn't it?
Absolutely. Absolutely.
And I think that if I took anyone under my wing today, I would absolutely teach them straight pool, because straight pool, it just teaches you a little bit of everything, everything, you know, to where it helps your game in eight ball, it helps your
game in nine ball, it helps you just, it, I think it's an all around game, you know, that, that if you don't know it, you should know it, you should play it. You know, just like I wasn't a fan of One Pocket, but, you know, I learned how to play One
Pocket because, and has it helped my game? Absolutely, because there's like a funky bank or something at the end, you know, and I'm like, oh my God, I know, I know how to hit this.
I can make this nine ball, you know, and I get so excited with it, you know. So, so yeah, I mean, learning the discipline, but I think, I will say, and this might be controversial and I really don't care.
I think that people who ran balls back when I was young, I don't think it compares to today. And the reason why people are like, you know, well, you had five inch, four and three quarter inch pockets and five inch pockets.
And I'm like, yeah, on mud cloth, on mud cloth. Do you know that when I learned straight pool, when I learned from, and I learned from Willie Moscone, Willie told, Willie taught me how to break the balls three different times.
You didn't break the balls like today and have nothing touching all over the table. Are you kidding me? So sorry guys who, yeah, who have these high runs and everything, do it on mud cloth.
Do it on napped thick cloth on what I ran. I ran 100 balls on thick cloth.
You're a golfer, so for a golfer, I guess the comparison would be, right? You play these fast 12 and 13 stimp greens. Try playing on a felt cloth that stimp at six or seven.
Exactly.
You know, exactly.
You know, so yes, I do think that, you know, that's why players, I hate comparing, you know, because people always say, well, do you think, you know, Federer Ghost or this one or this one or this one would be, you know, how would they compare to, you
know, Earl Strickland and Mike Siegel? And you know what I'm like? And I'm like, depends on the equipment to me.
Yeah.
You can't compare eras, can you?
You can't, because the era of today, you know, the cloth is so fast and everything's so fast and breaks up so easily that that's why I think they started tightening the pockets a little bit.
Yeah.
You know.
What do you think about that, Mark? What do you think about that?
When you compare eras, it's just like she's saying night and day. But in this era, there's racking templates that make the balls freeze. When LoreeJon ran 100, a lot of times there was gaps in the rack.
So that's why you'd have to go into the stack three times. That's why you'd have to have an insurance ball. You cannot count on getting anything.
It's a much more crafty style of play.
And then, you know, the players of yesterday year would have been top players today, even though the top players of today are better because we didn't have video technology to study and we didn't have all these other tone chalk that doesn't skid and
sundry other things. So because the players of yesteryear, they were top players, they would be top players today too. They're not going to want to be number two. So I don't think it's fair.
And then also when you look at the high runs, the one thing that's a little bit skewed is that it's not the same thing.
When Willie Muscone set that run, he wasn't trying to set a run, but he played to win the game so he had to get much flatter on the break shot. So he didn't risk missing a break shot because that very well may be your last turn.
Where guys today, they're setting these high runs, they go very thin on the break shot to shatter the rack. And if they miss, they just start over. So it's a different thing.
I'm not discounting how great the runs are. 600 plus is fantastic, no doubt. But it's not quite the same thing either.
It isn't, you know, and that's why I don't like comparing.
I mean, I think that with each era, I think that, I hope the game goes up.
I mean, I hope, you know, we've got three little whippersnappers right now, four on our tour, you know, that, that, my God, I can't even imagine what they're gonna be shooting like when they're in their 20s.
I just, you know, Whippersnappers, I love it. Yeah, little whippersnappers, they are.
You want to use any names for our listeners?
Yes, we've got Sophia Mast and Savannah Easton and Jordan, Jordan, yeah, how do you, Hellfree. Hellfree.
Hellfree. And, who are you thinking, I'm trying to think.
Well, Christine is pretty young, right?
Twenties.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, she's old.
They're old now. We consider them old now.
We're talking the little whippersnappers.
Yeah, the tiny ones, the under 21s.
Exactly, the under 21s. Yeah, but no, even Christina, even the young 20s. I mean, the play is pretty phenomenal.
It really is.
It really is.
I will never take anything away from whatever anybody does. You know what I mean? But it's a different, yeah, it's like a different game today.
It's-
Well, the world is smaller. Yeah. The information is better.
So they know, they all came over to America to compete on this tour and play world tours, of course, like WPA World Events and Predator World Events.
But the WPPA has a lot to do with all of this too from the, you know, the old videos that they watched of people like you and me playing and Ava and Jeanette and Vivian, the old school. Yeah.
And, you know, so that, you know, they have had a lot to aspire to, I think, women being strong and women being leaders and women out there competing. Yeah. So it's all been helpful over time, I think.
So you paved, you know, you paved the way.
You know, I really believe when I have a young student, I always teach them about the old players because I tell them that if you don't know who the old players are, you know, UJ Puckets and, you know, all of them, they paved the way for, they paved
the way for Siegel, Erlen, everybody. And then they paved the way for the players of today, the little Shane Van Boney. He was a little whippersnapper when he was young. And now look at him, you know.
Amazing.
Yeah, it is amazing.
You know, so when I look at the people that are, I love the fact that today, when we grew up, there wasn't a junior league, there wasn't a junior anything. You know, you played with, you were thrown in there.
I don't care how young you were, you were thrown in there with all the adults. And you know, today, thank God that there's, you know, wonderful junior leagues and clinics and all sorts of things. I'm doing something in Anderson, South Carolina.
A lady asked me if I would come on August 30th, to like it from 12, you know, would you come, you know, for the, for the, we're doing something with the kids. And I'm like, absolutely. You know, absolutely.
Because that's, that's, that's our next, that's our next step. And as long as they know where that, that their, I don't mean this meanly, but like as long as they know where their chance has come from and respect that, then it's a great thing.
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