LoreeJon Ogonowski-Brown - Part 3 (Grit, Greatness, and the Golden Era of Women’s Pool)

Confidence, that's the hard part about coming back, isn't it? Which you did, you took a hiatus from the game. What happened?
Because you disappeared for quite a while.
I, so I always said in my life that if I didn't enjoy Pool, I was done, you know? And it started when my kids were, you know, kind of, I call it like fragile ages, you know what I mean? I really, I really wanted to be there, you know, for them.
So I turned from pool player to golf caddy for my son, Matthew, you know, like, I looked at him, I'd be trudging up those hills. I'm like looking at him and I'm like, I hate you and you know how much I love you. I'm like, I was so tired.
But, you know, I became that and I, you know, went horseback riding with my daughter because she lived at the barn and loved horses and I always watched her and the horse. Actually grooming her horse became like my therapy.
That was like my therapy, brushing and, you know, cleaning the hooves and doing all that stuff. That kind of became my therapy. And then I've watched every soccer game of my son, my oldest.
That's wonderful.
So yeah, and it was just important, I think, for me to do that at that time.
And we had, you know, we had a biz, we had a business and, you know, so I just, my brain was just, it was, it was the start of the squirrel, I think. And then, and then after years of being not there, I kind of missed it, you know?
And then I was like, I kind of miss it. I really, you know, want to do something again. Then the IPT happened.
So then that was, you know, I guess if that came, you know, the WPBA gave permission, all this other stuff, the IPT happens for a few years.
And then I think, I think the whole thing was there was supposed to be an online gambling and George Bush, Nixon.
The idea was him to sell that business, wasn't it? To create a business and sell it.
And so that stopped that. And then I took another small break from there. And then like 2017, I started playing again.
And then-
And your kids are all grown up at that point or?
Yeah, pretty much, pretty much.
Yeah. That's fantastic.
You know, at least to where I thought that I could do something again, you know? And then when I came back, I couldn't believe it.
Like I came back and the first tournament was Alan Hopkins, you know, at The Thing and I beat Karen Korn in the finals or.
Oh, wow.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Was it the 2017 Super Billiards Expo Players Championship?
Yes.
Surprise.
And Vivian gave me it because Stink and Vivian missed a nine ball and hung it in the hole to beat me.
I think I might have watched that.
That's also what you need a little bit. You need a little luck on your side. When you win a tournament, look back at a couple of the breaks that you got.
You know what I mean?
Definitely.
There's no doubt. Yeah. So, you know, I took that break and ran with it.
Yeah.
Well, let's sort of bridge the gap for our listeners between, you know, we'll go back to 95.
And, you know, you look at the list of events, and it was pretty well rocking for the women, wasn't it? I mean, you had a lot of events going on during this time frame. And, you know, again, you continued winning many, many more wins, 94, 95.
Again, billiards digest player of the year in 1995. And then sort of toward the end of the year, you got this lady show up in Charlotte for a tournament. She does okay.
And then, you know, totals down to the McDermott-Cue Orlando Classic.
Which we all traveled together. We all traveled together. I stayed in Charlotte after that event.
I came in ninth, I lost to Ava and Jeanette. And then we went to Orlando in, I think, Kelly Oyama had a minivan. There was LoreeJon, Robin, Gerda, myself, Kelly.
Is there anyone else? Ava, LoreeJon, Robin?
Ava may have been there, yeah.
So I've got all these top three in the game. And obviously Gerda was the first WPBA winner. All these winners in the minivan with me.
I'm watching LoreeJon and Robin play this basketball game. Do you care to elaborate on that?
I hear about this one here, yeah.
Yeah, this is a good one. So maybe she could give us a little.
We had a lot of fun back when. There's lots of stories, lots of stories. And so Robin and I, when we would travel, when we would travel to Japan and stuff like that, we would always, we were bored.
It was like long flights. We were bored. We had nothing to do.
So Robin had this talent. You know how everybody has a talent. Robin had this talent where she could, I don't even know if I could do it.
I can't.
She would get a bubble on the end of her tongue and she could, and she could blow the bubble and land where she wants, right?
So we would sit there. It's like, I love people are going to be going, you're so gross. You're so gross.
So I would sit there and be like, OK, go ahead. She would try and shoot the bubble from across, like she'd be on the other side of the aisle and she'd shoot the bubble right in my mouth. And we would call it basketball and we would score points.
I'm watching this on the way down to Orlando and I'm like, what are they doing?
I didn't know what to make of it.
It was the best. It was funny. Like, and it's so gross because to make a bubble, you have to have a little, you know, like, you know.
Yeah, right.
So we would try to make that bubble, like it was a talent to make that bubble, stick it on the end of your tongue and it so, so beautifully went where she wanted.
Yeah, that's amazing.
Do you think the guys did that on tour? Do you think they did that in a board moment?
I've never seen that.
No.
I've never seen that.
You'll never see it either, probably.
And that's another thing. It'll never be that again, but I do miss the camaraderie. I miss, like you and I, when I see you at a tournament now, we'll be in the court, we'll laugh and laugh and laugh at stories.
Some funny things they did.
I remember you and Ava, I think you and Ava, did you room together a lot, you and Ava? Did you not make the pillows fit how you wanted them to? When you stayed in a hotel, I remember that too.
Here we go.
So basically if it was too much in the pillow, they would just rip the pillow open and pull the stuff in out.
So they got the desired height.
Don't mention the name of the hotel.
I was good, I would get, I would call the front desk and I would get, I at least sewed it back up again. I would get a needle and thread and I sewed it back up again.
Oh, and the other one story I remember quite vividly was them, didn't you take the wrong car? Park? Didn't you get a rental car?
There's a rental car story in there and what happened?
All right. This is good.
This is a good one.
Ava and I flew, we had a tournament in Baltimore, Maryland and we flew, I think it was like we flew into Baltimore, but we flew out of Washington or vice versa, one of them. So we're at the hotel, Ava and I, we always did everything.
Ava and I were the, okay, we were like Mutt and Jeff. We'd be running at the airport. We'd be running, running.
I'm following her, she's following me. She'd go, what gate? And I'm like, I don't know, I'm following you, you're running.
That was our life together, okay? So we rented a car, and all I can tell you is that it was a green car with four doors and beige interior, okay? Green car, four doors, beige interior.
I don't know what it is. I don't know if it's a Chevrolet, it was a Beel. I don't care what it is.
It's just, it's our rental car. So we're at the hotel. We're late.
We totally forgot that we were flying out of the further airport. So it was like, we gotta go now. So I'm like, okay.
So I call, they bring the car up. We jump in the car and I'm driving. And I go to, I go to, I don't know what it was.
I go to shift and it's here. Like, you know, shift is here, but I don't, you know, I don't know. I mean, I drive so many cars.
So we're going, we're going, we get to the airport, we get to the Avis, Avis rent a car. And we're, and they're ignoring us. One car after the other, they're ignoring us.
So I get out of the car and I said, I said, excuse me. I said, we have been here for like 10 minutes. I said, we got a plane to catch and, you know, and the guy looks at me and he looks at, he goes, ma'am, he goes, this isn't our car.
And I went, huh? I'm like, so we figure out, they brought the wrong car. You don't think this hotel got in trouble possibly.
They bring the wrong car. Mitchell, of course, has me, I'm crying. He goes, you had the shifter on the wheel and there's a shifter in here.
And he's telling me all the differences about a car. Because he's a guy. And Ava's going, Mitch, this isn't the time.
It's a green car with beige interior. We took it. So I literally, we laughed so hard at that.
We literally left the car there. I called the hotel and I said, you're going to get my car here. You're going to take this car.
I don't know whose it is. I don't even know if it's a rental car. And you're going to bring this back to the hotel.
And I said, and this is where it's going to be parked. And I left it there and I guess it worked out fine.
Oh, what a story.
Oh, we have so many, so many.
I love that story.
I'm waiting for Allison to prompt you on a few more.
She's got all this inside baseball here. They used to have cake fights and all sorts, but that was pretty me coming along. Didn't you have a cake fight in the room?
Oh, God.
We had, so bad. We had a cake fight that was so bad. Nesli O'Hare, Vivian, me.
So it was Vivian's birthday and it was chocolate cake. And I smashed the cake and are, you should have seen this room. Poor Peg.
Peg, who had like all the, you know, she made all the reservations and you know, she just looked at us and she said, I don't care how long it takes. She said, there will not be a piece of chocolate on this wall. We were like, yes, no.
Hey, Vivian literally jumped on me, squeezed her legs around me like a wrestler, took the cake and smashed it in my face, was smashing it in my ear. I swear to you, two days later, I had cake in my ear that day.
And we had, it took so long to clean that room. It was so bad. Oh my God.
It was so bad. We had to get cleanings. We had the, it was bad.
But see, these are all things that you too can join the WPBA. And have crazy stories.
Yeah, you could create a recruiting video or something for the young ladies.
Oh, that would be funny, reenacting them.
What else might you want to talk about that we haven't covered so far?
The one thing that I would like to say, because without my sponsors, I would not be able to do this. Like, so I really, I have four wonderful sponsors. Ollhausen has been with me for a very long time.
Championship Billiard Fabric, Mori Tips, and Mu Chi Cues, of course. I was going to say I've been with Mu Chi since I was like 18. So, you know, the fact that who I am, I don't win right now.
Could I? Yeah. You know what?
I still think I have it in me somewhere to possibly get one. But, you know, Dan Bourget from Ollhausen, he said, that's not why we have you. He goes, we have you because you're a legend.
And he goes, and, you know, and that just, it's great. It's just, it's great to have people that, that companies that believe in you and that, you know.
Yeah.
We've done so much for the sport. And those sponsors, Mu Chi and Ollhausen have been with you forever.
Forever. Forever.
Yeah. That's great loyalty.
Great. And then, Championship Billiard Fabric, you know, was a, was years ago. And then Moretip was more new, you know, newer now, but yeah.
Well, you are a legend and legends in the game.
We're talking about Legends of the Cue are immortalized and recognized and enshrined in things like Hall of Fames.
And so in the 2002, you were honored to be inducted into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame, inducted with Jimmy Rempe, one of those fellas you went way back with. That had to be a great experience for you.
The king and queen.
Yeah, exactly.
Perfect. Yeah.
Yeah, what were your memories of that night?
Really good, really good. It was, you know, it was a big dinner, big shindig back then, because it was always connected to the, I can't even think, the trade show.
We were always at the trade show and, you know, and everybody had, you know, all of the manufacturers would be there and all your friends and family and all the players. And it was, it was, it was a beautiful night. It really was.
It was, it might, my, you know, to have my parents there and Charlie was there. And, you know, it was, it was wonderful.
I remember, it was obviously a wonderful occasion for you and your family. And I remember you getting up there and singing Wind Beneath My Wings. Is that correct?
Yeah. I remember that. That was very special.
Cause she, yeah, yeah. That was wonderful.
They made it all happen for you.
Yeah, it was.
You used to sing before quite a few of the matches or things like that, right? Yeah, the Star Spangled Banner or something.
The Star Spangled Banner.
Yeah. Do you still sing?
Yeah, she's in the car in there, yeah.
Oh, yeah. She has a great voice.
We fast forward six years to 2008. I don't know what took them so long, but you're inducted into the WPBA Hall of Fame.
Yeah, and Ava was with me and that was wonderful. That was a lot of fun. You know, the BCA is where you want to go.
You know, that's like the main, you know, you got to get into that. And then, you know, of course, the WPBA, because that's your organization. So that was very special.
And I still have the video that they made for both of them, actually, and I love that, you know. I love showing people that, and because that kind of just shows every, it puts all your career all in one, you know, in one little video.
And one thing that I will say, one of the most special in 2022, I was inducted into the Polish American Hall of Fame, which is in Michigan. And that was fairly amazing because it wasn't just Pool.
You know, it was, people voted on me and it was, you know, you were against like, you know, some serious contenders, you know?
So I was like, well, it's nice that they nominated me, you know, like I'm probably not gonna get in this day, you know, but you know, it's nice. And yeah, and they called me and said that I was in with this, with a football coach.
And it was wonderful. It was, I learned how, and don't ask me because I learned it. Like, it's kind of like studying for a test.
You learn, you do, and then you just, it goes away. But I greeted everybody in Polish. My mom, you know, helped me with that.
And then I talked about all of our Polish heritage, you know, like Easter and what we used to do for Easter or with eggs. And, you know, we used, oh God, we stunk. We did.
We used to have, oh my gosh, we would eat in the morning. Like we would have like kielbasa, you know, with garlic in it and like, you know, beets and horseradish. And I mean, it was just, it was like, we just kill ya.
But that was, that was really, really, my husband Terry got to see that and it was really special and really hard cause like my dad wasn't, you know, like my dad was not there and, and we all drank and I hate Manhattans. My God, I hate them.
But my dad, that's what my dad drank. So we all, everybody there took a shot of, of the Manhattan in, in honor of my dad. That was very special.
That's terrific.
You know, I know you and Allison are both involved in a current project called the Cue Queens Project. Why don't you tell our listeners a little bit about what that's all about?
Well, I'm excited about it because it, it, it's about every, it's about all the women. You know, it's about top women, all the women, young women, old women, and anywhere in between. And I think it's a documentary.
It's gonna be a documentary. And I, I personally really believe in the, in the project.
If I didn't, I don't think I would have, I don't think I would have gone to Amsterdam, Billiards, I don't think I would have, you know, you know, bought that, like my husband bought the photo for, you know, like of all of us and stuff like that.
But I think it's gonna be really good. I think that a documentary featuring a little bit of everything is so smart. You know, it's so smart.
It goes from the, the, the, you know, timeline of the beginning to now and what will, you know, what is and what's to be, you know. So I think they're doing, I really think they're, they're, what I, what I saw too at Amsterdam. Oh yeah, that's right.
I cried. I'm such a sap. So they showed like a video part of, of, and, and it was, it was of Allison and her mom and, and I'm like, I'm like up to here watching it.
Like, it's, it's like, I'm choked like to hear it. I'm like, I'm like, all right, don't cry, don't cry. And then Allison looks right at the camera and says, you know, what did you say?
There's time that how you can't buy time.
Yes.
She said, she said, time is precious. She said, you can't buy time and I lost it. That was it.
I lost it completely. I was like, you know, I lost my mom last year and it just, you know, my mom and I have had a little bit of a roller coaster relationship in my younger years. And we became like this in the last, you know, 15, 20 years.
And, and I, yeah, that just killed me. Because you don't, you don't, yeah, you're tearing too. See, Mark is wiping, he's wiping, he's wiping too.
I caught that, you know, but it, but it's true.
You know, you, you have to enjoy, I think that's one thing that getting older, you appreciate time, you appreciate, you appreciate every day and you appreciate, you know, don't, don't, you know, like all this stuff that people tell you when you're
young, you don't go to bed mad, don't do this, don't, you know, confront somebody if you have a thing with them, all that stuff, it means nothing until you realize how much it does mean. So.
Yep, yep. So one question I have about the documentary project, did they ever consider calling it Cue Duchesses?
Ooh, twisty. Look, I'm all for the Cue, oh you can't see, oh you can't see it there.
Oh, look at that, there we go, yeah.
It magically appears.
I love it, yeah.
For our listeners, we've got a little promo plug, what was that, a soda bottle or something that you were putting up there?
No, it's my coffee cup.
It's my coffee cup. Coffee cup, okay. All right, so we have to do a video now so the listeners know what we're doing.
The Queen of Doom, that just does not stand out.
The Queen of Doom, you know it doesn't.
Doesn't stand out.
Doesn't stand out.
I have one thing I wanted to interject was of all the magnificent wins that LoreeJon's had, I think one of the things that really embodies a magical career is just summarized in this one incident.
If you would tell it, when you were at a tournament, I think it was LA of course, and you got on a game show. That's right. That's right.
Right?
The most amazing thing.
So, okay.
So everybody had roommates, because you don't want to travel on the road by yourself. So everybody has roommates and like we would all jump and visit each other in the rooms, you know?
And Vivian and Kelly and Nestle and Ava, we used to watch, like it was not a lie. We used to watch The Price is Right all the time, all the time.
And I'm like, and I would tell everybody, I'm like, if you just listen to the audience, you're going to win. I just listen to the audience. They know, they know.
So one time we were going back to LA and I'm like, guys, why don't we go on The Price is Right? We always watch it for, you know, we're going in early, like, let's just do it. So we had a huge amount of people.
We had got, we had lots of people and then we lost everybody when they found out that we were leaving at 3.15 in the morning to stand in line. And it was just Vivian, me and Kelly Oyama.
And we got in line and we could see that we were going to, you know, we were like, we were close enough to the front to where we were, we were going to be fine. We were going to be able to sit in the audience.
So the guy goes, oh, and of course when we went there, we all wore something with pool. And I had, years ago, there was the, I forget the company, but they used to stitch, you know, they like stitched a big shark with a table, you know, pool shark.
And I had a denim shirt on with that and my mom jeans because I just had Matthew. So I had my little mom jeans. And the producer was like, what's your name and what do you do?
What's your name and what do you do? What's your name and what do you do? And I told Vivian, I said, all right, one of us is definitely going to get on, right?
And I said, but probably you, because you're Spanish, you meet like all the, you meet the criteria. And they called my name. And I was so excited.
I was so, LoreeJon Jones, come on down. You're the next cadet. No, no, I'm like, and of course, you know me.
That's brilliant.
So I go down and we were bidding on, I think it was a painting.
I didn't like the painting, but it was, it was a painting. And I don't know. I did the, I did the one cent over cause I believed that it was higher.
So I, whatever the highest, it was, if it was 350, I bid $351 and that's what the audience said. And then I won. I went up there.
I won. I won everything on there. Now this is funny.
Bob Barker gets a message while I'm doing the wheel. So what happened was, all right, I gotta hold on real quick. I have, I'm going for the jet skis, the wave runners.
And I'm playing Superball, which is, which is ski ball, which I'm horrible at. Oh, I'm horrible at ski ball. And so I do the one thing, I guess the three products, I guess the product, the price is right.
So I get three balls. One ball was for this, one ball was for this, one ball was for the jet ski and all of them, LoreeJon is very consistent, same, same miss every single time. So I'm like, oh gosh, all right.
But I had fun, you know, I'm thinking I had fun. And he's like, but wait, you can do the suit, you can win the Superball, blah, blah, blah, blah, and win all three prizes. And I'm like, oh, you know.
So I guess the price. Now I'm concentrating. My brother goes, watch the video.
He goes, you're like, and he goes, he goes, all three, you're like, he said your whole face changed. He said, and so I make it in the thing. I win everything.
Okay. So now the wheels coming up. Now, now the wheels coming up.
So when I go to win the spin the wheel, and I, I didn't think I had a chance because the person, I don't know, the person before me or whatever, who was, who had the best score had 90 cents.
So 85 cents, 90 cents there, there was just, you know, I was done. So standing there and somebody who writes articles for the Billiard Digest is one of the camera guys in the back. Go figure.
So he hands Bob Barker a note that says, you have in front of you, you know, world champion, LoreeJon Jones who does that, you know. So he reads the thing and I'm like, yes, yes. I was so excited, you know, that he knew.
And while I'm spinning the wheel, I get my first wheel spin is 85 cents. I can't go over a dollar. There's no, there's no way.
So now I'm talking to him. I gave him a kiss on the cheek. I'm all happy.
You know, when I spun the wheel and I'm thinking I'm done. And I hear Vivian screaming so loud in the audience. And I look up and I get 15 cents.
I get the dollar.
Oh my. Ding ding ding ding ding.
So now, so now even more excited. I spin again and it goes, it stops on the dollar and flips over to the other. So I went another 5,000.
Wow. Yeah. Oh, it was a great day.
So then I get into now I'm in the, now I'm in the, in the, in the thing, in the, in the showcase showdown, whatever. I get it. I win.
I win the showcase showdown. Oh, I kept looking back. I kept looking at the audience, looking at the audience.
I said, I'm telling you, that's what you do.
That's incredible.
It was so much fun. It was so much fun.
That's incredible.
It was. It was so much fun.
That's a bow on a magical career right there, to go there and win every damn thing they have.
That was worth getting up early for, wasn't it?
Oh, totally. Totally. I was crying so bad.
I called, I can remember I called Sammy and I'm like, I won! He goes, what do you mean you won? I go, I won everything!
I won!
I won! I won! I won!
Well, we'll put a bow on this walk down memory lane for you, LoreeJon, and as you'll come to find out, if you listen to some of our other interviews, we are asking everybody the same three final questions.
So if you're ready, I'll ask you question number one. Okay, so you're 20 years old again, okay? You're going back in time, but you know at 20 what you know now.
What would you have done differently?
I don't think anything. I really don't. I don't think because at 20, I mean, I was, you know, I mean, if I'm going back to 20, knowing what is going to happen now, I mean, I don't think because you can't really, because I wouldn't change anything.
I mean, I'm happy with what I did.
That works for us.
That's my answer.
That works for us.
That's your final answer.
That's a good answer. And I could tell listening to this interview, it's been amazing.
Yeah, you can phone a friend, but if that's your answer.
I know.
All right, Mark, question number two, Mark.
You know, if you could look back on all your matches and you could take one shot back, a career mulligan shot, can you think of one that you would like to have back?
Yeah, probably the Gordon's tournament where I hung the nine balls for Robin Dodson to win. Oh my goodness.
My position, I think I was so nervous because that would have been like my fifth one, you know, and I was so nervous and I got, unfortunately, I got like on the rail.
The only place on the whole table that you don't want to get with your cue ball, I got on the rail. And even though I hit the ball, I mean, I hit it, I thought I hit it pretty good. I mean, I don't, you know, just pocket just didn't take it.
So I would love to have that shot back again.
She dominated all of those tournaments, the Gordons, Gin and Vodka events, didn't you? No, I didn't. Yeah, you did.
That's why I said you didn't.
Yes, yes.
Yes, you did.
Yeah.
Well, the last question is, how would LoreeJon like to be remembered?
As a kind person, as somebody who doesn't give up, and who is a strong woman, and who is a wonderful family person.
That's a good way to end it. That was a wonderful answer.
Yeah.
LoreeJon, we sure appreciate you being with us, and we thank you for adding your story to all of Pool's greats that we have had, and will have on Legends of the Cue. I hope you've enjoyed this little stroll down memory lane.
For sure. I'm truly honored to... Even Allison, when she called and asked me, I was like, I said, oh my God, I'm so honored.
I was like, and yeah. So I thank you guys for doing this. I think it's awesome, and I hope ratings go through the roof, and hope it's very successful.
Thank you so much for joining us and giving us you a time.
Yeah, great story.
It's a privilege for me to be on here with you.
Thank you, Mark. When somebody says something about the best instructor, I'm like, oh yeah, you gotta go to Mark Wilson. You gotta go to his clinic.
Well, thanks, LoreeJon.
Thank you.
All right.
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