| Born | 1935 Minersville, Pennsylvania, U.S |
|---|---|
| Died | 1996 |
| Sport country |  United States |
| Professional | 1953 |
| Tournament wins | |
| World Champion | Straight Pool (1965) |
Cisero Murphy (1935–1996) was an American professional pool player. Murphy was the first African-American professional pocket billiards player to ever win world and U.S. national titles.[1][2] He is also one of two players to win the World Straight Pool Championship on his first attempt, the other being Ray Martin who won the title in 1971.[1]
Murphy was capable of running 200 balls, missing a shot, then running another 200. He would do it with one of the more unusual strokes in billiards history, coming to a dead stop at the back of his stroke. Murphy described it as "a one- or two-second hiccup," which allowed him to take a picture of the shot before committing to it. It was so uncommon that billiards fans gave it a name: the "hesitation stroke."[3]
- ^ a b R. A. Dyer (2005). Billiards: The Official Rules and Records Book. Billiard Congress of America, 2005. ISBN 978-1-59228-744-4.
- ^ African Americans in Sports "African Americans in Sports: California". Archived from the original on 2004-10-29. Retrieved 2009-01-03. JimCrowHistory.com Retrieved 2009-01-03
- ^ "The Jackie Robinson of pool, Cisero Murphy hustled his way to the top". 6 March 2019.