Masako Katsura Biography: Secrets To Becoming Billiards Number One

Masako Katsura was a Japanese woman who was also called “The first lady of Billiards,” and is widely known for her credibility.

She was a proactive woman in the 1950s and competed in male-dominated professions worldwide. However, Katsura earned a massive reputation in her profession.

Early life of Masako Katsura 

Masako was born on March 7, 1913, in Tokyo, Japan, and was raised in her hometown by her mother since her father met a tragic death.

Since her childhood, she has been interested in playing sports and started her career in billiards. 

Her mother supported her through thick and thin, and her mother suggested carrying on her profession with Billiards.

Katsura said: “I was weak and I was tired all the time, So my mother wanted me to play billiards to make me exercise and make me stronger.”

Billiard halls were famous in Tokyo in 1920, and one of the halls was owned by Katsura’s brother-in-law.

Katsura began to discover her talents and soon realized her interest in billiards and the sport. 

Since then, she started practicing working in the hall every day with passion and determination to follow her mother’s dreams come true.

She struggled and practiced to build better credibility to achieve high goals.

Therefore, with her consistent practice at a very young age, she had a knack for trick shots.

She was only 15 years old when Masako Katsura was honored with the Japanese women’s straight-rail championship. 

Her skill captivated the attention of Japan’s reigning champion, Kinrey Matsuyama, and soon, Matsuyama took Katsura under his custody being a coach and then introduced her to three-cushion billiards.

Katsura migrated to America to pursue her career 

Katsura migrated to California in 1951 and found a different environment compared to Tokyo.

In Tokyo, she used to play in a hundred billiards halls among women. 

It was a male-dominated billiard hall in California, and she had to compete with males with her exceptional skills.

Katsura said: “I have only met one woman billiard player while I have been here. Here a billiard parlor is thought of as a man’s place … You know, if someone had a billiard parlor for women only, that would be good.”

When she was at the urge of her billiard career, European Wars hindered her career, and she only performed in the war to represent her country. 

Katsura performed a one-woman show for the soldiers of the Japanese during the war; then, she relocated to perform billiard tricks for American troops.

Her performance during the war gave her international recognition, and she was supported to develop her career at the international level.

One American G.I. wrote home to his father, billiards champion Welker Cochran, about Masako Katsura and said: “This girl is better than you are!” Cochran reached out, encouraging Katsura to visit the U.S.

Before her performance in wars, she had won the national women’s billiards tournament and began her journey to compete in the national men’s championship.

Her international journey to success

In the 1950s, she made her mark in the billiard scene and zoomed her career.

Due to her credibility, Champion Welker Cochran became Katsura’s manager and told the newspapers, “The game has needed a woman player with skill enough to compete against the greatest of men players. And I’m convinced now that it’s finally got just that.”

In the newspaper, Katsura was being highlighted all over the country, and the media cared more about her gender than her skills. 

One paper even called the champion a “real Japanese cue-tee.”

The other media person described Katsura as a “little lady … a wisp of a woman who looks as if she would have difficulty blowing a feather away, but who instead can make billiard balls explode, or behave like chastened children.”

However, she was respected by other Billiard players, and Willie Hoppe said: “In the East, they told me she was good, but I never expected to see anything like this. The girl is marvelous. She’s going to win her share of matches against the best of them.”

She broke the gender barriers

In 1958, Masako Katsura became famous in her career, appeared on network television shows, and took a high rank in international tournaments. However, Katsura retired after a tough loss to the current world champion in 1961.

In 1976, Masako Katsura appeared at a San Francisco billiards parlor, picked up a cue, and went on a 100-point run. 

By the 1970s, billiards had changed. And after seeing a successful billiard woman competitor, a group of players formed the Women’s Professional Billiard Association. 

How did Masako Katsura die?

After retirement, in 1990, Katsura returned to Japan and lived with her sister, Noriko, and planned to live out her days. After five years of living with her sister, Katsura died on 20th December 1995 due to natural aging phenomena as over the course of almost 5 years, she remained ill.

However, Katsura Memorial: The First Ladies Three Cushion Grand Prix was held in Japan and aired on SKY PerfecTV! in 2002, called a  memorial tournament for Katsura.

There is no doubt that she has earned a massive reputation in her career and is now recollected as the first lady of Billiards.

Katsura was tributed in Google Doodle

On the search engine’s homepage, she was featured in a Google Doodle to pay tribute to her on International Women’s Day in 2021.

The Doodle described Masako Katsura’s biography and its achievement throughout her career, describing her as a woman who would be known for her influential career and exceptionalities.

On the official website of Doodle, it is written, “First Lady of Billiards! Thanks for cueing up this sport for generations of women to come.”

The challenges of the world three-cushion billiard tournament in 1952

In 1953, she participated in the World Three-Cushion Billiards Tournament and achieved her milestone in the tournament. The fact is that the tournament gave her huge success and a reputation all over the world.

The more important thing is that she was the only girl to participate after Ruth McGuinness after ten years, and then she was invited to the Probilliards Tournament (1942 New York State Championships).

Willie Hoppe, who was 64 at the time and also competed in this competition, was the previous champion. According to pre-event speculation, if Hoppe and Katsura played with each other in a competition, Katsura would not get 10 points in a 50-point lead match.

Many people participated in the tournament, including, Katsura, her trainer and friend Matsuyama, Willie Hoppe, Joe Camacho (from Mexico), Herb Hardt (from Chicago), Arthur Rubin (from New York), Joe Proquita (from Los Angeles), Ray Kilgore (from Los Angeles), Jay Boseman (from Vallejo), and Irving Crane (from Binghamton).

All were to compete in a round-robin battle. The fact is that all 45 games were played at Cochrane’s “924 Club,” and the tournament would span 17 days until March 22, 1952.

According to reports, this was the “biggest tournament since before World War II.”

So it’s not surprising that the first reward was $ 2,000 plus a large exhibition fee, and the succeeding awards were $ 1,000, $ 700, $ 500, $ 350, $ 300, $ 250, and $ 250, up to the eighth position.

Willie Hoppe won this championship and resigned after successfully defending it in 1952.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

• What Was Masako Katsura’s Age?

She was 82 years old as she was born in 1913 and died in 1995.

• What Was Masako Katsura’s Net Worth?

According to the sources, Masako Katsura’s net worth was around $6 million USD.

• Who Was Masako Katsura’s Husband?

Masako Katsura’s husband was Vernon Greenleaf. He was born on 7 March 1913 in Tokyo and died in 1967.

• Was Masako Katsura Married?

Masako and her husband Vernon Greenleaf met each other at the Tokyo service club and as time passed they got closer and eventually fell in love.

Their marriage was on 30 November 1950, but they did not have any children. Vernon Greenleaf’s cause of death is unknown.