Dorothy Wise

Dorothy Wise, born Dorothy Eleanor Maxfield in Spokane, Washington, on December 13, 1914, was an American professional pool player who died in Spokane on April 12, 1995. She learned the game from her husband Jimmy Wise, who managed billiard parlors across the western United States. When she began playing professionally there were few national tournaments for women, so after winning many local and state events she called herself the world champion. The first national tournament for women was held in 1967; she won it and kept winning for the next five years before losing the title in 1972 to thirteen-year-old Jean Balukas. In 1981 she became the first woman to be made a member of the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame.