Hayden Lingo

Hayden W. Lingo, who lived from March 28, 1907, to January 28, 1973, is often cited as the man who invented the billiards game of One Pocket and was a top player in the United States from the 1940s through the 1960s. His rules are said to be the basis of those used at the first Johnston City One Pocket Tournament in 1961 and the first published rules of the modern game. A resident of Oklahoma City who travelled widely in pursuit of competition, he was described as well-dressed, soft-spoken and a master of ball control, approaching One Pocket like a studious chess master. He wrote a 1963 pamphlet on the game now held in the Library of Congress and was inducted into the One Pocket Hall of Fame in 2006.