Hall Of Fame Inductee Robin Dodson
The Women’s Professional Billiard Association (WPBA) will induct California veteran champion Robin Dodson into the WPBA Hall of Fame at their annual player awards banquet October 14th. The banquet and ceremonies will be staged prior to the Pacific Coast Classic at the Chinook Winds Casino Resort in coastal Lincoln City, Oregon. Robin Dodson will be inducted into the WPBA Hall of Fame under the Greatest Player category.
Robin began playing pool at the age of 12 and was crowned the California Women’s Champion by the time she was just 16. After a five-year break from the sport she returned in 1984, taking a third, second, and first place finish in her first three consecutive events!
Building a reputation for winning the big purses, she earned her nickname, "Bankroll" as she won every top prize of the day, from the Miller Lite World Series of Tavern Pool to the Caesar’s Tahoe Classic and the Resorts International Open. From 1985 to 1993, she was never ranked lower than third on the WPBA Tour rankings. In 1990 and 1991, she won back-to-back WPA World Championships, leading to her #1 Ranking and being named the 1991 Player of the Year.
With 27 major tour championships to her name including two world championships, the WPBA Nationals and the Gordon’s $50,000 9-Ball Championship, she is one of pool’s most prolific champions. Now retired from professional play, she runs her own billiard business and helps manage her famous son’s career (teen heartthrob Drake Bell!).
The Women’s Professional Billiard Association (WPBA) will also induct Milwaukee, Wisconsin native James J. Bakula into the WPBA Hall of Fame in a special ceremony on November 11, 2009. The ceremony will take place prior to the WPBA National Championships at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino Resort in Hollywood, Florida. Jim Bakula will be inducted into the WPBA Hall of Fame under the Meritorious Service category.
Jim Bakula was a key factor contributing to the explosive growth of women’s professional billiards in the 1980s and 90s. Named General Manager of Brunswick’s Billiards Division in March 1983, he immediately became involved in sponsoring events and pushed for women’s divisions in events traditionally only open to men players. Named Billiard Congress of America president in 1990, he further appealed to the BCA to support the WPBA through grant funding, allowing them to form an office and subsequently create the Women’s Pro Billiard Tour.
Bakula signed BCA and WPBA Hall of Fame player Ewa Mataya Laurance as the Brunswick pro player representative in 1988, and continued in his support of the women with events including the Brunswick Munich Masters, Brunswick Swedish Challenge Cup, Brunswick World Open, the U.S. Open, the WPBA Nationals, and dozens of other world and national major titles up until his retirement in 1996. In 1995 he was given the BCA President’s Award.
Hall of Famer and Former WPBA president Vicki Paski said, "Whenever we (WPBA) needed help, Jim was the first person we called. And Jim always said, ‘yes.’"
