Grady Mathews

Grady Mathews (January 3, 1943 in San Antonio, Texas – April 18, 2012), also known as "The Professor" or "Mr. One Pocket", was an American pool player and was the first inductee into the One-Pocket Hall of Fame,[1] in 2004.

[3] Mathews continued to compete professionally, as well as putting on exhibitions, pool clinics, and private lessons throughout the United States until he was diagnosed with cancer in 2011.

When he was 14 years old in San Mateo, Mathews began playing pool at a local bowling alley.

[6] At the 1984 Busch Open Nine-Ball at Miller Time Billiards in Moline, Illinois, Mathews captured the first-place prize monies as well as a Brunswick Gold Crown pool table, defeating Howard Vickery in the finals.

In 1986, Mathews played the character "Dud"[9] with Paul Newman and Tom Cruise in Martin Scorsese's Academy Award-winning film The Color of Money,[10] loosely based on the novel by Walter Tevis (the sequel to The Hustler).