[1][2][3][4][5][6] Described as a "trailblazer, a child prodigy, a loner who rebelled against dress codes for women—the pool equivalent of Billie Jean King",[3] she is a five-time Billiards Digest Player of the Year, was the youngest inductee into the BCA Hall of Fame and the second woman given the honor, and was ranked fifteenth on Billiard Digest Greatest Players of the [20th] Century.

[7][10][11][12] She quit the sport amidst controversy in 1988 while at the height of her ability, due to a dispute over her conduct in a match at the Brunswick WPBA World 9-Ball Championship of that year.

[5][10] Jean's father, Albert Balukas, along with his partner, professional player Frank McGown, was the proprietor of a forty-eight-table pool hall called the Ovington Lounge in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn, New York.

"[13] Wielding an ivory-detailed cue made especially for her in 1965 by renowned cuemaker George Balabushka, at 5 and 6 years of age she would practice straight pool to 50 points after family dinners with her father's encouragement but not participation.

However, Balukas states, "when they find out that my father doesn't play, many people think I must have learned the game from Frank McGown.

[14][15] The following year Balukas appeared in an exhibition match at the bygone Carom Club, then located at 1697 Broadway in Manhattan.

"[14] She was described by a reporter present as "a little girl with honey-blond hair...wearing a short yellow dress and green leotards...who resembles a young Shirley Temple.

[14] In 1969, at 9 years of age, Balukas competed in her first BCA U.S. Open Straight Pool Championship, taking 5th place among a field of adults.

By that time she was already fairly well known, having had additional television appearances alongside such billiard stars and celebrities as Willie Mosconi, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Falk, Hugh Downs and Sonny Fox.

[7][9][15] She would later appear on television many more times, in addition to broadcasts of pool matches, including an interview on The Mike Douglas Show airing on January 11, 1977, with Bernadette Peters and David Niven.

[16] On August 18, 1972, at 13 years of age Balukas won the women's division of the BCA U.S. Open Straight Pool Championship, along the way defeating five-time champion Dorothy Wise and taking home a prize of $1,500.

[5][17][18] Reporting on the competition, The New York Times stated: "Miss Balukas showed signs of strong title contention throughout the tournament play as she defeated six opponents with precision shooting and near flawless strategy.

"[17] In 1973, at 14, Balukas successfully defended her straight pool U.S. Open title, defeating runner-up Donna Ries, a psychologist from Kansas City, Missouri, with a final score of 75–72 in 42 innings and a high run of 26, earning her a $2,000 purse.

In the 1974 U.S. Open held at the Sheraton Hotel in Chicago, Balukas defended her title, again beating out Harada but by a much closer, nailbiting 100–99 final score.

[27] In 1976, then 17, Balukas took her fifth consecutive U.S. Open title, beating Gloria Walker of Cheyney, Pennsylvania 75–46 in 39 innings, winning a $1,700 purse.

[13][32][33] Balukas has won numerous other titles including five wins at the WPBA World Straight Pool Championship.

[9] As early as the late 1960s, Balukas was performing exhibition matches with some of the top male players of the era, including Willie Mosconi and Irving Crane,[9] who were together considered between 1941 and 1956 the "best in the world, flat out".

[9][36] She later would play televised "Battle of the Sexes" matches with Rudolph Wanderone a/k/a Minnesota Fats in 1977, Ray Martin in 1979 and with Steve Mizerak in 1986.

'"[13] On August 6, 1978, Balukas became the first woman to qualify to play in the men's division of the PPPA World Straight Pool Championship; a tournament with a 60-year history.

This meant that she would be competing in both the women's and men's divisions of the tournament to be held on August 12 of that year at the Biltmore Hotel located at 43rd Street and Madison Avenue in New York City.

[41] During 1980, Balukas again competed in the Men's division, in the PPPA World Straight Pool Championship hosted at New York City's Roosevelt Hotel.

Balukas took a stand that the women should not be treated differently from the men, and accordingly refused to procure garments that would meet the unequal mandate.

"[13] She did not agree at the time with the speculation of others that her professional rivals had their own self-interest at heart, knowing that with her out of the competition they would have a much better chance at the $5,000 first place prize award.

"[13] Soon after the dress code dust-up made headlines, a letter was sent to The New York Times by the Women's Professional Billiard Association (WPBA), by its president Belinda Bearden, disputing the facts as reported.

According to the WPBA, the dress code was self-imposed by the players in an attempt to improve the image of women's pool and to attract more spectators and press to the sport, and that Balukas was the only participant at Binghamton unwilling to comply.

[45] In 1988, Balukas was playing against professional Robin Bell in a televised match of the WPBA World 9-Ball Championship held at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada.

[10] Professional Loree Jon Jones in the same interview expressed mixed sentiments: "Her not playing is, I guess, sad,"[10] but she reflected that in Balukas's absence, "we've all learned how to win.

"[10] In summing up these events in a 1992 article, The New York Times stated, "So America's greatest woman pool player competes only for the odd soda.

[7] In 1985 she became the second woman (after Dorothy Wise) to be inducted into the BCA Hall of Fame, with the additional honour of being its youngest inductee ever, at 25 years of age.