Wade Arlyn Crane (February 20, 1944 – December 26, 2010) was an American professional pool player, nicknamed "Boom-Boom" because of the cannonball sound that emanated from his powerful break.

Wade Arlyn Crane grew up in Robbinsville, a small town with a population of 700 located in the westernmost part of North Carolina in the Great Smoky Mountains.

After high school, Crane decided to leave Robbinsville and live with his older brother in Chicago, where he got a job at Brach's Confections, a candy company.

Soon Wade was competing at Bensinger's pool room in Chicago against tough opponents in the area, like Mexican Johnny, John Abruzzo, and George Walker.

In 1965, Crane was making more money playing pool than working at Brach's Confections, so he decided to leave the Windy City and move to Atlanta, Georgia.

In the early '70s, Crane returned to North Carolina and opened his own pool room in Asheville, which was an attraction for many of the top players in the country, i.e., Buddy Hall, Jim Rempe, Mike Sigel, and Allen Hopkins.

[8] Crane went undefeated at the 1985 Red's Open 9-Ball Championship in Houston, Texas, until he met Efren Reyes in the finals, who was at this time shooting pool under an alias of "Cesar Morales."

At the 1987 Steve Gumphreys Memorial 9-Ball Open tournament held in Jackson, Mississippi, Crane defeated Earl Strickland twice in the finals of a double-elimination format event to win the title.

[11] He was deemed as a courteous pool competitor, with a sense of humor that was enjoyed by his peers, according to Nick Varner and Johnny Archer, both Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame Inductees.

For 15 years, he was an instructional journalist for Pool & Billiards Magazine, providing guidance on shot selection and other pool-related strategies in his monthly article entitled "Crane's Winning Way."

A recognition ceremony to commemorate Crane's legacy of pool in action was held at the 7th Annual One-Pocket Hall of Fame dinner on January 25, 2011, at the 2011 Derby City Classic.

[13] At 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, December 26, 2010, Crane was killed in an automobile accident in Knoxville, Tennessee, when his 2000 Volkswagen crossed three lanes of traffic and struck a retaining wall.