Bludworth Selected by ICA Hall of Fame

(May 25, 2010) - Leonard Bludworth will be inducted into the International Cuemakers Hall of Fame on July 10th, 2010 during the Southern Cue and Case Show in the luxurious Scorpion Room of the Marietta Billiard Club in Marietta, Georgia.

Leonard, commonly referred to as "Blud," started doing cue repair in 1976. He was a master pool table mechanic and served as the equipment coordinator for both the men's pro tour and the senior tour for about 15 years. Around the same time he developed the popular Bludworth Billiard Ball Cleaner. It was also Bludworth's idea to take pool tables and travel the country setting them up for pool events. He gave the plans to Valley Tables and they ran with it.

In the 1980s he converted Sears' wood lathes into workable cue repair machines so others could begin their own cue repairing businesses. He sold over 400 of these machines around the world. He also made the first video showing how to do cue repairs on the modified lathes. After a few years, nearly every major tournament had a qualified repairman fixing cues for the pros and spectators using one of his lathes.

Leonard started building cues in the 1980s and became known for building very solid cues with a slightly thinner profile. He was probably one of the first cuemakers to sell a cue for over $100,000. Among the most notable top pros that started playing with Leonard's cues was his long time friend Buddy Hall, and eventually Leonard developed a line of cues for Buddy.

In 1992 Leonard founded the American Cuemakers Association and served as the president for several years. His late wife Janice worked along side of him for decades and he also passed his vast cuemaking and machinery knowledge down to his son Donald.

Leonard went on to develop many other mechanical and CNC (Computer Numerical Controlled) cue building machines. Some were shaft tapering saw machines. Many were CNC cue lathe/milling machines, and some of those were combo's, (saws and mills), from single cutting heads to multi-heads. The largest machine was a CNC mill with eight heads that went to Bangkok, Thailand.

He traveled over 100,000 miles annually for about 22 years setting up tables and doing cue repairs at the pro events. As the pioneer of the travelling pro shop who made his cue repair lathes available to others, Leonard has inspired a countless number of individuals to get into cue repair and cue building industry.

The Southern Cue and Case Show is being held in conjunction with the Gem City Classic 10-Ball Open (July 9th-11th). Admission to the Show is free. Several of the south's finest cue and case makers, along with collectible cues from past cuemakers, and some very rare and high end collections, will all be on display.

For more information visit www.internationalcuemakers.com