Masako Katsura was an exceptional billiards player from Japan. In the 1950s, she was the first woman to compete in a major international billiards tournament. She became a world-class player and eventually immigrated to the United States. In 1953 and 1954, she won the world three-cushion championship. Her accomplishments are an inspiration to aspiring players of billiards.

Masako Katsura was the first woman to compete in an international billiards tournament

Masako Katsura was born in Japan in 1913 and was one of the first women to compete in an international billiards championship. She competed against some of the best men in the world. She later turned professional and toured Asia. Her sisters also played the game and won tournaments. Katsura paved the way for women in the sport and left her mark on the game.

Katsura first started playing billiards at the age of fourteen. She was born in Tokyo and raised in a strict family. Her father had died when she was a child, and her mother was protective. Her mother encouraged her to take up the sport because it would help her become stronger.

She was a world-class billiards player

Born in Tokyo, Japan, Masako Katsura began competing in billiards at the age of fourteen. Her parents encouraged her to start competing, but she also had to contend with health issues at an early age. Billiards helped her to overcome these problems and made her a stronger player.

In the 1920s, billiards halls were a popular attraction in Japan, and Katsura’s brother-in-law ran one of them. She began practicing every day and won her first championship at fifteen. By the age of sixteen, she was coached by Japanese billiards champion Kinrey Matsuyama, also known as Willie Hoppe.

Katsura competed against Japanese men and women, and was able to win the women’s straight rail championship in Japan. She then turned professional in 1959. She also had sisters who won championships.

She emigrated to the United States in 1951

Masako Katsura, born in Japan in 1931, emigrated to the United States in 1951. She later moved back to Japan where she lived until she died peacefully in 1995. During this time, she played tennis and was active in many social organizations.

Katsura immigrated to the United States at age 37 with her husband, a non-commissioned officer in the U.S. army. In 1951, she and her husband were transferred to a U.S. post, but they didn’t speak English well. They arrived in San Francisco in December 1951, just as the World Three-Cushion Billiards Championship was about to begin.

Katsura had met an American serviceman named Verner Greenleaf in 1947. He was stationed at the Haneda Air Base in Tokyo and became fascinated by Katsura. After seeing her playing billiards, he asked her to teach him. The two fell in love during their training, and they later married.

She won the world three-cushion championship in 1953 and 1954

Katsura’s career was severely hindered by the second world war, but after the war ended she was able to play for the American troops. Her fame soon spread far and wide and she eventually moved to the U.S., where the billiards scene was heavily male-dominated. This led to Katsura competing in her first world championship, and then the world three-cushion championship, in 1953 and 1954.

After winning the 1953 and 1954 world championship, Katsura stepped away from the game and began making television appearances. In 1958, she appeared on ABC’s You Asked for It and again on CBS’s What’s My Line?. She appeared on television sporadically after her career ended, making two appearances on various television shows. In 1961, she returned to competition but lost to Harold Worst in a challenge match. After this, she disappeared from the billiard scene and moved back to Japan.

She made a name for herself in a sport that was dominated by men

In the 1950s, a small Japanese woman named Masako Katsura began competing in billiards tournaments in the United States. She won six U.S. championships, which was a big deal for women. She also won the World Three-Cushion Tournament in Buenos Aires in 1954. Today, Katsura is one of the most successful women in billiards history.

Although Katsura was not orphaned, she did lose her dad at a young age. She grew up living with her older sister and her husband. At the age of twelve, she began spending time in her sister’s billiard parlor. By the age of thirteen, she had become a billiards attendant herself. Her sister’s husband gave her a billiard table to encourage her love of the game.

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