Cisero Murphy

CTL-E-6931 · Person · other · 1935–1996

VERIFIED evidence grade — build store (JSON graph)

Combined Graph record U-07803 · provenance: build store (JSON graph), record CTL-E-6931.

Cisero Murphy (1935–1996) was an American professional pool player from New York who broke the color barrier of championship pocket billiards. He won the New York City championship at age 16 and, in his twenties, won the Eastern States 14.1 (straight pool) championship six straight times — yet because he was Black he was not invited to compete in world title events. Only in 1965, after protest pressure on the Billiard Room Proprietors Association of America, was he invited to the World Invitational 14.1 tournament in Burbank, California, a 21-player round-robin played from January 29 to March 6, 1965. Murphy won it on his first attempt, defeating players including Joe Balsis, Jimmy Moore, and Luther Lassiter, and finishing with a 17–3 record. The Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame records him as the first and only African American to win a world or U.S. national billiard title, and one of only two players to win a world title on his first attempt. He posted competitive high runs of over 250 balls and was inducted into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame in 1995.

The record

• Also known as: Cisero S. Murphy

Notes

Sports Encyclopedia roster CTL-SPE-0225. Firsts disposition: ASSERTED, WITH A CORRECTION TO THE ASSIGNMENT LEAD — the lead's '1965 U.S. Open straight pool' is not the event the sources document. The 1965 title was the Burbank World Invitational 14.1 (straight pool) tournament; 'first African American to win a world billiards title' is supported by the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame's own inductee text and by Andscape/The Undefeated, satisfying the two-source rule, and the BCA text's stronger 'first and only African-American ever to win a world or U.S. national billiard title' is attributed to the BCA in the description. Murphy's later winning record at the 1983 BCA U.S. Open 14.1 event appears in secondary accounts but no U.S. Open title in 1965 is asserted. FLAG: birth year is given as 1935 by Wikipedia and the BCA-derived accounts and as 1937 by some secondary listings, and birthplace accounts conflict (Minersville, Pennsylvania vs. North Carolina vs. Brooklyn upbringing); the era uses 1935–1996 and no birthplace is stated. His given name is sometimes misspelled 'Cicero' in secondary sources; this record uses the BCA spelling, Cisero. Curator's Judgment (DRAFT): Murphy's file is the Jackie Robinson pattern in miniature — six straight Eastern States titles could not buy an invitation, and when the invitation finally came he won the world title at his first attempt, which is why the exclusion, not the talent, is the story's center. Photo: HELD — no Commons file found (see visual asset basis).

Sources

• Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame. "Cisero S. Murphy" (inductee biography, as quoted in full on AZBilliards, 'Black Pool Players Matter'). Accessed 2026-11-03. (primary source · build store)
• John Florio and Ouisie Shapiro, Andscape (The Undefeated). "Cisero Murphy" (March 6, 2019; reprinted at 14and1.us, 'Pool Stories and Videos'). Accessed 2026-11-03. (build store)
• Wikipedia. "Cisero Murphy." Accessed 2026-11-03. (build store)

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