Cisero Murphy

Cisero Murphy was the first African-American world pocket-billiards champion. Born in Brooklyn, he overcame open racial exclusion from many billiard rooms and tour events through the 1950s and early 1960s and still emerged as one of the country's strongest straight-pool players.

Murphy won the World Pocket Billiards Championship (straight pool) in 1965 — the first Black world champion in any cue-sports discipline — defeating Luther Lassiter and Joe Balsis in the same tournament.

He was inducted into the BCA Hall of Fame in 1995. He is widely regarded as one of the most consequential figures in the history of American pool both on and off the table.