The Villages - July 2022 - 37

Don started playing pool when he worked as a pin
setter at Hub Bowling Alley in Joliet; he was 12-years
old. The experience allowed him to hone his skills and
bond with his dad over a startling revelation--his
father was a billiards champion in his hometown.
" I came home one Saturday, " Don said. " My dad
said, 'Isn't that work a little too hard for you?' I said I
didn't want to quit because I can play pool when I'm
not working. My dad said, 'Oh, you're a pool player--
just how good are you?' I said I could get them right
in there. He told me, 'Well, maybe tomorrow we'll go
down and you can teach me something.' I broke the
balls and he ran the table. " Don laughed as he looked
back on the experience.
Don continued to work on his game and impress
onlookers and players alike. He even remembers
stopping at certain houses at the end of his paper route
every Friday night because the homeowners had a pool
table. Over time he mastered his hardest lesson that
ironically became his trademark--he could play pool
anytime and anywhere.
" I went for a straight pool tournament, " Don said.
" Five guys were trying to trap me into a 10-ball game.
The temperature was 85 degrees and the balls were
so wet you could put them in a rack and they would
bubble up. (As the night went on) the temperature kept
falling. The balls were now so dry that you'd pick them
up and they'd slip. I had to change the way I hit the
balls the entire time. And I'm not kidding, I think I won
every single game. "
Don started to seriously compete in 1984 when he
played in the World Amateur Snooker Championship
held in Malahide near Dublin; the referees gave him the
most rewarding compliment he had ever gotten after
his first match with Tom Finstad from Canada.
" If the match were to start tomorrow, we would pick
you to win, " Don remembers them saying.
The Illinois native had built a reputation for himself,
and by 1986 his skills became known nationwide.
He was offered the role of an extra pool tournament
referee in the movie " The Color of Money, " starring
Paul Newman. Don didn't realize how well-known he
had become in the world of billiards, however.
row, " Don recalls the fan saying; " I've seen Don Feeney
run 100, and I've already gotten his autograph. "
Don played in several more snooker tournaments
that took him to places across the world, such as
Spain, Malaysia and Scotland. He's also created several
instructional videos and has written numerous articles
for billiards magazines across the country on form and
technique.
Throughout his competitive career Don remained
a staunch supporter of promoting the gentlemanly side
of pool, much like the late Willie Mosconi. He wore a
tuxedo for tournament play, never sharked to distract
an opponent, and doesn't believe in using the game
for monetary gain, which has left a poor stain on the
reputation of billiards in past years.
" I never thought of the game as a way of making
money, " Don said.
Don worked as a senior marketing engineer for
One
day Newman was signing autographs in between takes
when a billiards fan approached. The actor assumed
he wanted his autograph, but was met with an eyeopening
response.
" No, thanks, I hear you can't pocket three balls in a
Commonwealth Electric until he retired in 1983. He
moved to The Villages with his wife Audrey in 2001
and is the proud father of four grown kids: Ann, Chuck,
Peggy and Paul.
" If you try to make a living in the game, " Don said;
" you soon learn to hate it with a passion. "
MAGAZINE
37
The Villages - July 2022

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