Annie's history
Anne Mayes began playing pool at the age of 17. She soon
discovered that she had a passion for the sport. She played as much as possible
and to her dismay she felt there wasn't enough time in the day to play as
much as she wanted to.
In 1974 while practicing one day at a local pool room she was approached by a man who owned a billiard supply store in Houston. He asked if she had considered playing on the professional tour. At that time, she did not know there was a pro tour and told him so.
They talked a while and he left to make a phone call. When he returned he told her he had made arrangements for her to play in an upcoming event at Notre Dame University in South Bend, Indiana. He told her that the A. J. Ebonite Corporation would sponsor her for the event.
She played the tournament and lost with a very poor showing. However, upon returning home, she received a call from Ebonite asking her to play for them on the pro tour as their female advisor. She agreed and they became her sponsor. The next year, 1975, she won her first event, the Southeastern Open in Florida and was invited to play in the prestigious U.S. Open.
Anne continued to play on the pro tour whenever work permitted. From 1983-1986 she was always ranked in the top ten women on the pro tour. The business card shown here is circa 1985.
In 1986 she landed a wonderful job with Texaco - Engineering Division Houston and had to quit playing on the tour to devote all of her time to her new career. She was the Computer Aided Design & Drafting Supervisor and eventually wore the additional hat of Software and Systems Development Manager.
All good things must (sometimes) come to an end. She was laid off in January 1995 and decided to get back to her first love - professional pool. She entered a qualifying tournament for a WPBA professional event and won it She began playing the pro tour again in February 1995 and finished the year ranked 32nd in the world. She continued to play in 1996 and finished that year ranked 23rd in the world. Unfortunately the years of no practice had taken their toll and she never regained her professional status.
She had to retire from the tour in December, 1996, due to poor health. After a year and a half of trying to get a magazine, "Billiard & Dart "News", off the ground she decided she would be much happier creating and crafting custom cues. With the help of friends, she opened Annie O's Billiard Pro Shop in June, 1997. The shop has become a tremendous success and several of Houston's top players are now playing with and endorsing her cues. Click here to visit the AO Custom Cues website.
During her 25+ years of playing on the pro tour, Anne has played with many brands of cues including; Adams, Black, Jenson, Joss, McDermott, Meucci and finally Predator. She has the experience to know what makes a truly fine playing cue. Anne understands the importance of having a cue that feels right, hits right and plays right. Quality is her primary goal in achieving those attributes in every cue she builds.