Winner by Decision

Adept in all games, DiLiberto conquered the 1982 BCA National 8-Ball Championship.

One friend Dan made, somewhat unpredictably, in his years on the road was the immortal dancer Fred Astaire, who was a pool nut of the highest stripe and was known to practice straight pool in his basement for up to six hours a day. Astaire enjoyed watching big-money matches, and Dan and Kelly were his favorite hosts. At one such match, a spectator looking for a side bet wandered over to Astaire and asked him whom he liked.

"Well," said Fred Astaire, not understanding the gambling vernacular in the least, "they're both very fine gentlemen, and I like both of them very much."

On another occasion - and this is one of Dan's fondest memories - he had returned home from winning a tournament, and the phone rang. "Is this the great Dan DiLiberto?" asked the voice.

"It used to be."

"This is Fred." Imagine that: one of show business' all-time greats identifying himself by first name only - and calling you "great"!

Dan has rarely held full-time employment outside a poolroom. In Phoenix, he served not only as host but bouncer too (that B-list again). Single-handedly and without incident, he got both motorcycle gangs and a ring of drug dealers to leave the place. "No cops," he promised each, "I will do my best to handle this by myself. And I'm no moralist; I don't care what you do or where you do it, but if you do it here, there's gonna be a problem. My place is all about families and recreation and fun, and you're intimidating my good customers. I'm asking you nicely and respectfully to take your business somewhere else." Both groups appreciated the courteous approach and departed as asked; when Dan left the job, both promptly moved back in and the room went out of business not long after.

Because he did not remain active as a player much beyond age 60 (although, even with only one good eye, he's still formidable today), Dan's Hall of Fame eligibility suffered until now. But his career has turned to teaching and, of course, commentary for almost all the fine tournament coverage provided by Accu-Stats. His voice and delivery are as familiar to pool's fans as Vin Scully's are to baseball's. And one of his famous rallying cries as a player, "Position while you wait!" (referring to an object ball's rolling somewhere favorable while others have not) has become as well-known in the booth as he used to make it at the table.

As a teacher, he produced the late Mike Carella from scratch; Dan's fellow Hall of Famer Allen Hopkins would later declare that Carella was the toughest opponent he had ever faced. As a pupil, Carella was no bargain at all; he was moody, temperamental, and about the only people who even liked him were Dan and his longtime friends, Carella's parents. Time and again Dan gave up on the mercurial youngster; each time, the parents would bring him back with, "Danny, you're his idol. He can't sleep. He won't eat. You have to teach him again." And so Dan did. Another worthy student was France's Stefan Cohen, whom Dan coached (on two continents) all the way to a 14.1 world championship in 2009.

But no single laurel compares to his latest, at least not in his eyes. For once, he seems at a loss for words. "I'm really choked up," he said from Buffalo, still his hometown, when informed of his induction. "I really thought the Hall of Fame would wait until I was dead to vote for me. It's truly an honor. This makes my day, my month, my year!"

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