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Steve Mizerak, known as one of the greatest players to ever shoot billiards, was born October 12, 1944. He learned to play billiards at age 4 in his father's pool hall, where he had to use milk crates to reach the table. Nicknamed "The Miz" he went Pro at 13, but really dominated the scene during the 1970s and early 1980s in the game of 14.1 continuous billiards. Before becoming famous for his billiard skills, Steve Mizerak was a history teacher in the public school system in Perth Amboy, New Jersey for thirteen years. He says that this was partly because "pool didn't pay very well in those days."
Steve Mizerak, also known as "The Miz" was named 6th in Billiards Digest's 50 Greatest Players of the Century. He claims that public image was important to him, and that he felt his inclusion in the list to be a great honor. Stephen Ducoff, executive director of the Billiard Congress of America says of Steve Mizerak; "He falls in there with Minnesota Fats and (Willie) Mosconi and some of the more popular players. He's a recognizable household name."
Miller Lite, a beer company that used sports celebrities to sell its product in the 1970s and 1980s, shot a commercial that showcased Mizerak. In the commercial, Mizerak made a difficult trick shot making the commercial famous. During the funny advertisement, Steve says that you can "really work up a thirst even when you're just showing off." When he was asked how many takes did it took for him to get all 3 of those shots to work like they did, Mizerak responded, "You can't really say it in that way. Sometimes there were other things that happened besides the shots going. The shots would go but the film wasn't in focus. Someone in the background would sneeze. You know, somebody did something else. We actually did it 181 times in 8 1/2 hours. We did it from about 9:30 in the morning to 5:00 in the afternoon. It was a long day, but it was a very successful day and it was a day that would change my career and my life. I owe a lot to Miller Lite and I also owe a lot to my wife Karen."
He produced training books and videos, showcasing some billiard basics such as breaks and bank shots, as well as some more advanced billiard techniques for trick shots. In fact, Steve Mizerak has been credited with bringing billiard training content to the masses. Steve Mizerak earned celebrity status by producing an extremely popular instructional pool video entitled Pool, The Master's Way. He was the president and designer for a company he formed to make pool cues called Steve Mizerak, Inc. The company was acquired by Escalade Sports in 2002. Escalade's acquisition of Steve Mizerak Inc. includes an exclusive line of billiard equipment along with the registered trademarks of "Steve Mizerak", "Mizerak", "The Miz", and "The Miz Collection".
Steve Mizerak has several big screen jobs to list on his resume as well. In 1980, he was an actor in the Baltimore Bullet, and was later a star in the 1986 film "The Color of Money," playing an opponent of Paul Newman's character, Fast Eddie Felson.
Later in life, Mizerak founded the Seniors Masters Tour in 1996 for players over 50, which held around 5 or 6 tournaments a year, and offered guaranteed prize money to the tune of $25,000 to $50,000. The tour's home was at a billiard hall he opened in Lake Park called Steve Mizerak's Billiards. He held tournaments there every Sunday at 7:30 p.m. where he offered training for amateurs, and provided critique on player's break shots! The senior's tour even had televised games, including one event at the Grand Casino in Biloxi.
Steve Mizerak's Billiards
914 Park Ave.
Lake Park, FL 33403
561-840-8836
Noon to 2:00 a.m. (Open 7 days a week)
Mizerak suffered a stroke in 2001 which left him with physical challenges that prevented him from playing pool competitively. Steve Mizerak died in 2006 in Palm Beach County at the age of 61. His passing resulted from complications stemming from gall bladder surgery, which had him in the hospital since January. He maintained an active member in the billiard community, even after suffering a stroke in 2001, said his wife. He is survived by his wife Karen Mizerak, two sons, and two grandchildren.
Steve Mizerak VHS Billiard Videos | |||
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Steve Mizerak will truly be missed by all in the billiard community.
Throughout his billiard career, Steve Mizerak has made too many accomplishments to list., but here are a few:
Steve says that he is most proud of winning the four US Opens in a row, from 1970 thru 1973. Some of his other notable accomplishments include:
Of course, these are just a few of Steve Mizerak's accomplishments. He has far too many to list here.
The steve mizerak article was posted on 11/23/2006 9:59:25 AM and updated on 4/29/2008 7:08:00 AM. The steve mizerak article was edited by .
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Steve Mizerak's Headshot:
Steve Mizerak's Billiard Shot:
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Do they still have Seniors events at Mizerak's?
i am borrowing a pool cue thats all the black and says the miz collection and has steves signature and pic on it it was left outside on the ground and was in a truck bed with water all over it my friend said he warped it pretty bad but it isnt that bad and ive been starting out shooting with it i must say its a great shooting stick i love it i think there pretty nice sticks every1 around here always ask's bout it when they see me make some awesome shoots im hoping i get 2 keep the stick
I went to school with Steve Mizerak. He graduated from Athens College in Athens, Alabama in 1968 (Willie Mosconi attended the graduation). The college had a pool table in the student union and Steve played there a lot. To this day, I have never seen anyone who could come close to him with a pool cue.
Nice info on steve mizerak. I just got a pool stick that says the miz collection from a friend. Not sure whats its worth but it looks brand new. He had it in his closet for a while. It is black and has a small picture of him on the bottom with it signed.
I to have a mizrak stick, complete with logo and signed, also with case signed, i am out of work and would sell it, a collector friend told me it could bring as much as much as $800.00 to $1000.00, it's in top shape, apears never used. I'm in Sullivan Indiana, in zip code 47882.
I am looking for an advertisement that Miller light put out with the MIZ. It was a giveaway with Miller beer. It showed some trick shots. Anyone seen one?
Hi Johnny, Welcome to the forums. I found two versions of the Miller Beer tv commercial with Steve Mizerak, and posted them in the pool players forum. Let me know if those are the ones? Gary
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