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Tom Kollins pictured at his fifth United States
National Snooker Championship title victory in 2001 |
Thomas Kalinowski, who is better known in the world of snooker as Tom Kollins, is arguably the most recognized snooker player around the world from the United States.
Tom has certainly been the most successful player in the United States, in winning a record five United States National Snooker Championship titles and being runner-up on two other occasions. He also holds the Championship's highest break standing at 123.
Early Billiards Career
Tom started playing pool when he discovered a pool hall on his daily paper delivery rounds in 1949. He won the Michigan Straight Pool Championships twice in the 1960s, and he played in seven U.S. Opens, finishing in the top-10 three times.
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| Tom Kollins pictured with the legendary Willie Mosconi during a pool exhibition in 1964 |
Already a very accomplished pool player, he discovered snooker in 1977, found the game fascinating and challenging compared to pool and was immediately hooked on the sport.
Tom found that there were no tournaments for snooker at that time in the United States, and so if he wished to compete he would have to get his passport and travel boots on.
International Snooker League
Tom's first international snooker event was at the Eccentric Club in London, England, as a member of the United States team in the International Snooker League (ISL). He continued to captain the American team in the ISL for the next 30 years.
International Snooker Representation
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Tom Kollins pictured with Ajeya Prabhakar at the
2000 IBSF World Snooker Championship in China |
Tom has represented the United States in the IBSF World Snooker Championship on ten occasions since 1984, and played as a United States team member on two occasions in World Snooker Team Championships. He has also competed for the United States in three European Snooker Championships, which were at the time when the United States was an associate member of the European Billiards & Snooker Association (EBSA).
Having traveled to over 18 countries worldwide competing for and representing the United States at snooker, he has proved to be a popular figure with his fellow competitors all around the globe.
When I was selected to represent the United States at the 2004 IBSF World Snooker Championship in the Netherlands, the constant question to me from everyone was "Where's Tom?" It is an expectation that if the United States is participating in any international snooker event, Tom will be a part of it.
Personal
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Tom Kollins pictured at the
Detroit Athletic Club in 1973 |
Born on February 6, 1936, Tom grew up in Pennsylvania before marrying and moving to the Detroit area where he worked as a radio broadcaster and raised a family.
In 1968 the prestigious Detroit Athletic Club hired Tom to manage their billiard room. He served there until 1974, when he then turned to teaching national and international players at his School For Straight Pool.
In the 1980s, with the advent of videotape, he marketed and produced pool instructional tapes by Hall of Fame pool players Grady Mathews, Nick Varner and Dallas West, and, as well as himself and others, when he founded Video Idea Productions.
Tom lived in the Chicago area for thirty years though in 2014 he relocated to the Detroit area. He has three sons and four daughters, nineteen grandchildren and nineteen great grandchildren.
I first met Tom in 2000 where I played him at the United States National Snooker Championship in Grayslake, Illinois. I was immediately taken with the great depth of knowledge he has for the game and how fun he was to hang out with. We are proud to have him on our board of directors, and he is a key contributor to our game of snooker in the United States. |
