James Rempe (born November 4, 1947, in Scranton, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, US

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

) is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 professional pocket billiards

Pocket billiards

Pool, also more formally known as pocket billiards or pool billiards , is the family of cue sports and games played on a pool table having six receptacles called pockets along the , into which balls are deposited as the main goal of play. Popular versions include eight-ball and nine-ball...

 (pool) player, and was inducted into the Billiard Congress of America

Billiard Congress of America

Billiard Congress of America is a governing body for cue sports in North America , the regional member organization of the World Pool-Billiard Association...

's Hall of Fame in 2002.

Career

Rempe began playing pool at the age of 6. he turned pro at the age of 22, winning over 100 major championships, and taking 11 world titles, including the World Straight Pool Championship

World Straight Pool Championship

The World Straight Pool Championship is an annual pocket billiards competition held in New Brunswick, New Jersey, since 2006. It is the current global professional title for straight pool , and is organized by Dragon Promotions, in part to restore the game's popularity in the United States...

, World Nine-ball Championship, the World One-pocket Championship, All-Around World Championship and, later, the Mizerak Senior Tour.

He accumulated 23 tournament wins between 1972 and 1978, more than any other pool player in the world, thus acquiring the nickname "King James".

In September 1975, Rempe went on a 23-stop tour in Australia where he defeated World Snooker Champion Eddie Charlton

Eddie Charlton

Edward Francis Charlton AM was an Australian professional snooker and English billiards player. He remains the only player to have been world championship runner-up in both snooker and billiards without winning either title...

 in nine-ball, rotation

Rotation

A rotation is a circular movement of an object around a center of rotation. A three-dimensional object rotates always around an imaginary line called a rotation axis. If the axis is within the body, and passes through its center of mass the body is said to rotate upon itself, or spin. A rotation...

, and straight pool

Straight Pool

Straight pool, also called 14.1 continuous or simply 14.1, is a pocket billiards game, and was the common sport of championship competition until overtaken by faster-playing games like nine-ball...

.

In December 2005, Rempe participated in the International Pool Tour

International Pool Tour

The International Pool Tour is a professional sports tour created in 2005 by Kevin Trudeau and hosted by Rebecca Grant. It aims to elevate pool to the level of other modern sports. Closely modeled on the PGA Tour, the IPT offered the largest prize funds in pool history in its first year. The tour...

 King of the Hill Shootout, an invitational event consisting of thirteen BCA Hall of Famers and thirty other accomplished players, in Orlando, Florida

Orlando, Florida

Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...

. competed in this historic tournament which was televised on the Versus network

Versus (TV channel)

Versus is a sports-oriented cable television channel in the United States. It was previously known as Outdoor Life Network and was launched on July 1, 1995, focusing on fishing, hunting, and other outdoor sports...

.

Titles

• 1971 Invitational Nine-Ball Arlington, Virginia
• 1971 U.S. Masters 14.1 Arlington, Virginia
• 1971 Hustlers World One-Pocket Johnson City, Illinois
• 1972 U.S. Master's 14.1 Arlington, Virginia
• 1972 World's Nine-Ball Dayton, Ohio
• 1972 Maine State 14.1 Scarborough, Maine
• 1972 Minnesota Fats Classic 14.1 and All-Around Arlington, Virginia
• 1973 Ohio Open Nine-Ball Cleveland, Ohio
• 1973 New York State 14.1 Newburgh, New York
• 1973 World's Nine-Ball Dayton, Ohio
• 1975 World Nine-ball Association Tournament
• 1975 U.S. Master's 14.1 Arlington, Virginia
• 1975 Eastern Invitational Nine-Ball Elizabeth, New Jersey
• 1975 World's Nine-Ball Burlington, Iowa
• 1976 Master's Invitational All-Around Norfolk, Virginia
• 1976 Indiana Open 14.1 South Bend, Indiana
• 1976 International Brunswick Open Rotation Tokyo, Japan
• 1977 Mako World Nine-Ball Association Invitational Tournament, Irvine, California
  Irvine, California
  Irvine is a suburban incorporated city in Orange County, California, United States. It is a planned city, mainly developed by the Irvine Company since the 1960s. Formally incorporated on December 28, 1971, the city has a population of 212,375 as of the 2010 census. However, the California...
  
  
• 1977 Q-Masters Invitational All Around Norfolk, Virginia
• 1977 Miami Open Nine-Ball Miami, Florida
• 1977 International World Invitational Nine-Ball and 14.4 Grand Championship Osaka, Japan
• 1990 Classic Invitational Straight Pool Championship, Rochester, New York
  Rochester, New York
  Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
  
  
• 1998 World Pool League
  World Pool League
  The World Pool League was a nine ball pool tournament promoted by Matchroom Sport and PartyGaming, and sanctioned by the World Pool-Billiard Association . All of the events were held in Warsaw, Poland, annually from 1999 to 2006. Six notable players were selected to participate in each event,...
  
  
• 1999 World Pool League

Products

Like his Australian rival Eddie Charlton, Rempe has branched out into product development and marketing, with his Jim Rempe Training Ball (manufactured by Saluc

Saluc

Saluc S.A. is a Belgian speciality manufacturing company. Founded in 1923, they are best known for their Aramith brand billiard, pool and snooker balls...

), a marked with rings and targets on the surface of the ball so that the practicing player can better judge the effects of very particular amounts of , , and other forms of cue ball control, and learn better control of cue

Cue stick

A cue stick , is an item of sporting equipment essential to the games of pool, snooker and carom billiards. It is used to strike a ball, usually the...

. Various competing products, such several other Saluc models and Elephant Practice Balls, use a similar aiming system. The Rempe ball is included in higher-end Saluc Aramith-brand ball and ball-and-accessory sets.