George Aronek Passes at 98
George Aronek (left) at the 1996 Sang Lee International Open.
by Charles Brown
George Aronek, former USBA President and a great ambassador for 3-cushion billiards passed on Saturday, June 28 at the age of 98. In a post on AZBilliards Bill Smith, a longtime friend of George, stated that George died in his sleep in a nursing home after contracting COVID.
I first met George at the 1996 Sang Lee International Open Tournament held at Sang Lee’s room in Jackson Heights, NYC. George was tournament director and he was inputting the results on charts that he had hand drawn. Everything he was doing was precise, meticulous, and beautifully done—all by hand. He knew his stuff and he made everyone comfortable.
George Aronek (left) at the 1996 Sang Lee International Open.
Not long after that I found myself in the role of tournament director and was responsible for running tournaments and providing results charts. Bewildered as how to proceed, I remembered that week of watching George and resolved that I could use his methods as my model. He would be my mentor. So, I got myself a big piece of poster board and some markers and, although I knew the charts would never be as beautiful as the ones George had made, I was determined to make them clear and legible and keep them up-to-date. But, more importantly, the real lesson I learned from George was that I needed to be fair, kind, open-minded, and to approach everything (and everyone) in a friendly and warm-hearted manner if I wanted to succeed as tournament director and ensure the success of future USBA events, just like I had observed George had handled it a couple of years before at the S.L International.
Results Chart. 2016 USBA National Qualifier at the Burbank Elks Lodge 1497. Hand drawn by George Aronek (signed G.A. in bottom right corner). Courtesy: Professorqball.com.
Since then the results charts I use have evolved to spreadsheets and now databases (designed by others) that are mostly automatic. The real point is that any success I have had as tournament director has been built on the traditions and foundations laid by many that came before me, and, hopefully I have made some small improvements which is only natural as time progresses. George Aronek provided a solid foundation for me—I only needed to observe him for a short time to understand how things should be done.
B&W photo (c. 1968) of Masako Katsura on a visit to San Francisco aiming a straight-rail massé at Palace Billiards. Seated to her left is Robert Byrne. Seated at extreme left is George Aronek. Courtesy: The Billiard Archive.
George Aronek was a good friend with Allen Gilbert and you could often see them together at events. He was instrumental in the development of the BFUSA and subsequently the USBA. As a former president, tournament director, player, and promoter of 3-cushion, George was a prominent figure throughout the history of the game in the USA and will be remembered by many for a long time to come.
Here's a post from Lefty Gilbert which shows a photo of George Aronek playing billiards just 2 weeks prior.
George Aronek signature. Courtesy: The Billiard Archive.