| Jimmy Mataya | |
| Birth Date: | 25 September 1950 |
| Birth Place: | Perth Amboy, New Jersey |
| Nickname: | "Pretty Boy Floyd" |
| Professional: | 1966 |
| Game: | Nine-Ball |
| Other Wins: | 30 |
Jimmy Mataya (September 25, 1950-March 22, 2024). Mataya started shooting pool at age 11. Within a few years was playing exhibitions with Willie Mosconi. He then won three consecutive Michigan State Championships in 1966, 1967 and 1968. At 21, he won the 1971 Los Angeles 9-Ball Championship. Mataya won multiple titles in his career and in 1989 became a member of the Greater Lansing Area Sports Hall of Fame.[1] [2]
In 1982, Mataya wed Ewa Svensson, of Sweden (who was later inducted into Billiard Congress of America's Hall of Fame as Ewa Laurance in 2004), forming pool's first "power couple". Their daughter Nikki was born in 1985. Jimmy and Ewa later divorced.[3]
Mataya enjoys other games of stake. In 1991, he was seen leaving Las Vegas in a brand-new Cadillac, courtesy of the Sahara Casino.[4] In that same year Snap Magazine published an "...in-depth interview with Mataya, who offered many tips for young players and talked about his vision for the future of the sport."[5]
When Mataya left the professional pool tournament trail, he was chosen to be a commentator for pool matches because of his knowledge of the game and his comedic style that entertains the audience. "To add more color to an already colorful show, Mataya was selected as a co-commentator with Danny Diliberto at the 2004 Derby City Classic Nine-ball Ring Game in Louisville, Kentucky, the first ring game produced for broadcast.[6]
"The Usurper" Sept. 26, 1979, as himself