Born in 1870, he lost both hands in a sawmill accident at the tender age of eight. Despite his handicap (and long before the days of advanced prosthetics), he studied medicine and graduated from the University of Milwaukee.

During his college years, he took up the game of billiards. He became so proficient, he set an 18.2 Balkline world record with a run of 799, in 1921. He took his playing skills on the road, touring the country and amazing audiences for nearly 35 years. He left an everlasting legacy—the resolve of the human spirit—upon his death, in 1938.