Bert Schrager and Burton Spain Elected to the International Mue makers Hall of Fame

The International Cuemaker's Association has announced their 2005 Hall of Fame inductees.  Bert Schrager and Burton Spain, both of whom started their craft in the 1960s, were announced o­n February 10 as this year's honored members.

Schrager's most notable work wasn't always with him at the lathe.  He is credited with helping many up-and-coming cue makers get their start in both high- and low-end manufacturing, a quality that ICA smiles upon.

Schrager learned the craft from close friend and ICA Hall of Fame member Harvey Martin.  His work led him into all over the work, even enabling him to be o­ne of the first cue makers to crack open the Japanese market.  He is also credited with popularizing the six-point cue design.

Today, Schrager is 80 years old, and he can still be found in his workshop doing the job he's loved for the past 40 years-building cues. 

Spain, who passed away in 1994, is elected to the deceased cue maker's group.  Spain's cue-building career started in 1965 and continued until the early 1990s, when he sold his business to Joel Hercek. 

Today, Hercek continues Spain's legacy by producing cues with the same full splice method that he introduced so many years ago.  Spain's design combined standard full slice over the top of a butterfly full splice and was usually covered by the wrap.  This allowed him to use any combination of woods without producing too heavy or too light of a cue.  His method produced the most warp-resistant butts around.

Spain's design was so popular that his list of clients included Frank Paradise, Gordon Hart, Craig Peterson, and George Balabushka.  The knowledge Spain had wasn't just in pool.  He was also a member of a club called Mensa, whose members consist of people with IQ's in the top o­ne-thousandth of the population. 

Both Spain and Schrager made immeasurable contributions of the cue-making business, and their names are now etched into the International Cue Maker's Hall of Fame, where they will never be forgotten.

Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news in the sport of billiards and pool.